Domma CMS User Manual

Editions & Licences

Updated by Darryl Waterhouse on 29 September 2026 6 min read

What you get free with Domma CMS, what is paid, what "Pro" means, and how plugin licences work. Prices: TBC.

In short

The CMS itself is free. Every core feature works without a licence.
Some plugins are free and ship with the CMS. Others are paid and need a licence.
A "Pro" plugin adds to, or replaces, a free Tool or plugin. If its licence lapses, the free one comes back.
A licence is either a rental (a site the Domma Manager runs for you) or perpetual (bought outright).
A rental stops when its term and grace period end. A perpetual licence never stops; only support and updates end.
A few features need MongoDB. One plugin, MongoDB Adapter, is only for sites run by the Domma Manager.

What the free CMS includes

Everything in the core CMS is free:

Content - pages with a visual editor, version history, drafts and share links, shortcodes, blocks, components and a media library.
Design - built-in themes, menus, right-click menus and a visitor theme switcher.
Data - collections on file storage, saved views, a form builder, and public collection displays.
API - the /api/v1 collection API, API tokens and API Builder endpoints.
Admin - dashboard, notifications, in-admin docs, projects, roles and permissions.
Built-in Tools - Notes, Todo, Analytics, Contacts and SEO. Each can be switched off in the Marketplace under "Built-in Tools".
Marketplace - installing, updating and switching plugins.

Core features that need MongoDB

These are marked "Pro" in the CMS. They are not licensed. They switch on when the site has a MongoDB connection in config/connections.json:

MongoDB storage - keep any collection in MongoDB instead of files. Set it per collection on the collection's Storage tab.
Actions - workflows that run steps against a collection entry. Without MongoDB the Actions screen says they need MongoDB.

Add a connection under Data > Collections > Database connections (admins only), or with npm run pro enable. On a site run by the Domma Manager, the MongoDB Adapter plugin sets the connection up for you (see below).

The optional Redis cache driver is also described as a Pro feature. It needs Redis, not a licence.

Free plugins

These are marked free in their manifests and ship in the CMS plugins/ folder. Switch them on in the Marketplace.

Blog - posts, categories and comments.
Feedback - tell Domma what is broken, missing or good, from your admin.
Mail Reader - a read-only IMAP mailbox reader.
Security - a health check, sign-in lockout, password rules and a sign-in log.
Shopping Cart - products, a storefront, a cart and checkout.

Paid plugins

Every other plugin in the Marketplace is paid. A paid plugin is marked closed source. It needs a valid licence on the site, or it does not start. Paid plugins cannot be viewed or exported from the Marketplace.

A plugin you write yourself is never asked for a licence.

What "Pro" means

A Pro plugin builds on a free Tool or plugin. It does this in one of two ways:

It replaces it (supersedes in its manifest). The free one stops loading while the Pro one runs, so you see one screen, not two. For a built-in Tool, the Pro plugin hides the Tool's sidebar entry and takes over its screen. The Tool's data and API stay in place.
It adds to it (requires in its manifest). Both run. If the free one is switched off, the Pro one does not start.

Pro plugin	Relationship
Blog Pro	Replaces Blog
Contacts Pro	Requires and replaces the built-in Contacts Tool
Email (email-pro)	Replaces Mail Reader
Security Pro	Replaces Security
SEO Pro	Requires the built-in SEO Tool
Shopping Cart Pro	Requires Shopping Cart
Analytics Pro	Separate from the built-in Analytics Tool; neither replaces the other
Social Media Pro	No free edition
Waypoint Pro	No free edition

When a Pro licence lapses

The replacement is worked out each time the site starts. Nothing is written to your settings. So when a Pro plugin stops running because its licence has lapsed:

the free plugin it replaced loads again on the next start, and
a built-in Tool it took over comes back.

You are never left with less than a site that never bought the Pro plugin.

