I built an open-source CMS with Next.js 16 — Here's what I learned

#webdev

For the past few months, I've been building NexiBase — an open-source, plugin-based community platform powered by Next.js 16, React 19, Prisma (MySQL), and Tailwind CSS 4.

Why another CMS?

I spent 20+ years working with Gnuboard5, Korea's most popular PHP CMS. It's battle-tested and extensible — but stuck in the PHP era. I wanted to bring that same plugin-driven philosophy to a modern stack.

The result is NexiBase: a full-stack CMS where you can build community sites, shopping malls, corporate pages, and more — all from a single codebase.

Key Features

Multi-board system — Create unlimited boards with comments, threaded replies, reactions, and secret posts
Plugin system — Drop a folder into /plugins, it's auto-detected. Enable/disable from admin
Theme system — CSS variables, custom themes via custom.css, dark/light mode toggle
Widget system — Drag & drop homepage layout from the admin dashboard
Rich text editor — Tiptap-based with image upload, links, and formatting
Admin dashboard — Manage members, boards, plugins, menus, content pages, and widgets
OAuth — Google, Kakao, Naver + email verification
Image processing — Sharp-based auto resize and WebP conversion

Tech Stack

Technology	Version
Next.js	16
React	19
Prisma	MySQL
Tailwind CSS	4
UI Components	shadcn/ui
Editor	Tiptap

What makes it different?

Most Next.js CMS solutions are either headless (content-only) or tightly coupled. NexiBase is a full-stack, self-hosted platform with a real plugin architecture:

Plugins are folders — Each plugin has its own Prisma schema, API routes, admin pages, and widgets. Drop it in, run a scan, done.
Themes are CSS — No build step needed. Override CSS variables or create a full theme folder.
Widgets are composable — Admin can arrange homepage widgets in zones (top, center, bottom) with drag & drop.