Creating a CMS Project

A Headless CMS project is the top-level container for your content, schemas, media library, API credentials, and webhooks. Every project is provisioned with a dedicated, isolated database and served directly at the global edge.

Before you start

• You must be signed in to your Mincemeat account.
• Prepare a project name (display name) and a unique project slug.
• Know which locales (languages) your content needs to support.

Create a new project

Follow these steps to create and provision your CMS workspace:

1. Select Headless CMS in the main Mincemeat dashboard navigation.
2. Select + Add CMS Project (or Create Project).
3. In the creation wizard:
   • Project Name: Enter a friendly display name (e.g., Corporate Blog). You can change this later.
   • Project Slug: Enter a URL-safe lowercase slug (e.g., corp-blog). The slug is permanent and is used to resolve your project's REST API endpoints.
   • Default Locale: Select the default language for your content (e.g., en).
   • Enabled Locales: Select any additional languages you plan to translate content into (e.g., es, fr).
   • Plan Tier: Choose a plan (e.g., Free, Starter, Pro, or Enterprise) that fits your usage and rate-limiting needs.
4. Select Create.

Your project starts in a provisioning state. Mincemeat automatically creates your database, writes routing keys, and activates the workspace in a few seconds.

Behind-the-scenes provisioning

When you click Create, the control plane automates the following architecture steps:

1. Slug Validation: The system validates the slug format and verifies it is globally unique. It also checks that the slug does not collide with any existing static-site shared subdomains.
2. Database Provisioning: An isolated, dedicated database instance is created specifically for your project. This ensures strict multi-tenant data isolation—your content is never stored alongside another project's tables.
3. Table Bootstrapping: The system runs database migration scripts to initialize the core tables (entries, relations, media, and meta).
4. Edge Routing Setup: The system registers routing lookup tags in edge memory. This allows edge workers to resolve incoming API requests to your database instantly based on your project slug or hostname.
5. Ownership Permissions: The creator of the project is registered as the database owner with full administrative privileges.

Manage project settings

Once your project is active, select Open Workspace on the project card to access settings:

• General Settings: Update your project name, add or remove enabled locales, change your default locale, or adjust the soft-delete Trash retention window (from 1 to 365 days).
• Access & CORS: Create REST API keys and register allowed frontend domains to bypass CORS blocks in client browsers.
• Cache Control: Instantly purge cached edge responses after updating content structure or entry records.

Project deletion

If you no longer need a project, you can delete it:

Permanent Data Loss

Deleting a project permanently destroys its isolated database, revokes all API keys, removes all uploaded files from storage, and deletes edge routing keys. This action is irreversible.

1. Open the project workspace and navigate to Settings -> General Settings.
2. Scroll to the Danger Zone.
3. Select Delete Project and confirm the prompt.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
Slug is rejected	The slug must be 3-63 characters, lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only, and cannot start or end with a hyphen. It may also already be in use.
Project stuck in provisioning	If a transient network error occurs during edge infrastructure setup, refresh the page. If the status remains unchanged, contact your system administrator.

Related

• Headless CMS Overview
• Schema Designer
• API Keys & Security