Building a High-Performance CMS with Fastro, Deno Deploy, and Deno KV

When we built the Fastro CMS, we wanted something fast, maintainable, and cost-effective. We used our own product: Fastro on Deno Deploy.

The result? A high-performance CMS that runs completely for FREE, without a traditional database, powered by Markdown files and Deno KV for configuration management.

Modern Tech Stack

Our stack is designed to be as efficient as possible:

• Framework: Fastro (A Fullstack Deno Framework)
• Runtime: Deno
• Storage: A hybrid of filesystem (Markdown) and Deno KV (Config & Meta)
• Deployment: Deno Deploy
• UI: React 19 with Server Side Rendering (SSR) and Tailwind CSS.

What's New?

We have recently integrated advanced features to simplify content management directly from the CMS dashboard:

1. Dynamic Navigation via Deno KV

Previously, the header navigation menu was static. Now, we use Deno KV to store page configurations. Through the CMS dashboard, we can designate up to 4 main pages (from the /pages folder) to appear in the site navigation in real-time without needing a redeploy.

2. Integrated Content & Git Management

We've added features to manage posts and media assets directly through the dashboard:

• Post Management: Create and manage Markdown posts directly from the browser. These changes are handled using integrated Git commands via server-side handlers (Git via API).
• Media Management: Upload and delete CMS image assets directly from the UI.
• Git Dashboard: Monitor newly added (untracked), modified, and even deleted files. You can Add, Commit, and Push directly from the dashboard without touching the terminal.

Note: Currently, these Git-based management features are only available when running on localhost. In the next version, we plan to integrate this with the GitHub API to make it fully functional in Deno Deploy environments.

3. Security & Environment Guard

The CMS is designed with smart environment detection. Critical features like Git operations and sensitive file management are automatically protected with guards when running on Deno Deploy, ensuring system integrity in production environments.

Why Still No Traditional Database?

We stay true to our minimalist principles:

1. Version Control in Git: Markdown content remains in Git as the single source of truth.
2. Deno KV for State: Using Deno KV for application configuration provides much lower latency compared to conventional SQL/NoSQL databases.
3. Real-time Metrics: The CMS dashboard now displays the count of files in /pages, /posts, and /public/img instantly, providing an overview of storage capacity.

Cost: Still $0.00

With Fastro's tiny memory footprint and Deno KV's efficiency within the Deno Deploy free tier, this CMS continues to run with zero operational costs.

Conclusion

Building a modern CMS no longer means being trapped in heavy system complexity. By combining Markdown for content and Deno KV for state management, you get a robust, fast, and extremely easy-to-manage CMS.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to evolve the Fastro CMS!