Apache Sling website screenshot

Apache Sling

Apache Sling is a RESTful web framework built on top of the Java Content Repository (JCR) standard. It maps HTTP requests to content resources using a resource-oriented URL decomposition model and uses scripts or servlets to render responses, supporting multiple scripting languages including HTL, JSP, Groovy, and server-side JavaScript. Apache Sling forms the foundation of Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) and is an Apache Software Foundation project with 300+ modular OSGi bundles.

Apache Sling publishes 3 APIs on the APIs.io network. Tagged areas include Content Management, Java, JCR, OSGi, and REST.

Apache Sling’s developer surface includes documentation, developer portal, getting-started guide, engineering blog, support, FAQ, and 6 more developer resources.

29.5/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 3/100 human only Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-07-28 · rubric v0.6
AccessFreemium
3 APIs 9 Features 5 Use Cases
Content ManagementJavaJCROSGiRESTWeb FrameworkOpen SourceAdobe Experience Manager

Kin Score

Kin Score Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-07-28 · rubric v0.6
Composite quality — 29.5/100 · thin
Contract Quality 0.0 / 25
Developer Ergonomics 8.3 / 20
Commercial Clarity 10.0 / 20
Operational Transparency 4.8 / 13
Governance 0.0 / 12
Discoverability 6.5 / 10
Agent readiness — 3/100 · human only
Machine-Readable Contract 0 / 18
Agentic Access Contract 0 / 10
MCP Server 0 / 12
Machine-Readable Auth 0 / 10
Idempotency 0 / 9
Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8
Request/Response Examples 0 / 7
Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7
Typed Event Surface 0 / 6
Agent Skills 0 / 5
Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4
Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3
A2A Agent Card 0 / 8
Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4
Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/apache-sling: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Want it done for you? Prioritized profiling — $2,500 →

APIs 3

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

Apache Sling Resource API

The Sling Resource API provides RESTful access to JCR content repository nodes via HTTP. Every content node is addressable as a URL, supporting GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and MOVE ...

Apache Sling Scripting API

The Sling Scripting API enables server-side rendering through multiple scripting engines. Scripts are resolved from the content repository based on resource type and selectors, ...

Apache Sling Event API

The Sling Event API provides a job processing and eventing system built on OSGi EventAdmin. It supports distributed job queuing, scheduled job execution, event broadcasting acro...

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Apache Sling Rate Limits

5 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Features 9

Notable capabilities this provider offers.

Resource-Oriented REST API

Every JCR node is a REST resource accessible via URL with GET, POST, PUT, DELETE operations.

URL Decomposition

Flexible URL decomposition into resource path, selectors, extension, and suffix for content negotiation.

SlingPostServlet

Powerful POST servlet for content CRUD operations, supporting create, modify, delete, move, copy, and import.

Multi-Language Scripting

Server-side rendering with HTL, JSP, Groovy, FreeMarker, Thymeleaf, and Rhino JavaScript.

OSGi Modular Architecture

300+ modular OSGi bundles with hot-deploy capability and dynamic configuration.

Resource Type Hierarchy

Sling Resource Type system enables component inheritance and script resolution.

Event and Job Processing

Distributed job queue and event system for asynchronous content processing.

Health Check Framework

Extensible health check system for monitoring Sling instance components.

Replication and Distribution

Content distribution bundles for replicating content between Sling instances.

Scroll for all 9

Security Posture 2

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Apache Sling Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC

SECURITY

Apache Sling Vulnerability Disclosure

security.txt · contact published

SECURITY

Use Cases 5

What developers build with this provider.

Content Management Systems

Build REST-based CMS solutions with JCR-backed content repositories.

Adobe Experience Manager

Foundation framework for AEM digital experience platform implementations.

Headless CMS

Serve structured JSON content via Sling's resource API for headless front-end applications.

Web Application Framework

Build OSGi-based Java web applications with RESTful resource routing.

Digital Asset Management

Manage and serve digital assets stored in JCR with metadata and rendition support.

Integrations 6

Pre-built integrations with other platforms and tools.

Adobe Experience Manager

Apache Sling is the foundational framework for Adobe Experience Manager (AEM).

Apache Jackrabbit Oak

JCR implementation providing the content repository backend for Sling.

Apache Felix

OSGi framework container that hosts Sling bundles and manages the service registry.

Apache Karaf

OSGi runtime alternative for deploying Sling-based applications.

Maven

Maven plugin (slingstart-maven-plugin) and Maven archetypes for Sling development.

Elasticsearch

Search integration for indexing JCR content via Sling's indexing framework.

Resources

Get Started 2

Portal, sign-up, and the first successful call

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Build 3

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

Access & Security 2

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

Operate 2

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

Commercial 1

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

Company 1

The organization behind the API

Source (apis.yml)

