TinaCMS
Git-backed CMS layered over Astro / Next.js / Hugo. SSG-adjacent, not strictly an SSG.
VISIT TINACMSKey takeaway: This answers the question every developer-built site eventually raises: the client wants to edit the copy, and you do not want to hand over the repository. Tina puts a real editing interface on Markdown that stays in Git. If nobody non-technical will ever touch the content, you do not need it at all.
Quick facts
- LanguageTypeScript
- CategoryJS / TS plain
- LicenseApache-2.0
- Created2019
- GitHub stars12.4k
- Statusactive
Templating: MDX Markdown Astro JSX
What it is
TinaCMS is technically a CMS, but it sits over an SSG (Astro / Next.js / Hugo) and provides Git-backed editing for content authors. Listed because the integration changes how you pick the underlying SSG.
Best for
- Sites where content authors need a CMS UI but the team wants Git-stored content
- Astro / Next.js sites with non-technical content authors
When not to pick it
Skip TinaCMS if your team is comfortable editing Markdown directly, or if you want a hosted CMS without the self-hosting complexity.
My take
TinaCMS is the most polished Git-backed CMS for static sites in 2026. Pair it with Astro and you have a strong content-team workflow.
Git as the content database
Content stays where a developer would put it anyway, Markdown or MDX with front matter in the repository, and Tina layers a schema and an editing interface over it. You define the fields in a config file, and the editor renders forms from that schema, so editors cannot invent structure your templates do not handle. Every save becomes a commit, which means content changes inherit the same history, review, and rollback as code, and a bad edit is a revert rather than a database restore. The visual editing mode puts the form beside a live preview of the real page, which is the feature that makes non-technical users comfortable rather than merely capable. Because content is files, your build stays a plain static build, and your Astro, Next.js, or Hugo site keeps working identically if Tina is removed.
The hosted backend decision
The editing layer needs a backend to handle authentication and to talk to your Git provider, and that is where the real choice sits. The managed cloud option is by far the quickest to stand up, with a free tier for small sites and paid tiers that scale with editors and usage. The self-hosted route is supported and keeps everything on your own infrastructure, but you are then running an authentication provider and a Git proxy, which is meaningful work for what might be a twenty-page site. The other honest limit is scale: Git-backed content is excellent at hundreds of pages and awkward at tens of thousands, where a commit and a rebuild per edit stops being pleasant. At that size a database-backed CMS is the right tool and this is the wrong one.
Frequently asked questions
Is TinaCMS free?
The project is open source under Apache-2.0 and free to self-host, which covers the editor and the schema layer. The managed backend that handles authentication and Git access has a free tier for small sites and paid tiers that scale with editors and usage. Self-hosting avoids that entirely, at the cost of running the auth and Git proxy pieces yourself.
Does TinaCMS work with Astro?
Yes, and it is one of the better pairings available. Tina edits the Markdown and MDX files your Astro content collections already read, so nothing about the build changes and the site still deploys as static output. It also works with Next.js and Hugo, since the integration point is the files in the repository rather than the framework itself.
TinaCMS or a hosted headless CMS?
Tina when you want content versioned in Git, reviewable in pull requests, and portable if the tool disappears, and the site is in the hundreds of pages. A hosted headless CMS when you have many editors, tens of thousands of entries, complex relational content, or you want zero backend to operate. The dividing line is content volume and editorial workflow complexity.
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If TinaCMS is your pick, the next conversation is short
The 30-min call is where your project gets a real architecture, an SEO transport plan, and a price range you can take to your team. Describe your site, your timeline, your existing content. I tell you whether TinaCMS is genuinely the right call for you, and what the build actually looks like.