In short
TYPO3 is an open-source enterprise content management system based on PHP with which companies, universities and public authorities manage large, multilingual websites and portals. Editorial teams maintain content in a back end via a page tree and content elements; developers extend the system via extensions.
TYPO3 is licensed under the GNU General Public License and is free of licence costs.
The system was developed by the Dane Kasper Skårhøj from 1997, at a time when the term content management was hardly known. Today the TYPO3 Association is responsible for its further development, and TYPO3 GmbH offers commercial services such as extended support (the TYPO3 story). In German-speaking countries, TYPO3 is particularly widespread among SMEs, the public sector and educational institutions.
How TYPO3 is structured
TYPO3 strictly separates content and presentation. Editors work in the back end, visitors see the front end, and in between there is a configuration layer that determines how content is output. This separation makes the system manageable for large websites with many editors, but at first it requires more familiarisation than a website-builder CMS.
The central building blocks
- Page tree: The entire website is organised as a tree. Permissions, languages and templates are attached to pages and are inherited downwards.
- Content elements: Texts, images, accordions or forms are stored as individual records on a page and can be moved, hidden and published on a schedule.
- TCA (Table Configuration Array): Describes for each database table which fields exist and how they are edited in the back end. The TCA is TYPO3's data model.
- Fluid and TypoScript: Fluid is the template engine for the HTML; TypoScript is a configuration language that connects content and templates.
- Extensions: Additional functions, from news and shop connections to AI integration, come as extensions, many of them from the official TYPO3 Extension Repository.
Workspaces: drafts with approval
A special feature of TYPO3 is workspaces. A workspace is a working environment in which changes to pages and content are created as drafts and only go live after approval. Editors see a preview and a comparison between the old and new versions. Multi-level approvals, for example editorial team, specialist department and legal department, can be mapped.
Workspaces are intended for classic editorial processes but also suit AI assistants well: an assistant writes drafts, a person checks and publishes them. This principle is called human in the loop. How this works in concrete terms with the Model Context Protocol is described in our post TYPO3 and AI via MCP.
Versions and long-term support
TYPO3 follows a fixed release rhythm. About every 18 months an LTS version (long-term support) is released, which the community supplies with bug fixes and security updates for three years. After that, TYPO3 GmbH offers paid extended long-term support (ELTS), which secures operation for up to four more years (TYPO3 LTS).
| Version | LTS release | Status |
|---|---|---|
| TYPO3 14.3 LTS | April 2026 | Current LTS, free support |
| TYPO3 13.4 LTS | October 2024 | Free support |
| TYPO3 12.4 LTS | April 2023 | Only via ELTS since the end of April 2026 |
| TYPO3 11.5 LTS | October 2021 | Only via ELTS |
For website operators this means: a major upgrade every three years is part of normal operation. If you postpone it, you pay for ELTS or run without security updates.
TYPO3 compared with other CMSs
| Criterion | TYPO3 | WordPress | Headless CMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical use | Large corporate and public authority websites | Blogs, small to medium-sized websites | Content for several channels such as website and app |
| Permissions and roles | Very fine-grained, down to field level | Coarse, extendable via plugins | Depending on the product |
| Multilingualism | In the core | Via plugins | Usually in the core |
| Approval workflows | Workspaces in the core | Via plugins | Depending on the product |
| Familiarisation | Higher | Low | Medium; the front end is built separately |
Running TYPO3 headless
With the extension EXT:headless, TYPO3 outputs pages and content as JSON. A separate front end, for example built with Next.js or Nuxt, renders the website from it. Editors stay in the familiar back end, while the front end is built with modern JavaScript frameworks. What this looks like in practice and when it pays off is shown in our article Headless TYPO3 with Next.js. What a headless CMS is in general is explained in the wiki entry Headless CMS.
TYPO3 and artificial intelligence
TYPO3 14 deliberately contains no AI functions in the core. AI comes into the system via extensions, in two ways. The first is a direct connection to a large language model from within the back end, for example for text suggestions. The second is an MCP server: an extension provides TYPO3 as a toolbox, and an external MCP client such as Claude or ChatGPT reads and writes content. The second way is more flexible because the model remains interchangeable.
For both ways: the AI access needs its own back-end user with the lowest possible permissions, entirely in line with the principle of least privilege.
A practical example
A mechanical engineering company runs its corporate website in three languages on TYPO3. Five editors from marketing and product management maintain the content, each department only in its own part of the page tree. New product pages are created in the workspace, product management checks the technical details, and marketing publishes. The online shop for spare parts runs separately on a shop system and is integrated via links and a shared design. This split is typical: TYPO3 for content and brand, a specialised system for sales.
Frequently asked questions
Is TYPO3 free?
The software is free of licence costs. Costs arise for hosting, implementation by an agency, maintenance and, if applicable, for ELTS if a version is to continue running after three years.
Who is TYPO3 suitable for?
For organisations with many pages, several languages, many editors and clear approval processes. For a small website with few pages, TYPO3 is usually oversized.
Can you run an online shop with TYPO3?
There are shop extensions, but for serious e-commerce most companies use a specialised shop system and connect it to the TYPO3 website.
How often do I have to update TYPO3?
Security updates within a version run continuously and are usually applied quickly. A major upgrade is due about every three years, when the free support of the LTS version in use ends.
Can TYPO3 be used as a headless CMS?
Yes. With EXT:headless, TYPO3 delivers content as JSON to a separate front end. For TYPO3 v14, the matching version 5 is available as a release candidate in October 2026.