KilnKiln
Open-source CMS

Your client edits the site.
The code stays in GitHub.

Kiln turns any static site, even one your AI just built, into one your client can edit by clicking it. The code lives in a GitHub repo you keep, or hand to your client to own. Never locked inside Kiln.

Try the live demo Set up in 10 minutes
A maker on a couch, relaxed, after finishing a website on their laptop
the page is the CMS

Kiln is two sets of code.

One set runs on your page and does the editing. One runs on Cloudflare and handles sign-in and commits. They work against a GitHub repo and the host you choose. No database, no build server.

Kiln · on the page
The editor
The JavaScript that loads on your page and handles the inline editing. Click any element, change it, and Kiln splices the edit into your real HTML at its exact source location.
→
Kiln · the backend
The worker
A Cloudflare Worker. It handles sign-in and saves each edit to GitHub as a commit. Run it yourself, or let Kiln run it for you.
→
yours, not ours
A GitHub repo
Your site's code and content, as plain HTML with full history. Owned by you or by your client. Never held by Kiln.
→
your choice
A host
Cloudflare Pages recommended, free and fine for commercial use. Any host that auto-deploys from GitHub works too, like Vercel or Netlify.

Run both sets yourself for free, or let Kiln run them for you. See the three plans below.

A finished website glowing on a laptop in an empty room at night

You vibe-coded a beautiful site. Then a client asked to change one word.

AI builders ship gorgeous static sites and push them to GitHub. After that, every small edit means re-opening a chat with a robot. Kiln is the missing layer: the people who run the site edit it themselves, right on the page.

Everything your editors need.

Your editors change words and pictures by clicking the page. The layout and design stay exactly as you built them.

Edit

On-page editing

Click any text and type. Bold, links, lists, headings, plus your own site styles as the palette, so type stays designed.

Images & files

Click a photo to swap it, auto-resized. Drop images into articles, attach a PDF to any link. All versioned in Git.

Repeatable blocks

Cards, galleries, document lists: duplicate, drag to reorder, remove. One click, layout untouched.

Publish

Blog & new pages

New post writes the article and its listing card in one atomic commit. No build pipeline, no waiting.

History & drafts

Every publish is a commit. Save drafts, schedule for later, browse a page's timeline, restore any version.

Site-wide menus

Add, rename, reorder navigation once. Kiln rewrites every page of the site in a single commit.

People & access

Google sign-in

Add an email and a role. Editors sign in with Google and never touch GitHub.

Members & gated docs

Lock /members/ pages and PDFs at the edge. Invite people for 1 to 360 days.

Invisible to visitors

Visitors load about 3 KB. The full editor loads only for signed-in editors, at /#kiln.

You set it up once. Everyone you invite just signs in.

The one-time setup is yours. For everyone you invite, to edit or to view, there is nothing to install.

One person handing a key across a laptop to another, warmly
You

Set it up once

You connect a GitHub repo and the worker, about ten minutes with the wizard. The repo can stay yours, or belong to your client. After that, editing happens at yoursite.com/#kiln.

Editors

Zero setup

Anyone you invite to change content: your client, their team, or you. Add a Gmail or send a one-time link, they sign in and edit. No GitHub account, nothing to install.

Members

Zero setup

People who only need the gated pages. Invited the same way, they sign in and the members-only pages and files unlock for as long as you set.

The full list: a static site, a free GitHub account, and a free Cloudflare account for the worker. There is no fourth thing.

Three steps. Ten minutes. No bill.

Or run one command and let the wizard do the clicking with you.

1

Host it free

Push your static site to GitHub, then connect a host that auto-deploys on each commit. Cloudflare Pages is recommended, free and commercial-friendly; Vercel or Netlify work too.

2

Deploy the Kiln worker

One deploy, then open /setup and press a button. It registers your GitHub App and captures the credentials itself. You never copy a secret.

3

Annotate your HTML

Add data-cms to anything editable and two script tags. Or paste KILN_PROMPT.md into your AI and let it wire the site for you.

npx github:erikkurtu/kilnruns every scriptable step with you, and waits while you click the three platform buttons.

No server. No database. No bill.

Your repo stores the content. Your host serves the files. Kiln connects your clicks to commits. The parts other tools charge for aren't here.

Edit on the pageAny static HTMLBackend to runPrice
KilnYesYesOne small worker$0, open source
WordPressPartlyNo, PHP and themesServer, DB, patches$5 to 25+/mo
Squarespace, WebflowYesNo, their platformn/a$16 to 25+/mo
CloudCannonYesSSGs onlyn/a$45+/mo
Decap, SveltiaNo, a form dashboardYesNone, GitFree

Three ways to run it.

From do-it-yourself to we-do-everything. The editor and your repo are the same on all three. You just choose how much Kiln runs for you.

Open source

Self-hosted

Free forever, MIT

  • You run the sign-in worker. The wizard sets it up.
  • You host the site: Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, or Netlify
  • Your repo, your data, every feature
  • You trust no one but yourself
Start free
Kiln Cloud, invite beta

Hosted engine

$4.99 / mo per site

  • We run the sign-in worker for you
  • You keep your own repo and your own hosting
  • Nothing to deploy or maintain
  • Switch to self-hosting any time
Request an invite
Fully managed, early access

We run it all

$19.99 / mo per site

  • You bring a GitHub repo. That is the only step.
  • We set up the hosting, the worker, and the config
  • Your content still lives in your repo, yours to take
  • The hands-off option, when you'd rather not run any of it
Request access
Why "Kiln"

Your words, fired into permanent pages.

A kiln turns soft clay into something that lasts. Kiln turns a click into a Git commit: plain HTML in a repo you control, with every version kept. Nothing to export later, because nothing was ever locked in.

Try the live demo Read the setup guide
A home ceramics studio with handmade mugs and a softly glowing kiln

The fine print, plainly.

Is it really free? What is the catch?
The software is MIT open source. GitHub repos are free. Cloudflare Pages hosts the site on a free tier that allows commercial use, and a free Cloudflare Worker handles sign-in. The catch is that you self-host those two free things, which the wizard sets up in about ten minutes.
Do my editors need GitHub accounts?
No. Whoever owns the repo signs in with GitHub. Everyone else, your client, their team, or members, signs in with Google or a one-time link. Their changes are committed on their behalf and attributed by name.
Can editors break my design?
That is the whole point. Editors change content, not layout. Text, images, links, list items, menu entries: yes. Dragging boxes around or changing fonts: deliberately not. Styles come from a palette you define in CSS.
Where does my content live? Can I leave?
In a GitHub repo you control, whether that is yours or your client's, as plain HTML with full version history. Leaving Kiln means deleting two script tags. There is no export, because nothing was ever imported.
Do I have to host on Cloudflare?
The sign-in worker runs on Cloudflare Workers, which are free. Your site itself can live anywhere that auto-deploys from GitHub. Cloudflare Pages is recommended because it is free and allows commercial use, but Vercel, Netlify, and GitHub Pages work too. On the fully-managed plan, Kiln handles hosting for you.
Does it work with a site my AI built?
Yes, that is the common case. Paste KILN_PROMPT.md into v0, Lovable, Bolt, or Claude and it wires your existing HTML for click-to-edit. See the AI track.