Jun 2, 2026 · CMS · 2min read

Installing Pico CMS on localhost

The lightweight flat-file CMS Pico requires no database and can be deployed at http://localhost/picocms to build sites using Markdown.

Pico is a database-free flat-file CMS: content is stored as Markdown files, making it suitable for documentation sites, personal blogs, and lightweight websites. Local deployment is extremely simple, requiring only PHP + a web server.

Access Address

After placing the project in htdocs/picocms/:

http://localhost/picocms

(The folder name can be customized; the URL matches the directory name)

Installation Steps

Download Pico from picocms.org or GitHub
Extract to the web root directory picocms/
Ensure Apache and PHP are running (no MySQL required)
Access the above address in your browser
Edit the .md files under content/ to add pages; themes are located in themes/

Directory Structure (Typical)

picocms/
├── index.php      # Entry point
├── content/       # Markdown pages
├── config/        # Configuration
└── themes/        # Themes

Comparison with WordPress

Item	Pico CMS	WordPress
Database	Not required	MySQL required
Content	Markdown files	Database + Admin
Suitable	Documentation, Static Sites	Blogs, Plugin Ecosystem

Local Development

After modifying content/*.md, refresh to see changes
Configure config/config.yml to set site title and other settings
You can quickly preview in the Pico directory using php -S localhost:8000 (note the routing)

Frequently Asked Questions

404 or Blank Page
Ensure mod_rewrite and .htaccess are configured; or refer to the Nginx/Apache rules in the Pico version documentation.

Markdown Not Rendering
Check that the PHP extensions and Pico plugins (such as the Markdown parser) are complete.

Summary

Pico CMS requires no database; access http://localhost/picocms to run it, managing content with Markdown files, making it suitable for lightweight local documentation sites.