I really like Hugo. It is the best static site generator, but by design, as a headless CMS, it does not come with built-in tools to manage the publication workflow. It is a good thing because it offers freedom of use cases. So, for those who have content managers, I’ve created a standalone, client-side dashboard (admin panel) designed for editors and content managers to write and manage posts that are saved directly into Hugo’s /content directory.
The dashboard includes a client-side JavaScript tool that lets users add images, which are automatically converted to high-quality WebP format, renamed consistently, and referenced in the post’s frontmatter. Posts are saved in fully customizable YAML frontmatter format, compatible with Hugo (customization is simple inside the dashboard.js and index.html files).
Now I’ve updated the project to include a sample Flask backend. This server receives the uploaded Markdown post and its images, performs basic security checks, and saves them to the appropriate Hugo content and static directories. The publication process can be triggered from the dashboard and handled by the Flask app. The backend is optional and highly customizable.
This setup is free, it is designed to offer a lightweight but complete content workflow for Hugo, especially for those who want a fully self-hosted solution with minimal integration requirements. If you don’t need a backend, the dashboard works as a self-contained tool that lets you write posts and download them as a ZIP archive (including Markdown and images) directly to your device. Just make sure to customize the YAML frontmatter fields in the dashboard files.
The dashboard is sophisticated, but has intentionally simple UI which is made for non-technical editors (content creators). It has a wysiwyg editor and also allow to upload DOCX files (content is converted to Markdown in the client-side app and is available for edits immediately, in your browser). You can find the latest open-source version of the project here: GitHub - roverbird/superdash: js toastui dashboard to write md file with YAML frontmatter for Hugo // Demo is here: Hugo Editor Dashboard