What is Fork CMS used for?

Fork CMS is a free, MIT-licensed, open-source content management system for PHP built on Symfony Components and Doctrine, aimed at being easy for non-technical editors to use. It is a good fit for easy-to-use CMS for small to medium websites and symfony-based content management for PHP teams.

Is Fork CMS open source?

Yes. Fork CMS is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at forkcms/forkcms and is written mainly in PHP.

Yes. Fork CMS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Fork CMS?

Yes. Fork CMS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What are some alternatives to Fork CMS?

Similar open-source tools in the CMS category include Sulu, Textpattern and WordPress. SaaS products in the same category include 1FoodMenu, ABHUB and Adobe Experience Manager.

Is Fork CMS actively maintained?

The most recent commit to Fork CMS was on 29 July 2025, and the latest release is 5.12.0, published on 31 July 2023. The project has 1.2k stars on GitHub.

Fork CMS: open-source CMS

About Fork CMS

Fork CMS is an open-source content management system aimed at being straightforward to install and use for building and maintaining websites. It is built on Symfony Components for its underlying PHP architecture and Doctrine for its data layer, giving it a modern foundation without requiring the full Symfony framework's complexity for site editors.

Installation is handled through Composer with a single create-project command, after which an on-screen setup wizard walks through the remaining configuration. The backend interface is styled with Bootstrap and Sass, and the project explicitly allows HTML within translations because some content genuinely requires it, with site owners able to narrow down who can edit translation strings through group permissions.

Fork CMS includes a PHPUnit-based test suite covering unit, functional and installer test groups, runnable through Composer scripts, and the project maintains a support Slack channel alongside its GitHub issue tracker. It is written in PHP and released under the MIT license, with its codebase spanning back over a decade of continuous development.

Key features

Composer-based one-command installation
Symfony Components and Doctrine architecture
Bootstrap and Sass-styled backend
Group-based translation editing permissions
Full PHPUnit test suite

Good fit for

→Easy-to-use CMS for small to medium websites
→Symfony-based content management for PHP teams

Built with: PHP
Tags: cms; php; symfony; doctrine; self-hosted; open-source

Fork CMS: questions and answers

What is Fork CMS used for?: Fork CMS is a free, MIT-licensed, open-source content management system for PHP built on Symfony Components and Doctrine, aimed at being easy for non-technical editors to use. It is a good fit for easy-to-use CMS for small to medium websites and symfony-based content management for PHP teams.
Is Fork CMS open source?: Yes. Fork CMS is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at forkcms/forkcms and is written mainly in PHP.
Is Fork CMS free?: Yes. Fork CMS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Fork CMS?: Yes. Fork CMS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What are some alternatives to Fork CMS?: Similar open-source tools in the CMS category include Sulu, Textpattern and WordPress. SaaS products in the same category include 1FoodMenu, ABHUB and Adobe Experience Manager.
Is Fork CMS actively maintained?: The most recent commit to Fork CMS was on 29 July 2025, and the latest release is 5.12.0, published on 31 July 2023. The project has 1.2k stars on GitHub.