apis.yml Raw ↑
aid: apache-sling
name: Apache Sling
description: Apache Sling is a RESTful web framework built on top of the Java Content Repository (JCR) standard. It maps HTTP
  requests to content resources using a resource-oriented URL decomposition model and uses scripts or servlets to render responses,
  supporting multiple scripting languages including HTL, JSP, Groovy, and server-side JavaScript. Apache Sling forms the foundation
  of Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) and is an Apache Software Foundation project with 300+ modular OSGi bundles.
type: Index
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Freemium
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
position: Consumer
access: 3rd-Party
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/apache-sling.png
tags:
- Content Management
- Java
- JCR
- OSGi
- REST
- Web Framework
- Open Source
- Adobe Experience Manager
created: '2026-03-16'
modified: '2026-04-19'
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/apache-sling/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: apache-sling:apache-sling-resource-api
  name: Apache Sling Resource API
  description: 'The Sling Resource API provides RESTful access to JCR content repository nodes via HTTP. Every content node
    is addressable as a URL, supporting GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and MOVE operations through the Sling Default GET/POST Servlets.
    Content is accessible in multiple formats via selector and extension: .json for structured data, .xml for XML export,
    .infinity.json for deep tree traversal, and .tidy.json for formatted output. The POST Servlet (SlingPostServlet) handles
    content creation, modification, deletion, move, copy, and import operations.'
  humanURL: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/the-sling-engine/resources.html
  tags:
  - REST
  - JCR
  - Content Management
  - Resources
  - Java
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/the-sling-engine/resources.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/bundles/manipulating-content-the-slingpostservlet-servlets-post.html
- aid: apache-sling:apache-sling-scripting-api
  name: Apache Sling Scripting API
  description: The Sling Scripting API enables server-side rendering through multiple scripting engines. Scripts are resolved
    from the content repository based on resource type and selectors, supporting HTL (HTML Template Language / Sightly), JSP
    (JavaServer Pages), Groovy, FreeMarker, Thymeleaf, and server-side JavaScript via Rhino. The ScriptEngine API allows integration
    of any JSR-223 compatible scripting language.
  humanURL: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/bundles/scripting.html
  tags:
  - Scripting
  - HTL
  - JSP
  - Groovy
  - Templates
  - Java
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/bundles/scripting.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/bundles/scripting/scripting-htl.html
- aid: apache-sling:apache-sling-event-api
  name: Apache Sling Event API
  description: The Sling Event API provides a job processing and eventing system built on OSGi EventAdmin. It supports distributed
    job queuing, scheduled job execution, event broadcasting across cluster nodes, and workflow triggering. The JobManager
    API enables job creation, monitoring, and management through a programmatic interface and also provides REST endpoints
    via the Web Console integration.
  humanURL: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/bundles/apache-sling-eventing-and-job-handling.html
  tags:
  - Events
  - Jobs
  - Async
  - OSGi
  - Workflow
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/bundles/apache-sling-eventing-and-job-handling.html
common:
- type: VulnerabilityDisclosure
  url: security/apache-sling-vulnerability-disclosure.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/apache-sling-domain-security.yml
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/apache/sling-org-apache-sling-api
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/apache/sling
- type: Documentation
  url: https://sling.apache.org/documentation.html
- type: Portal
  url: https://sling.apache.org/
- type: GettingStarted
  url: https://sling.apache.org/documentation/getting-started.html
- type: Blog
  url: https://sling.apache.org/news.html
- type: Support
  url: https://sling.apache.org/project-information/mailing-lists.html
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://www.apache.org/licenses/
- type: FAQ
  url: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/SLING/
- type: SDKs
  url: https://search.maven.org/search?q=org.apache.sling
  title: Maven Central Packages
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Resource-Oriented REST API
    description: Every JCR node is a REST resource accessible via URL with GET, POST, PUT, DELETE operations.
  - name: URL Decomposition
    description: Flexible URL decomposition into resource path, selectors, extension, and suffix for content negotiation.
  - name: SlingPostServlet
    description: Powerful POST servlet for content CRUD operations, supporting create, modify, delete, move, copy, and import.
  - name: Multi-Language Scripting
    description: Server-side rendering with HTL, JSP, Groovy, FreeMarker, Thymeleaf, and Rhino JavaScript.
  - name: OSGi Modular Architecture
    description: 300+ modular OSGi bundles with hot-deploy capability and dynamic configuration.
  - name: Resource Type Hierarchy
    description: Sling Resource Type system enables component inheritance and script resolution.
  - name: Event and Job Processing
    description: Distributed job queue and event system for asynchronous content processing.
  - name: Health Check Framework
    description: Extensible health check system for monitoring Sling instance components.
  - name: Replication and Distribution
    description: Content distribution bundles for replicating content between Sling instances.
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: Content Management Systems
    description: Build REST-based CMS solutions with JCR-backed content repositories.
  - name: Adobe Experience Manager
    description: Foundation framework for AEM digital experience platform implementations.
  - name: Headless CMS
    description: Serve structured JSON content via Sling's resource API for headless front-end applications.
  - name: Web Application Framework
    description: Build OSGi-based Java web applications with RESTful resource routing.
  - name: Digital Asset Management
    description: Manage and serve digital assets stored in JCR with metadata and rendition support.
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: Adobe Experience Manager
    description: Apache Sling is the foundational framework for Adobe Experience Manager (AEM).
  - name: Apache Jackrabbit Oak
    description: JCR implementation providing the content repository backend for Sling.
  - name: Apache Felix
    description: OSGi framework container that hosts Sling bundles and manages the service registry.
  - name: Apache Karaf
    description: OSGi runtime alternative for deploying Sling-based applications.
  - name: Maven
    description: Maven plugin (slingstart-maven-plugin) and Maven archetypes for Sling development.
  - name: Elasticsearch
    description: Search integration for indexing JCR content via Sling's indexing framework.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: info@apievangelist.com