Getting Started with NostalgiaPHP

NostalgiaPHP is a caveman-simple, file-based CMS.

No database. No build step. No framework. Just drop in some Markdown files, and you’re publishing.

Requirements

• PHP 7.4+ (works on modern PHP versions)
• A web server with rewrites enabled (Apache .htaccess or Nginx try_files)
• That’s it. No Node, no npm, no Composer, no database.

Quickstart (local dev)

1. Clone or download the project:

git clone https://github.com/bmehder/NostalgiaPHP.git
cd NostalgiaPHP

2. Start PHP’s built-in server:

php -S localhost:8000

3. Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser.

Project Structure

nostalgia-php/

│── routes/           # routing logic (pages, collections, admin, etc.)
├── content/
│   ├── pages/        # static pages (Markdown)
│   └── collections/  # groups like blog, docs
├── partials/         # header, footer, hero, card, etc.
├── templates/        # layouts (main, sidebar, admin)
├── static/           # css, images, js
├── config.php        # site settings
├── functions.php     # helpers
├── index.php         # router entry point
└── ...other files    # htaccess, dockerfile, Parsedown, README

• Pages live in content/pages/ as .md.
  Example: about.md → /about
• Collections are folders under content/collections/.
  Example: content/collections/blog/hello-world.md → /blog/hello-world
• Partials (partials/) are reusable chunks.
• Templates (templates/) define page layouts.
• Routes (app/routes/) handle how requests map to content.

First Edits

1. Change the site name in config.php:

'site' => [
  'name' => 'My First NostalgiaPHP Site',
  'base_url' => '/',
  'timezone' => 'America/New_York',
],

2. Edit content/pages/about/index.md to change the about text.

3. Add a new page:

• Create content/pages/sample/index.md:

---
title: Sample Page
description: Learn more about our team.
---

# Sample Page

We’re building simple sites with simple tools.

• Visit http://localhost:8000/sample.

4. Add a new collection:

Edit config.php and add a block like:

'collections' => [
  'team' => [
    'permalink' => '/team/{slug}',
    'list_url'  => '/team',
    'sort'      => ['date', 'desc'],
  ],
],

Then add items under content/collections/team/.

Deployment

• Apache: use the included .htaccess for pretty URLs.
• Nginx: add try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;.
• Permissions: make sure directories are 755 and files are 644.

✅ That’s it — edit Markdown, refresh the browser, and your site updates.