> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://salsa-digital.gitbook.io/govcms-content-administration/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://salsa-digital.gitbook.io/govcms-content-administration/getting-started-with-govcms/what-is-govcms.md). # What is GovCMS [GovCMS](https://www.govcms.gov.au/) is a [Drupal](https://www.drupal.org/)‑based platform used mainly across Australian government for secure, accessible and maintainable websites. It's available in two hosting models: * **SaaS (Software as a Service):** A fully managed environment with a controlled feature set and strong security baselines. * **PaaS (Platform as a Service):** Offers more flexibility while requiring agencies or their delivery partners to manage infrastructure and deployments. Regardless of hosting type, Content Authors and Content Approvers share similar publishing workflows. ### GovCMS — Drupal distribution, platform and team GovCMS can mean one of three different things: 1. GovCMS the Drupal distribution 2. GovCMS the platform 3. GovCMS the team at the Department of Finance #### GovCMS the Drupal distribution GovCMS consists of both the latest Drupal core, as well as a group of Drupal modules that have been specifically chosen and grouped together to form the GovCMS distribution. Drupal itself is an open source content management system (CMS) that can be used to create a variety of different websites. Content is created in the **backend** of the CMS and then displayed on the **frontend**, the website. When we refer to backend in this manual, we mean the place where you create content (the CMS) and when we talk about frontend we mean the website as it’s seen by website visitors/viewers. #### GovCMS the platform GovCMS is also the platform that all of the websites run on. This is an infrastructure layer that is managed and maintained for GovCMS customers, and includes many layers of security, redundancy, scalability and performance. #### GovCMS the team at the Department of Finance The GovCMS Team at the the Department of Finance manages the entire GovCMS project, platform and distribution. It also manages all onboarding of new customers and any billing enquiries. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://salsa-digital.gitbook.io/govcms-content-administration/getting-started-with-govcms/what-is-govcms.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.