Content Architecture & Specs

Standard Headless CMSs provide raw data but leave the frontend completely in the dark regarding layout. Traditional CMSs spit out bloated, un-cacheable HTML. Aeion uses a Hybrid approach. - The Structured Block Tree: The visual page builder does not save HTML. It serializes the page layout into a strictly typed, structured tree stored directly in the database. - Frontend rendering: Your frontend (e.g., a Next.js app) hits the API and receives the JSON tree, then maps each node's type (e.g. hero, richText, bentoGrid) to your own React components — no dangerous dangerouslySetInnerHTML required. Aeion's own reference web app does this via a BlockRenderer component; the contract is the JSON shape, not a proprietary SDK you have to adopt.

Aeion OS does not require developers to write raw SQL migrations when the marketing team needs a new data structure. - Visual Schema Builder: Administrators use the UI to define a new collection (e.g., Job Posting) and drag-and-drop fields (Salary, Department, Location). - Zero-Downtime Compilation: The engine instantly validates the new definition and updates the database layer, instantly exposing a fully-typed REST API for the new content type. - Collection-first, not CMS-first: Because every content type is just a collection, defining one gives you the REST API, the admin table, access-control enforcement, and storage automatically — the same schema-driven path every module in the OS uses. There is no separate CMS data store to keep in sync with the rest of your application.

The visual page builder is a rich block editor (TipTap) with 100+ block types — headings, rich text, images, video, embeds, tables, callouts, columns, code, math, footnotes — each serialized into the structured tree rather than flattened to HTML. Two properties matter for a technical audience: - Variable interpolation: Content can carry tokens like {{customerName}} or {{orderNumber}} that resolve at serve time, so one authored page renders personalized output without a code change. - Automatic revision history: Every edit to every content item is captured as a tracked revision — what changed, who changed it, and when — with one-click rollback to any prior version and a diff between any two. The lifecycle (draft → review → published → archived) supports branching a page for editorial review without touching what's live, then merging only once approved.