Questions and answers
Short answers, each with a link to the page that explains more. If your question is about an error message, look in Common problems.
What do I need to run Manablox?
Section titled “What do I need to run Manablox?”On your computer: Node.js 24 or newer, pnpm, and Docker for the database and the cache. On a server: Docker is enough, because everything runs in containers. See What you need.
Which databases does it support?
Section titled “Which databases does it support?”Two: PostgreSQL (the default) and SQLite. A Postgres project made by manablox create runs Postgres 18 in Docker. SQLite is a database that is a single file, run inside the CMS itself, so there is no database server at all; pick it with --database sqlite or the “Which database?” question. A hosted libSQL database (Turso) works too. The admin and the APIs behave the same on all of them. See The database for how to choose.
Next to the database runs Valkey, a Redis-compatible store that Manablox uses as a shared cache and a queue for background jobs. Your content never lives in Valkey, only in the database.
Can I use it without Docker?
Section titled “Can I use it without Docker?”Yes. With SQLite the database needs no Docker at all. With Postgres, provide PostgreSQL yourself, for example one you installed on your computer or a database from a hosting provider. Put its address into DATABASE_URL in .env, run pnpm migrate, then pnpm dev; you then do not need pnpm services:up.
Valkey is optional. Without REDIS_URL, each Manablox process keeps its own cache in memory and runs background jobs right away. That is fine for trying things out, but if you also run the public API, both processes should share one Valkey (or any Redis), so that publishing clears the cache the public API serves from.
With Postgres, the public API normally connects with a read-only database user that Docker creates on the first start. Without Docker, create that user yourself, or leave PUBLIC_DATABASE_URL empty, and the public API uses DATABASE_URL instead (which works, but is less locked down). See The .env file.
Can I run several websites from one CMS?
Section titled “Can I run several websites from one CMS?”Yes. Each website gets its own space, with its own content, languages, images, menus and members, all in one admin. See Spaces and members.
The public API serves exactly one space per running process. For a second website, start a second public API process pinned to the other space, on its own port. On your computer, for example:
MANABLOX_SPACE=shop PUBLIC_PORT=3101 PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3101 pnpm start:publicVariables set in front of the command win over .env. See The public API.
Where is my content stored?
Section titled “Where is my content stored?”| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Documents, content types built in the admin, users, settings, versions | In the database. Postgres: in a Docker volume (on your computer in a local project). SQLite: in the file data/manablox.db (local) or the database Docker volume (docker) |
| Uploaded images and files | With STORAGE_DRIVER=local: in data/uploads in your project folder (local), or in the uploads Docker volume (docker). With s3: in your bucket |
| Content types, plugins and field types written in code | In content-model.ts and the files it imports |
| Secrets and addresses | In .env |
See Uploads and images.
How do I back up my CMS?
Section titled “How do I back up my CMS?”In a docker project, ./scripts/backup.sh saves the database and the uploaded files into backups/, and ./scripts/restore.sh backups/<folder> brings them back. It works with Postgres and with SQLite. Run it regularly, for example every night. See Backups.
In a local project with SQLite, pnpm exec manablox backup backups/2026-01-31.db copies the database into one file while the CMS runs; see The database. Back up data/uploads too.
Keep a copy of .env somewhere safe too: without the same AUTH_SECRET, stored workflow credentials and AI provider keys cannot be decrypted and image addresses change.
How do I update Manablox?
Section titled “How do I update Manablox?”Raise the version of all @manablox/* packages in package.json together, install, and bring the database up to date with pnpm migrate (a docker project does that on start). Make a backup first. See Updating Manablox.
How do editors preview a page before it goes live?
Section titled “How do editors preview a page before it goes live?”In the admin, the Visual button of a document shows your real website with the unsaved changes, live, while you type. It needs a website with a /preview page (the starter website has one) and the space’s Frontend URL set. Unpublished drafts never reach the public API. See Preview and the visual editor.
Can I use my own frontend framework?
Section titled “Can I use my own frontend framework?”Yes. Your website reads content over normal web requests, with REST or GraphQL, so any language or framework works. For JavaScript and TypeScript there is an SDK (@manablox/public-sdk) and a Nuxt module. manablox frontend writes a ready starter website with plain Vite, Astro, React or Vue. See How a website gets content.
Does my website need an API key?
Section titled “Does my website need an API key?”Not for the public API: it only hands out published content, so anyone may read it. API keys are for programs that use the management API, for example to create content from a script. See API keys.
Can several people edit at the same time?
Section titled “Can several people edit at the same time?”Yes. Invite them as members of a space with a role that fits (see Users and roles). If two people save the same document, the second one is told that someone else saved it in between, so no change is lost silently.
Can I have my site in several languages?
Section titled “Can I have my site in several languages?”Yes. Each space has a list of languages, and every document can have a translation per language. See Languages and translations.
Can I move content to another Manablox?
Section titled “Can I move content to another Manablox?”Yes. A whole space, with its content types, documents, images and menus, can be exported to a file and imported into another instance. See Moving a space. This is also how you move from Postgres to SQLite or back; see The database.
Can I change the admin’s port or address?
Section titled “Can I change the admin’s port or address?”Yes, in .env: PORT and PUBLIC_URL for the admin, PUBLIC_PORT and PUBLIC_API_URL for the public API. Change both of a pair, then restart. On a server, the domains are set in .env too. See The .env file and Domains and HTTPS.
Can I add features of my own?
Section titled “Can I add features of my own?”Yes, with plugins: new field types, new workflow steps, and code that runs when content changes. See Plugins. Many tasks need no code at all, thanks to workflows and webhooks.
I forgot my password. What now?
Section titled “I forgot my password. What now?”Ask an administrator of your CMS: they can set a new password for you under Settings > Users. There is no password reset by email. See Common problems.