Frontmatter

frontmatter

Build in Astro. Ship Twig, PHP or Grav CMS templates.

Frontmatter turns a structured Astro frontend into documented server-side templates and editable Grav sites — without rewriting the UI.

Check Solo compatibility — free See the three-product pipeline

The frontend already exists in Astro.

A PHP backend team needs Twig or PHP templates.

Manual component rewrites introduce drift. Variables and ownership stay undocumented.

Frontmatter is the compilation layer — not a second frontend.

Three products, one pipeline

Layout stays in code. Backend integration becomes configuration instead of a frontend rewrite.

  1. 1. Core

    Scan the project

    Reads Astro, Markdown and YAML and produces a stable JSON intermediate representation. Core is not a CMS.

  2. 2. Solo

    Generate the render pack

    Turns that representation into Twig or plain PHP templates, a manifest, and INTEGRATION.md. Solo is not backend integration.

  3. 3. Studio

    Build an editable Grav site

    Builds on Core and Solo to produce a Grav theme, blueprints and content configuration. Studio is not a generic headless CMS. Coming soon.

Free · Open source

Core

Input
Astro, Markdown, YAML
Output
Stable JSON IR
Job
Open-source extraction layer
Status
Released · MIT
Learn more $49 · One-time

Solo

Input
Constrained Astro project
Output
Twig or PHP render pack
Job
Backend handoff
Status
Released · $49
Learn more Coming soon

Studio

Input
Solo-compatible Astro
Output
Grav theme, blueprints, content config
Job
Editable Grav CMS site
Status
Coming soon
Join the waitlist

What Frontmatter does not do

  • no runtime dependency in your app
  • no managed service or hosted CMS
  • no automatic backend logic, routing or authentication
  • integration remains owned by the host application
  • compatibility is constrained — check before you buy

Frontmatter is built by Alexandre Desane.
The core is MIT licensed. Paid tools are one-time purchases — no subscriptions, no managed services. Integration remains the developer's responsibility.