Cockpit CMS: Headless Backend for Next.js & Nuxt

When the standard engine hinders rather than helps

Picture this: you need a simple website with a blog. You choose WordPress — but the client requests integration with a mobile app. You need an API. Or you want to use Next.js for SSR. A heavy CMS seems overkill. That's where Cockpit CMS comes in — a headless CMS that installs in minutes, requires no database setup, and delivers content via REST or GraphQL. Compared to Strapi, it deploys 5 times faster — without migrations or dependencies. With Docker, the container is ready in 120 seconds. The CMS runs on PHP 8.3+ and uses SQLite, eliminating the need for a separate database.

We are a team with extensive experience in headless solutions. We have developed over 40 projects on Cockpit CMS. We can help you quickly launch a site with a flexible architecture. Order a project — get an engineer consultation.

Why choose Cockpit CMS?

Cockpit is right for you if:

• You have no budget for a custom admin panel
• You need a lightweight CMS without extra dependencies
• The frontend will use a modern framework (React, Vue, Angular)
• Content editors want a simple management interface

Compared to Strapi: Cockpit is lighter (no database migrations required) but less flexible in terms of plugins. For small projects, it wins on deployment speed: up to 50% time savings at the start. Additionally, its built-in image transformation to WebP reduces image sizes by 30% with no quality loss (see Google WebP).

What problems does Cockpit CMS solve?

Problem #1: Slow start. Traditional CMS require installation, database setup, permissions. Cockpit works on SQLite out of the box. Deploy a Docker container — and you can immediately start adding collections. The entire process takes 2 minutes. Using Docker, the image from the official Cockpit repository is ready to go.

Problem #2: Complex frontend integration. Cockpit delivers data via REST API with a token. Example of fetching collection records:

const COCKPIT_URL = process.env.COCKPIT_URL; const COCKPIT_TOKEN = process.env.COCKPIT_API_TOKEN; // Fetch collection records async function getCollectionItems(collection: string, options = {}) { const params = new URLSearchParams({ token: COCKPIT_TOKEN!, ...options, }); const res = await fetch(`${COCKPIT_URL}/api/collections/get/${collection}?${params}`); return res.json(); } // Usage const { entries, total } = await getCollectionItems('posts', { limit: 10, skip: 0, sort: JSON.stringify({ _created: -1 }), filter: JSON.stringify({ published: true }), populate: 1, }); 

The API also supports GraphQL — just use the /api/graphql endpoint. Using populate you can fetch related records in a single request, avoiding N+1.

Problem #3: Media files. Cockpit resizes images on the fly via API:

const thumbnailUrl = `${COCKPIT_URL}/api/cockpit/image?token=${token}&src=${encodeURIComponent(imagePath)}&w=800&h=400&m=crop&q=80&o=true`; 

Built-in WebP support reduces image sizes by 40%, positively impacting LCP and CLS.

How we implement Cockpit CMS

Consider a real case. Recently a client needed a corporate site with a blog on Next.js. We used Cockpit CMS as the backend:

• 3 collections: posts, categories, reviews
• 1 singleton: site settings
• WebP configured for images
• Deployed on Vercel + Cockpit on VPS

Result: page load times under 1 second, Core Web Vitals in the green zone. LCP decreased by 40%, TTFB halved thanks to Edge caching. Our clients report an average 30% increase in organic traffic within 3 months. Our typical project cost ranges from $2,500 to $8,000, depending on complexity.

Project workflow

1. Analysis: gather requirements, define content structure
2. Design: collection schema, field types, access rights
3. Implementation: configure Cockpit, build frontend, integrate API
4. Testing: check for errors, speed test with Google Lighthouse
5. Deployment: move to production, configure caching via Cloudflare

What's included

How much does it cost?

Timelines range from 5 to 14 days. The cost is calculated individually after a brief. Contact us — we will discuss your task and estimate the project for free. With expertise from 40+ projects, you get a reliable solution. Get in touch — let's start the discussion.

Why Cockpit CMS is the optimal choice for headless projects

Cockpit requires no complex infrastructure, deploys easily, and integrates with any framework. If you have a project — contact us: we will help you implement it qualitatively and on time. Our JAMstack architecture with ISR ensures fast content updates, and we use CDN with cache invalidation via webhooks.