Ghost README

The project's README from github.com/TryGhost/Ghost. As one markdown file: README.md.

 

Ghost Ghost

 

Ghost.org • Forum • Docs • Contributing • Twitter

Downloads Latest release Build status Contributors DPG Badge

 

[!NOTE] Love open source? We're hiring! Ghost is looking staff engineers to join the team and work with us full-time

Fiercely independent, professional publishing. Ghost is the most popular open source, headless Node.js CMS which already works with all the tools you know and love.

 

Ghost(Pro) Ghost(Pro)

The easiest way to get a production instance deployed is with our official Ghost(Pro) managed service. It takes about 2 minutes to launch a new site with worldwide CDN, backups, security and maintenance all done for you.

For most people this ends up being the best value option because of how much time it saves — and 100% of revenue goes to the Ghost Foundation; funding the maintenance and further development of the project itself. So you’ll be supporting open source software and getting a great service!

 

Quickstart install

If you want to run your own instance of Ghost, in most cases the best way is to use our CLI tool

npm install ghost-cli -g

 

Then, if installing locally add the local flag to get up and running in under a minute - Local install docs

ghost install local

 

or on a server run the full install, including automatic SSL setup using LetsEncrypt - Production install docs

ghost install

 

Check out our official documentation for more information about our recommended hosting stack & properly upgrading Ghost, plus everything you need to develop your own Ghost themes or work with our API.

Contributors & advanced developers

To contribute to Ghost, start with the contributing guide. To work on the monorepo, see the codebase documentation.

 

Ghost sponsors

A big thanks to our sponsors and partners who make Ghost possible. If you're interested in sponsoring Ghost and supporting the project, please check out our profile on GitHub sponsors :heart:

DigitalOcean • Fastly • Tinybird • BairesDev

 

Getting help

Everyone can get help and support from a large community of developers over on the Ghost forum. Ghost(Pro) customers have access to 24/7 email support.

To stay up to date with all the latest news and product updates, make sure you subscribe to our changelog newsletter — or follow us on Twitter, if you prefer your updates bite-sized and facetious. :saxophone::turtle:

 

License & trademark

Copyright (c) 2013-2026 Ghost Foundation - Released under the MIT license. Ghost and the Ghost Logo are trademarks of Ghost Foundation Ltd. Please see our trademark policy for info on acceptable usage.

Ghost (TryGhost/Ghost)

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55.5K ·GitHub
What is this?Ghost is an open-source publishing platform for running blogs, newsletters, memberships and paid subscriptions.
Is this a library I import, or a full app I run as a server?It is a full self-hosted web application you run as a Node.js server, or alternatively use through the managed Ghost(Pro) hosting service, not a library you import.
How do I get it running?Use the official Ghost CLI tool: pass the local flag for a quick local setup, or run the full install on a server, which also handles automatic SSL via Let's Encrypt.
Do I have to self-host it myself, or is there a managed option?You can self-host for free with the CLI, or skip the maintenance work and use Ghost(Pro), the official managed service that includes CDN, backups, security and upkeep.
Who is Ghost built for?Ghost is aimed at independent publishers, journalists and creators who want to run blogs, newsletters, or membership and subscription sites without relying on a closed platform.
Can I rebrand my self-hosted fork as my own 'Ghost'?The code is MIT licensed so you're free to modify and self-host it, but 'Ghost' and the Ghost logo are registered trademarks, so renaming or branding a fork as 'Ghost' is restricted by the trademark policy.
Where does Ghost(Pro) revenue go?100% of Ghost(Pro) revenue goes to the Ghost Foundation, funding the maintenance and further development of the open-source project.
What are similar projects?Kooboo, strapi, novu, decap-cms, logto, emdash, directus, payload
Creator
TryGhost
Size
602.7 MB
Stars
55.5K
Age
13y
Commits · 90 Days