Ownable CMS

Configure your Ownable site visually with the Studio extension for VS Code. No YAML editing required - just point, click, and customize.

Ownable CMS is a Visual Studio Code extension that lets you configure your entire site through an intuitive visual interface - no YAML editing required.

The Easy Way

Prefer visual configuration over editing YAML files? Ownable CMS is designed specifically for researchers and scientists who want to customize their site without memorizing configuration syntax.

Install Ownable CMS

Open VS Code

Launch Visual Studio Code (desktop or GitHub Codespaces)
Install the extension
- Open Extensions (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + X)
- Search for "Ownable CMS"
- Click Install
Or install from marketplace →
Open your site folder

File → Open Folder → Select your Ownable site directory
The extension activates automatically

The extension detects your Ownable site and activates

Requirements:

VS Code 1.93.0+
Your site folder open in VS Code

Features

🎨 Visual Theme Editor

Pick colors, fonts, and spacing with dropdowns and color pickers - no hex codes or YAML syntax needed.

🚀 Quick Setup Wizard

Answer a few questions and Studio generates your complete configuration automatically.

✨ Live Preview

See changes instantly with real-time validation and helpful error messages.

🪄 Fix-It Bot (Plus)

Automatically format and lint Markdown + YAML across your entire site. Great for long-lived, messy repos and multi-author teams (early access).

💾 Auto-Save

Changes are automatically saved to your params.yaml - no manual file editing.

What You Can Configure

Ownable CMS provides visual editors for all site settings:

Identity & Branding

Site name and organization
Tagline and description
Social media handles (for meta tags)
Schema.org type

Theme & Appearance

Color mode (light/dark/system)
Theme pack selection (visual preview)
Custom brand colors
Typography (fonts and sizes)
Layout (spacing and border radius)

Header style and alignment
Search toggle
Theme switcher
Language selector
Call-to-action button

Content Features

Math rendering
Table of contents
Reading time estimates
Citation styles

Integrations

Analytics providers (GA4, Plausible, etc.)
Comment systems (Giscus, Disqus)
Search configuration
Repository edit links

Advanced

Security headers
Privacy settings
Debug tools
Plus features

Quick Start Wizard

First time using Ownable CMS? The Quick Setup wizard guides you through essentials:

Tell us about your site
- Your name
- Site type (personal/lab/startup)
- Description
Choose your look
- Pick a theme pack (visual preview)
- Select fonts
- Set spacing preference
Enable features
- Search
- Comments
- Analytics
Done!
- Ownable CMS generates your complete configuration
- Start customizing from there

You can skip the wizard and configure everything manually in the visual editor panels.

Using Ownable CMS

Open the Configurator

After installation, access the CMS in several ways:

Sidebar icon: Click the Ownable icon in the Activity Bar
Command Palette: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P → "Ownable: Open Configurator"
Status bar: Click "Ownable" in the bottom status bar

Visual Configuration Editor

Navigate Sections

Ownable CMS organizes settings into logical sections:

🏠 Quick Setup        (Wizard)
👤 Identity           (Name, description)
🎨 Appearance         (Themes, colors)
🧭 Navigation         (Header, footer)
📝 Content            (Math, citations)
🔍 Search & SEO       (Search, meta tags)
📊 Analytics          (GA, Plausible)
🔌 Integrations       (Comments, repo)
⚙️  Advanced          (Security, debug)
📄 View YAML          (Raw editor)