Where the licence lives

A licence is a signed file called an entitlement. The CMS looks for it in two places, in this order:

plugins/<plugin>/.entitlement.json - one plugin, one licence. A .dcmsplugin file carries it in.
config/entitlements/*.json - site-wide licences.

The file must be signed by the Domma Marketplace key. A missing, edited or wrongly signed file counts as unlicensed, and the plugin does not start.

The licence is checked each time the site starts. A plugin that is refused is not switched off in your settings, so renewing brings it straight back on the next start.

Rental licences

For a site run for you by the Domma Manager. The plugin is rented monthly alongside the hosting.

The plugin banner shows Expires and the date.
After the end date there is a grace period. The plugin keeps running and the banner shows Expired (date) (grace). The Marketplace marks it Renew. The grace period is set on the licence; the Manager issues 7 days unless told otherwise.
After the grace period the plugin does not start. The Marketplace marks it Expired. Its data is kept.
A notice appears 14 days before the end date, during the grace period, and once it has stopped.

Perpetual licences

For a site the Domma Manager does not run. You buy the plugin once, with a period of support.

The plugin banner shows Support to and the date.
When support ends, the banner shows Support ended. The plugin keeps running for good.
What ends is support and updates. Renewing support extends it.
A notice tells you when support and updates have ended.

Managed-only plugins

MongoDB Adapter is only offered for sites run by the Domma Manager. The Manager creates a database and a user for the site, and writes the site's connection file. On a site the Manager does not run, the plugin would have nothing to do.

When the Manager removes it, the site's connection file and database user are removed. The database itself is kept.

Plugins that need MongoDB

MongoDB Adapter - provides MongoDB to a managed site.
Email (email-pro) - search, threads, rules, scheduled sends, snooze and vacation replies need MongoDB. Without it, reading, filing and sending still work.
Data Transfer - needs MongoDB only to move collections to or from MongoDB. Backups, restores and clones work on file storage.
Surveys - uses MongoDB when there is a connection, and falls back to file storage when there is not.

Garage and Messages work on either storage. The rest do not use MongoDB.

All Marketplace plugins

Plugin	Tier	Needs MongoDB	Managed-only	Notes
Analytics Pro	paid	No	No	Separate from the built-in Analytics Tool
Blog	free	No	No	Ships with the CMS
Blog Pro	paid	No	No	Replaces Blog
Calendar	paid	No	No	Uses Contacts, Notes and Todo when they are on
Contacts Pro	paid	No	No	Requires and replaces the built-in Contacts Tool
Data Transfer	paid	Only to move to or from MongoDB	No	Backups and restores work on file storage
Docs	paid	No	No
Email (email-pro)	paid	Partly	No	Replaces Mail Reader; some features need MongoDB
Feedback	free	No	No	Ships with the CMS
Garage	paid	No	No	Works on file or MongoDB storage
Invoices	paid	No	No	Uses Contacts
Job Board	paid	No	No
Mail Reader	free	No	No	Ships with the CMS
Messages	paid	No	No	File storage unless moved to MongoDB
MongoDB Adapter	paid	Provides it	Yes	Set up by the Domma Manager
Security	free	No	No	Ships with the CMS
Security Pro	paid	No	No	Replaces Security
SEO Pro	paid	No	No	Requires the built-in SEO Tool
Shopping Cart	free	No	No	Ships with the CMS
Shopping Cart Pro	paid	No	No	Requires Shopping Cart
Social Media Pro	paid	No	No	Uses SEO, Calendar and Blog when they are on
Surveys	paid	Optional	No	Falls back to file storage
Theme Roller	paid	No	No
Waypoint Pro	paid	No	No

Getting a licence

Prices: TBC.

A site run by the Domma Manager - open Marketplace > Browse. It lists what your Manager offers. Install brings a plugin in already licensed. A plugin not licensed yet is still listed; ask for it to be added.
Any other site - buy the plugin and you receive a single .dcmsplugin file. Use Install from file in the Marketplace banner. The same button installs later updates.

To buy a plugin or renew a licence, contact Domma CMS.