Crystal Blog — complete Crystal blog platform example app

Want to run your own blog platform without paying for SaaS? Crystal Blog is a free, Apache-2.0-licensed Crystal project that you can clone and self-host today. A simple, clean-compiling blog web application built with Crystal and Kemal, using SQLite for data storage. Every Crystal Blog feature — every screen, every seed record — is here. Open Crystal Blog on cenius.ai to modify it without writing code.

▶ Open & edit in cenius.ai — one click to an editable workspace: describe changes in plain English, get an instant preview, one-click deploy and host. Modifications made on the platform come with full rebrand & relicense rights.

Local clone? See Quick start below. cenius.ai is the zero-setup path.

Demo

▶ See it in action — full demo on the project page ·

Screenshots

Architecture

Open the repo and you'll find a complete Crystal application (244 files). Top-level layout: bin/, lib/, public/, src/. install.sh provisions dependencies and seeds demo data so the app starts with something real to explore. Step-by-step setup guide: INSTALL.md.

Features

• View blog post list on home page
• View full post on detail page
• Create new post
• Seed sample posts on startup

Quick start

./install.sh   # installs dependencies + seeds demo data

See INSTALL.md for full setup and usage instructions.

Usage guide

Accessing the Blog

Once the server is running (via crystal run src or ./bin/blog), open your browser at http://0.0.0.0:3000. The home page lists all blog posts with title, excerpt, and date.

API Endpoints

Home Page

Request:

curl http://0.0.0.0:3000/

Response: HTML page listing all posts.

View a Post

Request:

curl http://0.0.0.0:3000/posts/1

Replace 1 with the actual post ID. Returns the full post detail page, or a 404 page if the post does not exist.

New Post Form

Request:

curl http://0.0.0.0:3000/new

Response: HTML form to create a new post (title, body).

Create a Post

Request:

curl -X POST http://0.0.0.0:3000/posts \
  -d "title=My+New+Post" \
  -d "body=Hello+World"

After creation, you are redirected to the post detail page.

Navigation

• Click any post title on the home page to view its full content.
• Click the "New Post" link (or navigate to /new) to open the creation form.

Full guide: USAGE.md

FAQ

How do I get Crystal Blog running locally?

It runs entirely on your own machine. Clone, run ./install.sh, and follow INSTALL.md — the whole stack is in this repo, no external dependencies required.

What is Crystal Blog built with?

The app is built with Crystal. What you see in this repo is the full production source, demo data included. Highlights include seed sample posts on startup.

Is white-labeling Crystal Blog allowed?

Yes. You can edit the source directly under the MIT license, or remix it on cenius.ai — the platform route grants full rebrand and relicense rights over your derivative.

Can I build a business on Crystal Blog?

Yes. The code is Apache-2.0-licensed — use it, modify it, and ship it commercially. See LICENSE.

Is Crystal Blog editable without a developer?

Describe what you want changed on cenius.ai — no code editing needed; the platform produces a fresh build you can download and deploy.

License & rebranding

Released under the Apache License 2.0 (© 2026 Cenius AI) — free for personal and commercial use. The Cenius name/logo are trademarks (see NOTICE).

Need a customized version? Remix this app on cenius.ai — modifications made on the platform come with full rebrand & relicense rights over your derivative.

Built with cenius.ai

This entire application — code, design, seeded demo data — was generated on cenius.ai from a plain-English description.

• 🚀 Build your own app on cenius.ai
• 🎛️ Remix Crystal Blog on the marketplace — open it in a workspace, prompt for changes, and ship your own version.

More open-source apps: the Cenius-ai catalog · showcase index