Platform overview

MintJams CMS is an open-source management platform that brings the work of running a website into a "virtual desktop" inside the browser. It is not only content management: business processes (BPM) and data integration with external systems (EIP) live on the same desk.

This page gives you the big picture of what MintJams CMS is.

The virtual desktop idea

Running a modern website tends to scatter your screens: a CMS here, a console there, a log viewer, dashboards, identity management. You jump between tabs, remember separate logins, and every user ends up with a different experience.

MintJams CMS puts all of this back onto a single desk (the Webtop). Every capability runs as an "app" on the same desktop, and you can open and arrange windows freely. One sign-in reaches content, operations and integration alike.

The Webtop is a virtual desktop environment that runs in the browser. You launch, arrange and switch apps much like you would on a desktop OS.

The three pillars

MintJams CMS brings the areas you need to operate onto the same desktop, as three pillars.

Pillar What you can do Key apps
Content management Organize, edit and publish articles, images and templates like files Content Browser, Text Editor
Business processes (BPM) Design, run and monitor BPMN 2.0 processes BPMN Modeler, BPM Console, Tasks
Data integration (EIP) Design, run and observe integration flows with external systems EIP Modeler, EIP Console

These are not separate products: they sit on the same foundation, the same identity, and the same interaction model.

Standard apps

From the moment you install, these standard apps are ready. They can all run at once and switch instantly from the Dock.

  • Content Browser — file management with hierarchy, smart folders and filters
  • Text Editor — rich HTML / Markdown editing with live preview
  • BPM Console / BPMN Modeler / Tasks — design, monitor and handle business processes and user tasks
  • EIP Console / EIP Modeler — design and monitor integration routes
  • Identity Manager — users, roles, groups and password management
  • Schema Manager — define JCR properties and metadata schemas
  • OSGi Console — manage server-side bundles and components
  • Preferences — personal theme, wallpaper and layout settings

Detailed how-to for each app is covered in the User Guide (app manuals), published progressively.

Extensible — your apps on the desk too

MintJams CMS is a platform. Beyond the standard apps, you can add your team's own apps to the same desktop.

  • Write apps in HTML and JavaScript and drop them in the repository together with an app definition (app.yml)
  • The server detects them automatically and adds them to the desktop (no build, no server restart)
  • Share the standard UI framework (ichigojs), theming, identity and preferences, so your apps match the look and feel of the standard ones
  • When you need deeper server-side extensions, OSGi bundles are available too

The technical foundation

  • JCR (JSR 283) — content is stored in a repository based on the Content Repository for Java Technology API 2.0
  • Apache Felix (OSGi) — the server runtime is composed of modular OSGi bundles
  • BPMN 2.0 / EIP — standard models for business processes and data integration
  • SAML 2.0 — SP / IdP bundled with zero configuration
  • GraphQL — a query API over content and data

Who it's for

  • Operations teams that want scattered admin screens consolidated into one
  • Organizations that operate across content, processes and integration
  • Development teams that want to build their own operations apps quickly, with a unified UX
  • Enterprises that want their data to live in their own environment (self-hostable)

Next steps

  • Run & configure with Docker — bring MintJams CMS up in your own environment
  • First sign-in & the desktop — sign in and start using the desktop
  • Glossary — check the terms used throughout this documentation