Node.js

Run WollyCMS directly on a Node.js server for maximum control and simplicity.

Prerequisites

Node.js 22 or later
npm 10 or later

Installation

npx create-wolly@latest my-cms
cd my-cms
npm install

Configuration

Create a .env file (the scaffold generates one for you):

NODE_ENV=production
PORT=4321
HOST=0.0.0.0
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:./data/wolly.db
MEDIA_DIR=./uploads
JWT_SECRET=your-strong-random-secret
CORS_ORIGINS=https://your-site.example.com
SITE_URL=https://your-site.example.com

Generate a JWT secret:

openssl rand -base64 32

Running

Run database migrations and seed

npm run migrate
npm run seed

Start the server

npm start

The CMS is now running at http://localhost:4321.

Process management with PM2

PM2 keeps the process running, handles restarts, and manages logs.

npm install -g pm2

Create ecosystem.config.cjs:

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'wollycms',
    script: 'node_modules/@wollycms/server/dist/index.js',
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: 'production',
      PORT: 4321,
      HOST: '0.0.0.0',
    },
    instances: 1,
    autorestart: true,
    max_memory_restart: '512M',
    log_date_format: 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss',
  }],
};

pm2 start ecosystem.config.cjs
pm2 save
pm2 startup   # Auto-start on boot

PM2 commands

Command	Description
`pm2 status`	Show running processes
`pm2 logs wollycms`	Tail logs
`pm2 restart wollycms`	Restart the server
`pm2 stop wollycms`	Stop the server

Environment variables

Variable	Default	Description
`NODE_ENV`	`development`	Set to `production` for production
`PORT`	`4321`	Server port
`HOST`	`localhost`	Bind address (`0.0.0.0` for all interfaces)
`DATABASE_URL`	`sqlite:./data/wolly.db`	SQLite path or PostgreSQL URL
`MEDIA_STORAGE`	`local`	`local`, `s3`, or `r2`
`MEDIA_DIR`	`./uploads`	Local storage directory
`JWT_SECRET`	required	JWT signing secret
`CORS_ORIGINS`	`*`	Comma-separated allowed origins
`SITE_URL`	`http://localhost:4322`	Frontend URL for sitemaps/OG images
`S3_ENDPOINT`	-	S3-compatible endpoint URL
`S3_BUCKET`	-	S3 bucket name
`S3_REGION`	`auto`	S3 region
`S3_ACCESS_KEY`	-	S3 access key
`S3_SECRET_KEY`	-	S3 secret key
`S3_PUBLIC_URL`	-	Public CDN URL for S3 media

Using PostgreSQL

Set DATABASE_URL to a PostgreSQL connection string:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://wolly:password@localhost:5432/wollycms

WollyCMS auto-detects the database type from the URL prefix (sqlite:, postgresql://, or postgres://).

Reverse proxy

In production, put WollyCMS behind a reverse proxy for TLS termination.

Caddy

cms.example.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:4321
}

Nginx

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name cms.example.com;

    ssl_certificate     /etc/letsencrypt/live/cms.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/cms.example.com/privkey.pem;

    client_max_body_size 50M;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:4321;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Directory structure in production

my-cms/
├── data/           # SQLite database (back this up!)
├── uploads/        # Media files (back this up!)
├── node_modules/
├── .env            # Environment variables
└── package.json

Backups

Back up these two directories regularly:

data/ — the SQLite database
uploads/ — media files (unless using S3/R2)

# Example: daily backup with rsync
rsync -a data/ /backup/wollycms/data/
rsync -a uploads/ /backup/wollycms/uploads/