Webiny CMS

advanced

Serverless headless CMS with page builder and form builder.

Overview

Webiny is a full-stack serverless CMS platform built specifically for AWS infrastructure, featuring a headless architecture with integrated page builder and form builder capabilities. Originally designed to run on Lambda functions with DynamoDB and S3, Webiny provides a complete content management solution that scales automatically without traditional server management. The platform combines a GraphQL API backend with a React-based admin interface and page builder, enabling both developers and content creators to build sophisticated web applications. This Docker stack recreates Webiny's serverless environment locally using DynamoDB Local as the database layer, allowing developers to work with the full CMS functionality without deploying to AWS. The containerized setup maintains Webiny's code-first GraphQL schema approach while providing the visual page builder and form builder tools that make it unique among headless CMS platforms. DynamoDB Local acts as a faithful replica of AWS DynamoDB, ensuring that database operations, queries, and data structures remain consistent between local development and cloud deployment. Developers working on serverless applications, agencies building client websites with custom content management needs, and teams transitioning from traditional CMSs to headless architectures will find this stack particularly valuable. The combination provides the full Webiny development experience locally while maintaining compatibility with AWS deployment, making it ideal for prototyping serverless content solutions, training teams on serverless CMS concepts, and developing custom plugins or themes for Webiny installations.

Key Features

Visual page builder with drag-and-drop components and theme customization
Form builder with validation rules, conditional logic, and submission handling
Code-first GraphQL API with automatic schema generation and type safety
Multi-tenant architecture supporting multiple websites from single installation
Plugin-based extensibility system for custom functionality and integrations
Built-in file manager with image optimization and CDN integration support
Advanced content modeling with custom post types and field definitions
Role-based access control with granular permissions for content and admin functions

Common Use Cases

1Local development environment for AWS-deployed Webiny CMS projects
2Agency prototyping of client websites requiring custom content management
3Training and evaluation of serverless CMS concepts before cloud commitment
4Development of custom Webiny plugins and themes in isolated environment
5Content migration testing from existing CMS platforms to Webiny
6Multi-site management system for organizations with multiple web properties
7Headless CMS backend for mobile applications and static site generators

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose with minimum 4GB RAM allocation
Port 3000 and 8000 available for Webiny admin and DynamoDB Local
Basic understanding of GraphQL API concepts and headless CMS architecture
Familiarity with React development for custom component creation
AWS CLI configured if planning to deploy to production environment
Node.js knowledge for Webiny plugin development and customization

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  webiny: 
3    image: webiny/webiny:latest
4    container_name: webiny
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    environment: 
7      DEBUG: "true"
8      DB_HOST: dynamodb-local
9    ports: 
10      - "3000:3000"
11    depends_on: 
12      - dynamodb-local
13    networks: 
14      - webiny-network
15
16  dynamodb-local: 
17    image: amazon/dynamodb-local:latest
18    container_name: dynamodb-local
19    ports: 
20      - "8000:8000"
21    networks: 
22      - webiny-network
23
24networks: 
25  webiny-network: 
26    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1DEBUG=true

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://www.webiny.com/docs/
2Access at http://localhost:3000
3GraphQL API with code-first schema
4Page Builder and Form Builder included
5Designed for AWS serverless (Lambda, DynamoDB, S3)
6Local dev uses DynamoDB-local; production requires AWS

Individual Services(2 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

webiny

webiny:
  image: webiny/webiny:latest
  container_name: webiny
  restart: unless-stopped
  environment:
    DEBUG: "true"
    DB_HOST: dynamodb-local
  ports:
    - "3000:3000"
  depends_on:
    - dynamodb-local
  networks:
    - webiny-network

dynamodb-local

dynamodb-local:
  image: amazon/dynamodb-local:latest
  container_name: dynamodb-local
  ports:
    - "8000:8000"
  networks:
    - webiny-network

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  webiny:
5    image: webiny/webiny:latest
6    container_name: webiny
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    environment:
9      DEBUG: "true"
10      DB_HOST: dynamodb-local
11    ports:
12      - "3000:3000"
13    depends_on:
14      - dynamodb-local
15    networks:
16      - webiny-network
17
18  dynamodb-local:
19    image: amazon/dynamodb-local:latest
20    container_name: dynamodb-local
21    ports:
22      - "8000:8000"
23    networks:
24      - webiny-network
25
26networks:
27  webiny-network:
28    driver: bridge
29EOF
30
31# 2. Create the .env file
32cat > .env << 'EOF'
33DEBUG=true
34EOF
35
36# 3. Start the services
37docker compose up -d
38
39# 4. View logs
40docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/webiny/run | bash

Troubleshooting

DynamoDB connection errors: Verify dynamodb-local container is running and accessible on port 8000
Webiny admin interface blank or loading indefinitely: Check browser console for JavaScript errors and verify all containers are healthy
GraphQL schema errors on startup: Clear DynamoDB Local data volume and restart containers to rebuild schema
Page builder components not loading: Ensure DEBUG environment variable is set to true and check container logs
Form submissions not saving: Verify DynamoDB Local has proper table permissions and restart webiny container
Memory issues during development: Increase Docker memory allocation to minimum 4GB for optimal performance

Community Notes

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Download Recipe Kit

Get all files in a ready-to-deploy package

Includes docker-compose.yml, .env template, README, and license

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