Publii Documentation
Introduction
Publii is a desktop CMS (Content Management System) for creating static websites. Designed to be easy for beginners to use, it also provides options for experienced web developers who want to customize their sites. In this guide you'll learn how it works, from installing the app to creating and publishing your website.
Getting Started
If you're using Publii for the first time, these guides will take you through the main steps:
- Install Publii on your Windows, macOS or Linux computer.
- Create your first website and enter its basic details.
- Choose and install a theme to set the appearance of your site.
- Add your content by creating posts and pages.
- Configure your hosting connection, then synchronize your website to publish it online.
If you already have a WordPress website, see our guide to importing WordPress content into Publii.
How It Works
Before starting with Publii, it helps to understand that it works differently from a CMS installed on your web server. Building, styling and creating content for your site happens on your computer, whether you're using Windows, macOS or Linux. You can work offline and preview your changes locally, even before choosing a hosting provider.
When you're ready to publish, connect to the internet and synchronize your website. Publii generates the site files and uploads them using your configured hosting connection. Saving a post or previewing your site does not publish your changes; they appear on the live website after synchronization. If you use manual deployment, Publii prepares the files for you to upload yourself.
Your hosting serves the generated HTML, stylesheets, JavaScript and media files to visitors without needing a server-side CMS or database to build each page. The published website remains available when Publii is closed or your computer is switched off. To update it, make your changes in Publii and publish again.
Using This Guide
This guide is separated into sections, with each one covering a particular aspect of Publii, such as choosing a post editor, creating posts, pages and tags, adding menus to your site, or understanding the available settings. You may read through the guide in order if you wish, or use the navigation menu and documentation search to find help with a particular function.
If you want to create a theme or customize its templates, our Developer Documentation explains Publii's theme structure, configuration and template helpers.
Should you encounter an issue that is not covered in this documentation, you can ask our community for assistance via the Community Forum. Include your Publii version, operating system and a description of what happened so that others can help you.