AGENTS.md

1# AGENTS.md
2 
3This file provides guidance to AI Agents when working with code in this repository.
4 
5## Package Manager
6 
7**Always use `pnpm` for all commands.** This repository uses pnpm workspaces, not npm.
8 
9Shared dependency versions are pinned in `pnpm-workspace.yaml` under `catalog:` and referenced as `"pkg": "catalog:"` (or `catalog:<name>` for named catalogs). `catalogMode` is `strict`, so `pnpm add` routes new deps into the catalog automatically — don't inline the version.
10 
11## Monorepo Structure
12 
13Ghost is a pnpm + Nx monorepo with four workspace groups:
14 
15### ghost/* - Core Ghost packages
16- **ghost/core** - Main Ghost application (Node.js/Express backend)
17  - Core server: `ghost/core/core/server/`
18  - Frontend rendering: `ghost/core/core/frontend/`
19 
20### apps/* - React-based UI applications
21Two categories of apps:
22 
23**Admin Apps** (embedded in Ghost Admin):
24- `ember-admin` - Ember.js admin client (legacy, being migrated to React)
25- `admin` - The consolidated React admin shell, organized by domain (`src/{analytics,members,posts,tags,comments,automations,...}`)
26- `admin-x-settings`, `activitypub` - Settings and ActivityPub integration (route-composed into `admin`)
27- Built with Vite + React + `@tanstack/react-query`
28 
29**Public Apps** (served to site visitors):
30- `portal`, `comments-ui`, `signup-form`, `sodo-search`, `announcement-bar`
31- Built as UMD bundles, loaded via CDN in site themes
32 
33**Foundation Libraries**:
34- `admin-x-framework` - Shared API hooks, routing, utilities
35- `admin-x-design-system` - Legacy design system (being phased out)
36- `shade` - New design system (shadcn/ui + Radix UI + react-hook-form + zod)
37 
38### koenig/* - Ghost editor (Koenig) packages
39Merged from the former TryGhost/Koenig repo with full git history:
40 
41- **koenig-lexical** - The Lexical-based rich text editor UI. Bundled into
42  Ghost Admin at build time (`apps/ember-admin` copies its UMD build into admin
43  assets; `apps/admin` imports it directly)
44- **kg-*** - Editor support packages: server-side renderers and converters
45  consumed by `ghost/core` (kg-default-nodes, kg-lexical-html-renderer,
46  kg-html-to-lexical, ...) plus frontend helpers (kg-unsplash-selector)
47 
48All Koenig packages resolve via `workspace:` — nothing in dev, CI, or the
49release archive installs them from npm. They are published to npm for
50external consumers only, automatically as part of the Ghost release lane
51(see `publish_koenig_packages` in ci.yml).
52 
53**Zero-build dev via the `source` export condition.** The `kg-*` libraries
54consumed by `ghost/core` (and `packages/parse-email-address`) declare a `source`
55condition in their `package.json` `exports` that points at the raw
56`src/*.ts`, listed *before* `types`/`import`/`require`:
57 
58```jsonc
59".": {
60  "source": "./src/index.ts",     // dev/test: read raw TS
61  "types": "./build/esm/index.d.ts",
62  "import": "./build/esm/index.js",
63  "require": "./build/cjs/index.js" // prod/published: compiled JS
64}
65```
66 
67`ghost/core`'s dev runner (`nodemon.json`: `node --conditions=source --import=tsx`)
68and its Vitest configs (`resolve.conditions: ['source', 'node']` +
69`--import tsx --conditions=source`) activate this condition, so a source change
70in a `kg-*` package is picked up with **no `tsc` rebuild**. Production and the
71published npm tarball run plain `node`, which ignores `source` and uses
72`build/` — and `src/` is excluded from each package's `files` array, so it is
73never shipped. When adding a new backend-consumed TS workspace package, copy
74this `exports` shape (see `packages/parse-email-address`) so it works build-free
75in dev from day one; keep the `^build` graph for `tsc`/type-checking and prod.
76 
77### packages/* - Shared workspace libraries
78Backend and shared libraries consumed via `workspace:` — not published to npm:
79 
80- **i18n** - Centralized internationalization for all apps
81- **parse-email-address** - Email address parsing (see the `source` export
82  condition above)
83- **adapters/** - Adapter base classes (`adapter-base-*`: scheduling, storage,
84  SSO, redirects, route settings)
85- **custom-field-types**, **testing** - Shared field-type definitions and test
86  helpers
87- **_template** - Scaffold for new packages; excluded from the workspace
88 
89### e2e/ - End-to-end tests
90- Playwright-based E2E tests with Docker container isolation
91- See `e2e/CLAUDE.md` for detailed testing guidance
92 
93## Common Commands
94 
95### Development
96```bash
97corepack enable pnpm           # Enable corepack to use the correct pnpm version
98pnpm run setup                 # First-time setup (installs deps + submodules + builds workspace packages)
99pnpm dev                       # Start development (Docker backend + host frontend dev servers)
100```
101 
102> **Fresh worktree / first run — run `pnpm setup` before anything else.** It installs deps and syncs submodules. `pnpm fix` does a clean reinstall if anything misbehaves after a branch switch.
