Externa — open-source headless CMS

Role: Creator & primary maintainer (qiick / externa-core)

Laravel-native headless CMS: admin UI, Public API, GraphQL, RBAC, files, and optional permission-aware AI — self-hosted under the qiick brand.

Externa — open-source headless CMS

Externa is an open-source, self-hosted headless CMS (package qiick/externa-core, GitHub org qiick-io). Operators manage structured content in a full React admin; websites and apps consume it through the Public CMS REST API (/api/v1) and GraphQL (/api/graphql). Highlights include dynamic collections with typed/locale fields, a hierarchical file manager, Spatie RBAC + groups, HMAC outbound webhooks, and an optional OpenAI-compatible assistant whose tools respect effective permissions. Stack: Laravel 13, React 19, Vite, Tailwind, Spatie Permission / Activitylog. MIT license; current published version 1.2.3. Primary author of externa-core.

Highlights

  • Dynamic collections with typed, often translatable fields and field packs
  • Hierarchical file manager with async zip / duplicate and transforms
  • Spatie RBAC + groups; effective permissions gate admin UI and AI tools
  • Headless Public CMS REST (/api/v1) and GraphQL (/api/graphql)
  • Optional OpenAI-compatible AI assistant (laravel/ai); MIT, self-host first

Stack

  • Laravel
  • PHP
  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Vite
  • Tailwind CSS
  • GraphQL
  • Spatie

Links

Screenshots