The universal source-available application framework
Volqan is a CMS, admin panel generator, visual GUI builder, and backend framework in one. It is designed to let developers move fast with schema-as-code while giving non-technical teams a polished visual workspace for building and operating modern applications.
Volqan is source-available under the Open Core Attribution License v1.0. Deployments must keep a visible "Powered by Volqan" attribution unless attribution removal is covered by an active validated support plan.
Sign in and you land on the dashboard. The four cards at the top count your content entries, media files, enabled extensions and users, straight from the database. Under them sit recent entries, an activity feed built from the audit log, and a storage breakdown by file type.
From the sidebar you can:
- Content. Define a content type as a list of fields and get an entry list, an editor and REST routes for it.
- Pages. Open a page in the visual builder, drag blocks from the palette onto the canvas, set SEO fields, save and publish.
- Media. Drop files onto the library. Uploads are checked by size, extension and file signature before anything is written.
- Themes and Extensions. Install, activate and configure them from the Bazarix marketplace or by hand through the API.
The getting started tutorial walks through all of it with screenshots, from a clean clone to a published page.
Volqan is built for teams that want one engine to power websites, internal tools, SaaS products, dashboards, directories, portals, and commerce experiences without stitching together a dozen unrelated systems.
-
Two modes: Developer + Visual
Build with TypeScript and CLI scaffolding, or switch to a point-and-click visual workflow for content modeling, page building, and administration. -
Extension engine
Install, enable, disable, and configure extensions that add admin pages, widgets, routes, hooks, migrations, and marketplace-ready capabilities. -
Theme engine
Apply design tokens across the admin experience with runtime theme switching, CSS custom properties, and marketplace-distributed themes. -
AI assistant
Embed an assistant inside the admin panel with support for multiple LLM providers, including hosted APIs and local models. -
Beautiful admin UI
Built with shadcn/ui and Tailwind CSS v4 to feel like a premium product from the first launch, not a generic back office. -
REST + GraphQL APIs
Generate modern APIs automatically from your schema and runtime configuration. -
Multi-database support
Run on PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite with Prisma-based data access. -
Docker self-hosting
Launch locally or self-host in containers with a Dockerfile and Docker Compose setup included from day one.
git clone https://github.com/ReadyPixels/volqan.git my-project
cd my-project
pnpm install
cp .env.example packages/admin/.env
cp .env.example packages/core/.env
pnpm --filter @volqan/core exec prisma generate
pnpm --filter @volqan/core exec prisma migrate deploy
pnpm devSet DATABASE_URL in both .env files before the Prisma steps. Open http://localhost:3001 to access the admin experience. On a fresh local database, Volqan redirects you to /install to create the first administrator account. The tutorial covers each step in more detail.
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Runtime | Node.js 22 LTS |
| Language | TypeScript 5.x |
| App framework | Next.js 15 App Router |
| ORM | Prisma |
| Databases | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite |
| Admin UI | shadcn/ui + Tailwind CSS v4 |
| Authentication | JWT + OAuth |
| APIs | REST + GraphQL |
| Storage | Local filesystem + S3-compatible adapter |
| Deployment | Docker + Docker Compose |
| Monorepo | pnpm workspaces |
volqan/
├── packages/
│ ├── core
│ ├── admin
│ ├── cli
│ ├── extension-sdk
│ ├── theme-sdk
│ └── cloud-bridge
├── extensions/
├── themes/
├── examples/
└── docs/
- Initialize the pnpm monorepo and core repo structure
- Configure GitHub Pages, Discussions, Sponsors, and CI
- Publish docs, legal documents, and licensing foundations
- Lock the extension and theme interfaces
- Establish the visual design system and admin UI baseline
- Ship the Prisma-based data layer with PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite
- Add authentication and role-based access control
- Build visual content modeling and generated CRUD admin panels
- Generate REST and GraphQL APIs automatically
- Launch media handling, extension lifecycle management, theme switching, attribution checks, Docker workflows, and the CLI
- Cut the first alpha release
- Launch the drag-and-drop page builder and dashboard widgets
- Embed the AI assistant with swappable providers
- Deliver responsive dark and light admin experiences
- Publish first-party extensions and first-party themes
- Add Stripe-based support plans and attribution license validation
- Complete public documentation and ship beta
- Publish the Extension SDK and Theme SDK to npm
- Add extension scaffolding commands to the CLI
- Expand developer documentation for ecosystem builders
- Launch the Bazarix marketplace private beta
- Activate marketplace deep links and community showcase loops
- Reach stable v1.0.0 with the first community ecosystem wave
- Plan feature boundaries for Pro and hosted offerings
- Add Arabic/English locale support (RTL layout), advanced workflows, outbound webhooks, audit logs, and enterprise auth
- Introduce scaling infrastructure such as Redis-backed caching
- Grow toward v1.5.0 and broader commercial adoption
- Publicly launch the hosted cloud version
- Launch the closed-source Pro offering
- Expand into mobile, white-label licensing, and governance maturity
- Pursue grants and long-term ecosystem scaling
Volqan is an open-core, source-available project. Commercial planning lives in BUSINESS.md so this README can stay focused on what Volqan is, how to run it, and the current project state.
- Documentation: volqan.link
- Marketplace: bazarix.link
- GitHub Discussions: github.com/ReadyPixels/volqan/discussions
- Sponsors: github.com/sponsors/ReadyPixels
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- Security: SECURITY.md
Volqan is distributed under the Open Core Attribution License v1.0. It is source-available and attribution-required, not OSI-licensed open source. See LICENSE.
All qualifying deployments must retain the following attribution unless attribution removal is covered by an active validated support plan:
Powered by Volqan — https://volqan.link
We welcome issues, pull requests, extension ideas, theme ideas, and ecosystem contributions. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md and review the Code of Conduct before participating.