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The NodeForgeCMS admin panel gives you full control over your site’s content without writing a single line of code. From drafting articles to organizing media and managing publication states, everything you need is available through a clean, browser-based interface. This guide walks you through the complete content lifecycle — from logging in for the first time to publishing a polished, multilingual article.

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Accessing the Admin Panel

Open your browser and navigate to your admin URL:
  • Local development: http://localhost:4000
  • Production: https://your-admin-domain.com (or whatever domain you configured during setup)
Enter your admin username and password on the login screen, then click Sign In. After a successful login you will land on the dashboard, which gives you a quick overview of recent activity, published content counts, and system status.
The default credentials shipped with NodeForgeCMS are admin / admin123. Change your password immediately after your first login — navigate to Account Settings → Change Password before doing anything else. Leaving default credentials in place is a serious security risk, especially on a publicly accessible server.

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Creating a New Article

NodeForgeCMS organizes all written content as articles. Whether you are publishing a blog post, a product page, or a support article, the process is the same.
  1. In the left-hand sidebar, click Articles.
  2. Click the + New Article button in the top-right corner.
  3. Fill in the article fields:
    • Title — the human-readable headline displayed on the page.
    • Body — the main content area. The rich-text editor supports headings, lists, links, bold/italic formatting, and inline images.
    • Meta Title / Meta Description — used by search engines. Keep the meta title under 60 characters and the description under 160 characters.
  4. In the Column dropdown, assign the article to a content column (e.g., News, Products, Support). Columns control where the article appears in your site navigation. See Column Management for details.
  5. Select the Language for this article from the language selector. If you have multiple languages enabled, each language version is stored as a separate entry.
  6. Set the publication status:
    • Choose Draft to save the article privately while you continue working on it.
    • Choose Published to make it immediately visible on the public site.
  7. Click Save (or Publish if you are ready to go live).

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Editing Existing Content

  1. Navigate to Articles in the sidebar.
  2. Use the search bar or scroll through the list to find the article you want to update.
  3. Click the article title or the Edit (pencil) icon on the right side of the row.
  4. Make your changes in the editor.
  5. Click Save Changes. If the article was already published, the updated version goes live immediately.
Tip: Use the search bar and column/language filters at the top of the article list to quickly locate content on large sites with hundreds of entries.

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Managing Media and Images

NodeForgeCMS includes a built-in media library for uploading and organizing images and files. Uploading a new image:
  1. Click Media Library in the sidebar.
  2. Click Upload and select one or more files from your computer. Supported formats include JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, and SVG.
  3. Once uploaded, the file appears in the library grid with its URL automatically generated.
Inserting an image into an article:
  1. While editing an article, place your cursor in the body where you want the image to appear.
  2. Click the Image icon in the rich-text editor toolbar.
  3. Select an existing file from the media library, or upload a new one inline.
  4. Add alt text describing the image — this is important for accessibility and SEO.
  5. Click Insert.
You can also drag and drop images directly from your desktop into the article editor body, which uploads and inserts them in one step.

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Publishing Workflow: Draft vs. Published

Every article in NodeForgeCMS lives in one of two states:
StateVisibilityUse when…
DraftPrivate — only visible to admin usersYou are still writing, waiting for approval, or scheduling future content
PublishedPublic — visible to all site visitorsContent is ready and approved for your audience
To change an article’s state at any time, open the article editor, update the Status toggle at the top of the form, and click Save. You can also bulk-change status by selecting multiple articles in the list view and using the Actions dropdown. There is no separate “unpublish” button — simply switch a published article back to Draft to remove it from the public site instantly.
NodeForgeCMS includes AI-powered translation so you can reach global audiences without manually rewriting content for every language. See the AI Features guide to learn how to translate articles automatically from within the admin panel.