Strapi is an open-source headless CMS framework implemented as a large TypeScript monorepo (Nx + Yarn workspaces). In production it runs a Koa-based Node.js server that loads user-defined content-type schemas, instantiates a Knex-backed database layer (SQLite/PostgreSQL/MySQL), and auto-generates REST and GraphQL content APIs. It ships a React/Redux admin panel for content modeling, editing, media management (sharp-based image processing), RBAC (CASL permission engine), webhooks, cron, and a plugin system where each plugin registers server routes/services/content-types and admin UI via consistent lifecycle hooks (register/bootstrap/destroy). Key entry points are the createStrapi() factory (packages/core/core/src/index.ts), the strapi CLI (packages/core/strapi/bin/strapi.js), renderAdmin() (packages/core/strapi/src/admin.ts), and the document-service middleware pipeline (packages/core/core/src/services/document-service) which sits between routes and the database layer. Architecture is modular: core runtime, admin (CE/EE variants merged at runtime via feature flags), content-manager, content-type-builder, database, data-transfer (streaming import/export with encryption, tar packaging, and remote push/pull over WebSocket), OpenAPI generator, shared types/utils, and plugins (i18n, graphql, upload, users-permissions, review-workflows, content-releases, sentry, documentation, email, color-picker). The primary data flow is HTTP (REST/GraphQL) → controllers → document service middleware → entity service → database layer with subscriber-based lifecycle hooks; a parallel flow handles data-transfer streaming of entities, links, and assets between instances or to files. Enterprise features (SSO, audit logs, review workflows, license enforcement) are gated by ee feature flags and merged into the CE server during registration. Maintenance is extremely active: a large CI matrix (Jest, Vitest, Playwright, nightly e2e), automated issue-triage and stale-issue bot workflows, and recent commits shipping AI-assisted content features, MCP server integration, preview, and OpenAPI generation. Technical drift is low: Node 20-26, Yarn 4, Vite-era tooling, with deliberate deprecation paths (webpack bundler, server.globalProxy, admin.autoOpen) rather than abandoned code. Internal debts include the global global.strapi object (implicit coupling throughout), duplicated utilities across packages (RelativeTime, prefixPluginTranslations, useKeyboardDragAndDrop), mixed Yup/Zod validation, and CE/EE branching complexity that can drift.