Master Éclair CMS, from first upload to AI
Step-by-step Éclair CMS lessons to get your site online in 3 minutes, make it look great and easy to find, then run it from Claude or ChatGPT.
Four paths, one network
Beginner: get your site online
9 lessons to choose your hosting, install Éclair CMS, write your first pages and set up the essentials before launch. Start the path
Intermediate: a site that stands out
10 lessons on Visual mode, themes, art directions, SEO, GEO, multilingual sites, the shop and security. Continue
AI & MCP: run your site with AI
7 lessons to turn on the built-in assistant and connect Claude or ChatGPT to your site, with 40 ready-to-copy use cases. Explore
Expert: developers and agencies
8 lessons on architecture, testing, templates, Nginx, performance, migration and agency production. Go deeper
Your site online in three minutes
Éclair CMS fits in a 480 KB archive and needs no database. On standard shared hosting, installation takes three steps:
- Download the official archive from GitHub and unzip it on your computer.
- Upload the contents of the
eclairfolder to your hosting's public folder, hidden.htaccessfiles included. - Open your site's URL: the wizard asks four questions and creates your first pages.
Follow the step-by-step installation
Run your site from Claude or ChatGPT
With the MCP connector built into Éclair, your Claude or ChatGPT subscription reads your site, writes drafts in your voice and prepares changes that you approve in the editor. Nothing is published or deleted without your click, and the site pays for no API key.
Look at my Éclair site and suggest 5 article ideas that answer my customers' questions. Then write the best one as a draft.The AI & MCP path shows you how to connect Claude or connect ChatGPT in a few minutes, then brings together 40 use cases with their prompts.
Install Éclair with your host
Step-by-step guides, control panel by control panel, with the settings to check at each host:
- o2switch
- Hostinger
- OVHcloud
- IONOS
- PlanetHoster
- Infomaniak
- LWS
- SiteGround
- Raiola Networks
- Webempresa
- cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin
Still deciding? The Choosing your hosting guide compares plans on the criteria that really matter for Éclair: PHP version, web server, HTTPS certificate, outgoing connections and support.
Why learn Éclair CMS?
| Classic WordPress | Éclair | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | Create a MySQL database, then run the wizard | Upload the folder, answer 4 questions |
| Download size | ≈ 35 MB | 480 KB |
| SEO, sitemap, structured data | A plugin to install and maintain | Built in |
| GEO: llms.txt, Markdown, AI bots | Plugins, rarely complete | Built in |
| Public pages | Generated on every visit, unless you add a cache plugin | Served from a static cache |
| AI assistant and MCP connector | Plugins, often with a subscription | Built in, with your key or your subscription |
Sources: official Éclair CMS README and the official WordPress 7.1.4 archive (35.5 MB, checked on October 29, 2026).
Frequently asked questions
Is Éclair Academy free?
Yes. All the lessons, hosting guides and documentation are freely available in French, English and Spanish. Éclair CMS itself is distributed free of charge under the MIT license.
Which path should I start with?
If your site isn't online yet, start with the Beginner path. If you already use Éclair, the Intermediate path and the AI & MCP path will save you the most time. Developers and agencies can go straight to the Expert path.
Do I need to know how to code to use Éclair CMS?
No. Installation, editing, design and settings all happen in the admin, without a line of code. Code only appears in the Expert path and in custom CSS, which remains optional.
What hosting do I need for Éclair?
Shared hosting with PHP 8.1 or later (8.3 recommended), Apache or LiteSpeed and a free HTTPS certificate is enough. That covers almost every current plan: see Choosing your hosting.
Where can I find the complete Éclair documentation?
The official guide is published on GitHub in seven languages. The academy complements it with reference pages: the 18 blocks, every setting, the files and troubleshooting.