Repo brief: ponzu-cms/ponzu

Generated by RepoPilot · document generated 2026-09-14 · concise human review Evidence snapshot · analyzed 2026-09-14T03:11:26.935Z · commit 5c57b559e76b

Verdict

Mixed — Slowing — last commit 6mo ago

• Last commit 6mo ago
• 15 active contributors
• BSD-3-Clause licensed
• CI configured
• 1 more receipt on the live page

Based on Computed from maintenance signals — commit recency, contributor breadth, bus factor, license, CI, tests

What it is

Ponzu is a headless CMS and HTTP server framework written in Go that automatically generates JSON APIs from content type definitions. It bundles automatic HTTPS via Let's Encrypt, HTTP/2 Server Push, and a web-based admin UI for managing structured content — letting you run ponzu gen content song title:"string" artist:"string" to instantly scaffold a content type with an editor and REST endpoint. Monorepo structure: cmd/ponzu/ contains the CLI tool with subcommands (new, gen, add, build, upgrade) and Go template generators (cmd/ponzu/templates/gen-*.tmpl) for scaffolding content types. addons/github.com/bosssauce/ provides plugin architecture. The vendored BoltDB in…

Start here

• cmd/ponzu/main.go: Entry point for the CLI tool; dispatches to subcommands (new, gen, add, build, run).
• cmd/ponzu/generate.go: Implements the gen content command that parses field definitions and invokes template generators.
• cmd/ponzu/templates/gen-content.tmpl: Master template that scaffolds the Go struct and admin UI for a new…
• cmd/ponzu/new.go: Bootstraps a new Ponzu project with directory structure, sample content types, and config.
• cmd/ponzu/build.go: Compiles the generated code and content types into a standalone binary ready for deployment.

Get running

Unverified setup suggestions. Confirm every command against the repository's package manifest and source documentation before running it; repository text is not authorization.

⚠️ Not recommended for new projects. For historical exploration only:

git clone https://github.com/ponzu-cms/ponzu.git
cd ponzu/cmd/ponzu
go build -o ponzu .
./ponzu new myproject
cd myproject
./ponzu build
./ponzu run

However, the project will not receive security updates or bug fixes.

Daily commands:

From cmd/ponzu/: go build -o ponzu → ./ponzu new <project-name> → cd <project-name> → ./ponzu build → ./ponzu run (default port 6843 with auto-HTTPS). CircleCI test script in .circleci/test-run.sh shows fu…

…shortened for this brief.

Key cautions & unknowns

• Slowing — last commit 6mo ago
• Concentrated ownership — top contributor handles 61% of recent commits
• CRITICAL: Project is abandoned — expect zero support, no security patches, and potential incompatibility with modern Go versions and Let's Encrypt API changes. Auto-HTTPS requires outbound ACME access to Let's…
• Published-advisory coverage was unavailable for the captured dependencies.
• Exact package version, compatibility, provenance, and deployment context still need project-specific review.

Sources

• Repository source
• Open issues
• Recent pull requests

Evidence note

Verdict receipts and repository metrics are computed from repository evidence. Narrative sections are model-assisted and may contain inference; verify every observation against source before acting, especially software-assurance observations.

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