ChAoS MVC 1.2.1

ChAoS MVC 1.2.1


Release Date: September 19, 2026
Release Type: Security and Core Feature Release

Download ChAoS MVC 1.2.1


Build More. Fight the Framework Less.


ChAoS MVC 1.2.1 is a major step forward for building real websites with ChAoS.

This release introduces built-in Pages, greatly expanded Markdown support, RSS feeds, improved search-engine discovery, and a machine-readable Site Resource Declaration.

You can now create traditional website Pages directly in ChAoS, publish rich Markdown content, automatically expose public content to search engines and other discovery systems, and keep your installation's content safely separated from the protected Core.

Already running ChAoS MVC 1.2.0?

Your Core Updater can take care of the upgrade.

New to ChAoS?

Welcome. 1.2.1 gives you considerably more to build with.


Pages Are Here


Not everything belongs in a Module.

Sometimes you just need a page.

ChAoS MVC 1.2.1 introduces a filesystem-backed Pages system for creating content such as:

  • About pages
  • Documentation
  • Policies
  • Project information
  • Landing pages
  • Contact information
  • Other permanent website content

Pages get clean URLs:

/about-us
/documentation
/our-project

And you can write them using:

  • Markdown
  • HTML
  • Plain text
  • JSON

Pages support draft and published states, Admin editing, theme-aware rendering, slug changes, recoverable deletion, and automatic discovery by supported ChAoS resources.

Your Pages live under /user/pages, keeping your content separate from the protected ChAoS Core.


Markdown Got a Serious Upgrade


If you like writing in Markdown, 1.2.1 is a good release for you.

ChAoS now supports a much richer Markdown vocabulary, including:

  • Headings
  • Bold and italic text
  • Strikethrough
  • Code and fenced code blocks
  • Links and automatic URL linking
  • Blockquotes
  • GitHub-style alerts
  • Ordered and unordered lists
  • Nested lists
  • Task lists
  • Tables
  • Definition lists
  • Footnotes
  • Escaped Markdown characters
  • Controlled small text
  • Allowlisted named colors

That makes Markdown useful for far more than simple Posts. Documentation, research, project pages, technical writing, and long-form content can all remain readable in source form while rendering cleanly on your site.

ChAoS continues to escape raw source HTML before transforming supported Markdown, and unsafe URL schemes remain rejected.


Your Site Is Easier to Discover


Publishing something shouldn't mean manually updating five different discovery files.

ChAoS 1.2.1 modernizes its discovery system so supported resources can automatically find public content across your installation.

That includes:

  • Public Core routes
  • Public user Modules
  • Published Pages
  • Published Posts where applicable

ChAoS can use that information to maintain:

sitemap.xml
ror.xml
rss.xml
llms.txt
site.json

Add something public to your site, refresh your indices, and ChAoS does the bookkeeping.


RSS Is Now Built In


ChAoS MVC now includes Core RSS support for published Posts.

Your site can provide a standard RSS feed with stable post URLs and XML-safe content, including presentation support through the included RSS stylesheet.

For site owners, that means another discovery and subscription mechanism is available without requiring an additional Module.


Meet site.json


ChAoS MVC 1.2.1 introduces a machine-readable Site Resource Declaration.

site.json describes the installation and its public resources using a defined schema, giving machines a predictable way to understand what a ChAoS site exposes.

Declarations are validated against the STN-Labz Site Schema before publication.

Remote schema data is used strictly for validation and receives no executable authority inside ChAoS.

The 1.2.1 security review also tightened this system so public requests consume the existing validated declaration rather than repeatedly regenerating it.


Your Stuff Stays Yours


One of the most important ChAoS boundaries remains unchanged:

Updating ChAoS does not mean replacing your website.

The 1.2.1 Core update preserves installation-owned content, including your:

  • Modules
  • Themes
  • Pages
  • Public assets
  • Site configuration
  • Installation data

The distributed Core remains separate from the things that make your installation yours.

There is also no database migration required for 1.2.1.


The Stock Modules Got Some Attention Too


The included Home and Example Modules were reviewed as part of the 1.2.1 release process.

Home remains the simple public starting point for a ChAoS installation.

Example remains the reference Module for developers and demonstrates the current ChAoS Module lifecycle, including:

  • MVC structure
  • Public and Admin routing
  • CSRF-protected changes
  • Database lifecycle handling
  • Schema installation and migration
  • CRUD operations
  • Data reset and deletion
  • Input validation
  • Escaped output

If you're learning to build ChAoS Modules, Example is there specifically to be taken apart.


Already Running ChAoS MVC 1.2.0?


Updating is straightforward.

Go to:

Admin → Core Updater

The updater verifies the release and package, protects installation-owned files, creates a previous-Core snapshot, installs the new Core, and verifies the result.

If installation fails, the previous Core can be restored.

As always, keep a current external backup before updating production software.


New to ChAoS MVC?


ChAoS MVC is a lightweight PHP MVC framework built around a simple idea:

The Core provides the framework. Your installation belongs to you.

Start with the framework, choose or build a Theme, create Pages, add Modules when you need application behavior, and extend the installation without turning every website feature into Core code.

ChAoS MVC 1.2.1 gives that model considerably more room to grow.

Download ChAoS MVC 1.2.1


For Developers


Want the technical details?


The complete technical change record remains available in the ChAoS MVC documentation.