103 
104### Building
105```bash
106pnpm build                     # Build all packages (Nx handles dependencies)
107pnpm build:clean               # Clean build artifacts and rebuild
108```
109 
110### Testing
111```bash
112# Unit tests (from root)
113pnpm test:unit                 # Run all unit tests in all packages
114pnpm test:watch                # Watch mode — unified Vitest watcher (ghost/core + all apps)
115 
116# Ghost core tests (from ghost/core/)
117cd ghost/core
118pnpm test:unit                 # Unit tests only (Vitest, run once)
119pnpm test:watch                # Watch mode — ghost/core unit tests only
120pnpm test:integration          # Integration tests
121pnpm test:e2e                  # Server-side e2e suites (webhooks/server/frontend/api) — not browser
122pnpm test:all                  # All test types
123 
124# These run on sqlite with no extra services. The Redis/MinIO/S3 adapter suites
125# probe for their service and auto-skip when it's down (run `pnpm dev:storage`
126# etc. to exercise them); they always run in CI, which starts the services.
127 
128# E2E browser tests (from root)
129pnpm test:e2e                  # Run e2e/ Playwright tests
130 
131# Running a single test
132cd ghost/core
133pnpm test:single test/unit/path/to/test.test.js   # routes test/unit/* → unit config, test/* → DB config
134 
135# Watch a single DB-backed file (integration/e2e) — the default test:watch only
136# covers unit tests, so point it at the DB config explicitly:
137pnpm exec vitest -c vitest.config.db.ts test/integration/path/to/test.test.js
138 
139# Ember Admin tests (from the repository root)
140pnpm nx run ghost-admin:test
141 
142# Run one Ember Admin test file. Paths are relative to apps/ember-admin.
143# The explicit `1` supplies the numeric value required by the test script's
144# trailing `--parallel` option before additional Ember Exam arguments.
145pnpm nx run ghost-admin:test -- 1 --file-path=tests/acceptance/editor/publish-flow-test.js
146```
147 
148> **Always run Ember Admin tests through Nx.** Running `ember test` or
149> `ember exam` directly from `apps/ember-admin` skips the dependency build
150> graph and commonly fails in fresh worktrees with missing outputs such as
151> `koenig-lexical.umd.js`, `@tryghost/admin-x-framework/hooks`, or
152> `@tryghost/kg-converters`. For focused runs, use Ember Exam's `--file-path`
153> as shown above rather than appending `--filter` to the package script.
154 
155### Linting
156```bash
157pnpm lint                      # Lint all packages
158cd ghost/core && pnpm lint     # Lint Ghost core (server, shared, frontend, tests)
159cd apps/ember-admin && pnpm lint    # Lint Ember admin
160```
161 
162### Database
163```bash
164pnpm knex-migrator migrate     # Run database migrations
165pnpm reset:data                # Reset database with test data (1000 members, 100 posts) (requires pnpm dev running)
166pnpm reset:data:empty          # Reset database with no data (requires pnpm dev running)
167```
168 
169### Docker
170```bash
171pnpm docker:build              # Build Docker images
172pnpm docker:clean              # Stop containers, remove volumes and local images
173pnpm docker:down               # Stop containers
174```
175 
176### How `pnpm dev` works
177 
178The `pnpm dev` command uses a **hybrid Docker + host development** setup:
179 
180**What runs in Docker:**
181- Ghost Core backend (with hot-reload via mounted source)
182- MySQL, Redis, Mailpit
183- Caddy gateway/reverse proxy
184 
185**What runs on host by default:**
186- Admin, legacy Ember admin, Portal, and foundation library dev watchers
187- Optional public UMD app watchers can be added when needed
188 
189**Setup:**
190```bash
191# Start Ghost backend, Admin, Portal, and Docker services
192pnpm dev
193 
194# Add optional public apps (comments-ui, sodo-search, signup-form, admin-toolbar)
195pnpm dev:public
196 
197# Develop the Koenig editor against Ghost Admin (adds a koenig-lexical rebuild
198# watcher + preview server; Admin loads the editor from your local build)
199pnpm dev:lexical
200 
201# With optional services (uses Docker Compose file composition)
202pnpm dev:analytics             # Include Tinybird analytics
203pnpm dev:storage               # Include MinIO S3-compatible object storage
204pnpm dev:stripe                # Include Stripe webhook forwarding
205pnpm dev:full                  # Include analytics, storage, Stripe, and public app watchers
206 
207# Everything available
208pnpm dev:all                   #
209```
210 
211**Accessing Services:**
212- Ghost: `http://localhost:2368` (database: `ghost_dev`)
213- Mailpit UI: `http://localhost:8025` (email testing)
214- MySQL: `localhost:3306`
215- Redis: `localhost:6379`
