Moving Hatamoto Go CMS to encoding/json/v2
Hatamoto's backend now runs on Go's encoding/json/v2, and a new v1 import fails the checks. Empty lists come back as [], requests are stricter, and webhook and plugin bytes are unchanged.
Ajay Chavda
Open source Apache-2.0. See what's new
Get cited by AI. Skip the plugin pile.
An open-source CMS written in Go. One binary runs your site, admin, API and MCP server next to Postgres. Plugins run in a WebAssembly sandbox (Extism), AI crawlers are counted on the server, and signed updates roll themselves back.
- Go
- Postgres 16
- WebAssembly · Extism
- MCP
- JSON-LD
- Apache-2.0
Server
curl -fsSL https://hatamoto.dev/install.sh | sudo shOn a fresh Linux VPS: installs Postgres, Hatamoto under systemd and Caddy with automatic HTTPS, then turns on nightly backups and signed updates.
Docker
git clone https://github.com/Zen-Labs-Corp/hatamoto && cd hatamoto && docker compose upOn your laptop: Postgres and Hatamoto start, secrets are generated, migrations run.
Your agent
Install Hatamoto, the open-source CMS, on this machine with Docker. Follow https://hatamoto.dev/docs/getting-started/install-docker and give me the admin address when it is running.Paste into any coding agent with shell access to your machine.
Already in core
Twenty-four plugins, twenty-four update cycles. Or one binary.
The builder, SEO, cache, forms, redirects, security, 2FA, backups, cookie consent, WebP images, media folders, find and replace, CSV import, an email log and more ship in core and update together.
- 01
One Go binary
The site, admin, REST API and MCP server run as one Go binary on one port. No PHP, no Node, no build step.
hatamoto serve - 02
Postgres, nothing else
All content, settings and analytics live in Postgres. Migrations are embedded and run on boot.
postgres - 03
WASM plugin sandbox
Plugins are WebAssembly, run inside the process with memory and time limits and only the permissions you tick.
extism · wazero - 04
Server-side AI analytics
Every crawler fetch is logged as it is served and checked against published IP ranges and reverse DNS. No script on the page.
no script on the page - 05
MCP server built in
Agents connect at /mcp with a scoped key and go through the same services as the admin: validation, hooks, cache, audit.
/mcp · REST · CLI - 06
Signed, reversible updates
Releases are signed and ship on canary, edge and stable. If the site fails its health check, the previous version comes back.
canary · edge · stable
From a live Hatamoto site, last 30 days
Google Analytics showed zero of these.
- 46,191AI fetches across 16 of 19 known agents
- 3,301spoofed fetches from bots pretending to be ClaudeBot, GPTBot and others
- 11,456error responses served to AI crawlers, with the failing paths listed
- 863published pages no AI has fetched yet, so none can be cited
How Hatamoto thinks about content
Schema first. Entity first. Locale first.
Every page is a typed record before it is HTML. Search engines, answer engines and AI agents all read from that one record, in every language, so they can never disagree.
- Schema
Define it once
Build a content type in the admin: typed fields, a schema.org type and a URL pattern. No ACF, no custom code.
entity_schemas - Entity
Write it once
The page, JSON-LD, sitemap entry, llms.txt line and MCP response all come from the same record and change together.
Accept: application/ld+json - Locale
Translate it properly
Every entity carries a BCP 47 locale. Translations share a group, so hreflang and the language switcher come for free.
/fr/{pattern}
Why teams switch
What you get on day one.
Know which AIs read you
Your analytics can't see AI crawlers. Hatamoto counts every fetch on the server and flags the fakes.
AI analyticsNo login page for bots to find
Each site gets a private admin address. Everything scanners try is a plain 404.
SecurityUpdates that undo themselves
Signed releases are checked after install and roll back on their own if the site fails its health check.
Auto-updatesOne update, not twenty-four plugins
Builder, SEO, cache, forms, redirects, security, consent and backups are in core.
Replace your plugin stackLet AI publish, safely
Agents draft through the same rules as your team, with scoped keys and a full audit log.
AI agents & MCPLeave WordPress, keep every URL
Scan, import, audit every old address, then cut over.
Move from WordPress
- License
Apache-2.0
Use it for clients, fork it, sell it. hatamoto.dev runs the same code you download. There is no paid edition.
- Privacy
Zero telemetry
One update check, and you can turn it off. Analytics are daily counts in your own Postgres.
- Extend
Plugins in any language
Write them with the Go SDK, or in any language with an Extism PDK.
From the blog
Notes from building it.
CMS plugins with no direct writes to the live site: WASM sandboxes plus reviewable changesets
A WordPress plugin is PHP in core's process with the whole database. A Hatamoto plugin runs in a WASM sandbox and writes content only through a changeset the owner or a standing approval publishes.
Ajay Chavda
Hatamoto is Apache 2.0 thanks to Ubuntu Shipit Programme
When I was in my late teens, a free Ubuntu CD arrived in the mail and changed my life. That is why Hatamoto stays on Apache 2.0, free to use, modify and redistribute.
Ajay Chavda
Publish it yourself, or hand it to your agents.
Open source, one Go binary and Postgres. Install it in a few minutes.
Server
curl -fsSL https://hatamoto.dev/install.sh | sudo shOn a fresh Linux VPS: installs Postgres, Hatamoto under systemd and Caddy with automatic HTTPS, then turns on nightly backups and signed updates.
Docker
git clone https://github.com/Zen-Labs-Corp/hatamoto && cd hatamoto && docker compose upOn your laptop: Postgres and Hatamoto start, secrets are generated, migrations run.
Your agent
Install Hatamoto, the open-source CMS, on this machine with Docker. Follow https://hatamoto.dev/docs/getting-started/install-docker and give me the admin address when it is running.Paste into any coding agent with shell access to your machine.