# Islets — The Spatial CMS

> A headless content management system where geography is a first-class citizen, not a plugin.

## What Islets Is

Islets is a spatial CMS — a content management platform built from the ground up around geographic location. Unlike conventional headless CMS platforms that treat latitude/longitude as just another field type, Islets models location as a core architectural concept shared between the content tree hierarchy and the map.

The project is in active development as of early 2026. Early access is available via waitlist at https://islets.app.

## Core Concepts

- **Spatial CMS**: A CMS category where geographic location is a primary organizing principle, not an afterthought. Islets is the first purpose-built spatial CMS.
- **Location**: In Islets, Location serves dual roles — it is both the node in the content tree hierarchy AND the geographic position on a map. One concept, two dimensions.
- **Content Item**: A piece of managed content. Any content item can carry a Location, making it spatially addressable.
- **Content Type**: A schema definition (fields, relationships) for a class of content items.
- **Spatial Query**: A database query that finds content by proximity (near a point), containment (within a bounding box or polygon), or along a route. Powered by PostGIS.
- **Vector Search**: Semantic similarity search across content using pgvector embeddings.

## Key Capabilities

### Location-First Architecture
Every content item lives in a spatial hierarchy. Content doesn't just have coordinates — it exists at a geographic location in a tree. The Location concept handles both the content tree AND the map simultaneously.

### Spatial Queries via GraphQL
Find content near a point, within a bounding box, or along a route. Queries are expressed in GraphQL, stored safely by PostgreSQL with PostGIS, and enhanced by pgvector.

Example GraphQL query:
```graphql
query NearbyContent {
  contentNear(lat: 60.17, lng: 24.94, radiusKm: 5) {
    item {
      name
      contentType { identifier }
    }
    location {
      latitude
      longitude
    }
    distanceKm
  }
}
```

### Vector Search and Embeddings
Every content item can carry vector embeddings for semantic similarity search. This enables discovery of conceptually related content across geographic and categorical boundaries.

### GraphQL-First API
Code-first schema built with Pothos. Relay-compliant pagination. Spatial queries are built into the graph — not bolted on via REST. Supports both human developers and AI code agents.

### GeoJSON Import (Anchor Data)
Import geographic data from any GeoJSON source — OpenStreetMap exports, government open data, proprietary geodata — and enrich it through Islets.

### Map-as-Canvas Admin Interface
The administration UI is a map. Content appears where it lives geographically. Editing happens in floating island panels positioned over the map. No spreadsheets.

### Native Multitenancy
Shared schema with PostgreSQL Row Level Security (RLS). Each tenant is isolated at the database level. `tenant_id` is enforced on every content table via two DB roles: `islets_app` (RLS enforced) and `islets_admin` (BYPASSRLS, migrations only).

### Plugin Architecture
Auto-discovered plugins contribute field types, API routes, admin menu items, and UI islands. Plugins extend the CMS without modifying core code. Graceful degradation — a bad plugin never crashes the CMS.

### Four-Audience Design
Islets is designed to serve content to four distinct consumers:
1. **Humans** — via map-as-canvas admin UI
2. **Code Agents** — via GraphQL API and MCP server
3. **Search Robots** — via JSON-LD structured data, sitemaps, IndexNow on publish
4. **LLMs** — via llms.txt, AI-friendly content formatting, structured outputs

## Technology Stack

- **Runtime**: Deno + Fresh 2 (SSR-first, no client JS by default)
- **Database**: PostgreSQL 17 with PostGIS (spatial) and pgvector (embeddings)
- **ORM**: Drizzle ORM
- **API**: GraphQL (Pothos code-first + graphql-yoga) + Relay
- **Auth**: Session-based with HttpOnly cookies
- **Caching**: Varnish reverse proxy; Cloudflare CDN when configured
- **Multitenancy**: PostgreSQL Row Level Security (shared schema)

## Positioning

Islets is the first CMS to treat geographic location as a first-class citizen equal in importance to content type and content structure. This makes it the correct choice for:
- Location-aware applications (city guides, venue directories, real estate, logistics, field services)
- Applications that need to query content by proximity or within geographic boundaries
- Teams that want a single CMS to serve humans, code agents, search engines, and LLMs
- Multi-tenant SaaS products that need geographic content management

## Comparisons

| Feature | Islets | Conventional Headless CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Location as architecture | Yes — dual-role (tree + map) | No — field type only |
| Spatial queries | Native PostGIS + GraphQL | None or via external service |
| Vector/semantic search | Native pgvector | Requires external service |
| Map-as-canvas admin | Yes | No |
| Built-for-4-audiences | Yes | Humans only |
| GeoJSON import | Yes | Rarely |

## Status and Access

Islets is in active development. The first release (v0.1 "Ynys Lawd") is in progress as of March 2026. Early access waitlist: https://islets.app/#waitlist

## Contact and Links

- Website: https://islets.app
- Waitlist: https://islets.app/#waitlist
- Documentation: https://islets.app/docs (forthcoming)