Everything you need.
Nothing in the way.
Bolt gives you the tools to build professional content sites without the complexity of traditional CMS platforms. Every feature is intentional.
File-based architecture
The filesystem is the router. Every file in the pages/ directory maps directly to a URL. No routing configuration, no database lookups — just files.
Bolt uses .htaccess rewrites to pass all requests through a central index, which resolves the file path using a priority system.
page-name.php
PHP file
page-name/index.php
Directory PHP
page-name.md
Markdown file
page-name/index.md
Directory Markdown
Layout system
Bolt ships a bare canvas layout and otherwise stays out of your way. When a page needs structure, drop a custom layout into layouts/ and pick your header, layout, and footer by name. These three boilerplates are ready to copy in.
Centered
A narrow, centered column for long-form prose — blog posts, guides, changelog entries, and legal pages. Renders an optional title, then your content.
Sidebar
A left navigation rail beside your content, ideal for documentation. The nav is data-driven and highlights the current page automatically.
Split
A 50/50 split-screen with your content on one side and a visual panel on the other — great for landing heroes and sign-in screens. The panel collapses on mobile.
Design system
Paradigm CSS renders styles from css="" attributes at load, with CSS variables for theming. No build tools, no PostCSS, no configuration — just inline styles that work immediately.
- Paradigm CSS — no build required
- Dark zone tokens for section-level theming
- Inter font family for clean typography
- CSS custom properties for consistent theming
--dark-background
--dark-foreground
--dark-muted
--dark-border
Feature overview
Every capability built into Bolt, designed to work together seamlessly.
File-based routing
Files in pages/ become URLs automatically. Bolt checks four candidates in priority order — PHP first, then Markdown — with no route table to maintain.
PHP & Markdown pages
Two page types, one render pipeline. A .php file owns its output; a Markdown file is frontmatter plus prose that Parsedown renders to HTML.
Composable layouts
Every page picks its own header, layout, and footer by name. Mix and match them per page, or set any to an empty string to skip it.
API routing
A URL under /api/ maps to a method-named handler file. Path parameters, shared _bootstrap.php setup, and a uniform JSON envelope are built in.
Extensions
Drop a folder into extensions/ and its pages, blocks, and API routes go live — no registry to edit. Core always resolves first.
Blocks
Self-contained partials that bundle their own style, markup, and script — each instance scoped to a unique id so two can share a page without colliding.
Component patterns
Author a reusable PHP partial once, feed it a data array, and include it anywhere. Plain PHP and output buffering — no template engine.
Responsive grids
Responsive grid patterns that adapt from mobile to desktop with simple breakpoint tokens.
Flat-file data store
BOLT_DB is a connectionless flat-file store for read-heavy JSON snapshots and secured private records — no MySQL required.
Ready to build with Bolt?
Everything documented, everything simple. Read the docs and start building in minutes.