216- Tinybird: `http://localhost:7181` (when analytics enabled)
217- MinIO Console: `http://localhost:9001` (when storage enabled)
218- MinIO S3 API: `http://localhost:9000` (when storage enabled)
219 
220## Architecture Patterns
221 
222### Admin Apps Integration (Micro-Frontend)
223 
224**Build Process:**
2251. Admin-x React apps build to `apps/*/dist` using Vite
2262. `apps/ember-admin/lib/asset-delivery` copies them to `ghost/core/core/built/admin/assets/*`
2273. Ghost admin serves from `/ghost/assets/{app-name}/{app-name}.js`
228 
229**Runtime Loading:**
230- Ember admin uses `AdminXComponent` to dynamically import React apps
231- React components wrapped in Suspense with error boundaries
232- Apps receive config via `additionalProps()` method
233 
234### Public Apps Integration
235 
236- Built as UMD bundles to `apps/*/umd/*.min.js`
237- Loaded via `<script>` tags in theme templates (injected by `{{ghost_head}}`)
238- Configuration passed via data attributes
239 
240### i18n Architecture
241 
242**Centralized Translations:**
243- Single source: `packages/i18n/locales/{locale}/{namespace}.json`
244- Namespaces: `ghost`, `portal`, `signup-form`, `comments`, `search`
245- 60+ supported locales
246- Context descriptions: `packages/i18n/locales/context.json` — every key must have a non-empty description
247 
248**Translation Workflow:**
249```bash
250pnpm --filter @tryghost/i18n translate          # Extract keys from source, update all locale files + context.json
251pnpm --filter @tryghost/i18n lint:translations   # Validate interpolation variables across locales
252```
253 
254`translate` is run as part of `pnpm --filter @tryghost/i18n test`. In CI, it fails if translation keys or `context.json` are out of date (`failOnUpdate: process.env.CI`). Always run `pnpm --filter @tryghost/i18n translate` after adding or changing `t()` calls.
255 
256**Rules for Translation Keys:**
2571. **Never split sentences across multiple `t()` calls.** Translators cannot reorder words across separate keys. Instead, use `@doist/react-interpolate` to embed React elements (links, bold, etc.) within a single translatable string.
2582. **Always provide context descriptions.** When adding a new key, add a description in `context.json` explaining where the string appears and what it does. CI will reject empty descriptions.
2593. **Use interpolation for dynamic values.** Ghost uses `{variable}` syntax: `t('Welcome back, {name}!', {name: firstname})`
2604. **Use `<tag>` syntax for inline elements.** Combined with `@doist/react-interpolate`: `t('Click <a>here</a> to retry')` with `mapping={{ a: <a href="..." /> }}`
261 
262**Correct pattern (using Interpolate):**
263```jsx
264import Interpolate from '@doist/react-interpolate';
265 
266<Interpolate
267    mapping={{ a: <a href={link} /> }}
268    string={t('Could not sign in. <a>Click here to retry</a>')}
269/>
270```
271 
272**Incorrect pattern (split sentences):**
273```jsx
274// BAD: translators cannot reorder "Click here to retry" relative to the first sentence
275{t('Could not sign in.')} <a href={link}>{t('Click here to retry')}</a>
276```
277 
278See `apps/portal/src/components/pages/email-receiving-faq.js` for a canonical example of correct `Interpolate` usage.
279 
280### Build Dependencies (Nx)
281 
282Critical build order (Nx handles automatically):
2831. `shade` + `admin-x-design-system` build
2842. `admin-x-framework` builds (depends on #1)
2853. Admin apps build (depend on #2)
2864. `apps/ember-admin` builds (depends on #3, copies via asset-delivery)
2875. `ghost/core` serves admin build
288 
289## CSS Architecture
290 
291### TailwindCSS v4 Setup
292 
293Ghost Admin uses **TailwindCSS v4** via the `@tailwindcss/vite` plugin. CSS processing is centralized — only `apps/admin/vite.config.ts` loads the `@tailwindcss/vite` plugin. All embedded React apps (activitypub, admin-x-settings, admin-x-design-system) are scanned from this single entry point.
294 
295### Entry Point
296 
297`apps/admin/src/index.css` is the main CSS entry point. It contains:
298- `@source` directives that scan class usage in shade, activitypub, admin-x-settings, admin-x-design-system, and kg-unsplash-selector
299- `@import "@tryghost/shade/styles.css"` which loads the Shade design system styles
300 
301### Shade Styles
302 
303`apps/shade/styles.css` uses **unlayered** Tailwind imports:
304```css
305@import "tailwindcss/theme.css";
306@import "./preflight.css";
307@import "tailwindcss/utilities.css";
308@import "tw-animate-css";
309@import "./tailwind.theme.css";
310```
311 
312**Why unlayered:** Ember's legacy CSS (`.flex`, `.hidden`, etc.) is unlayered. If Tailwind utilities were in a `@layer`, they would lose to Ember's unlayered CSS in the cascade. Keeping both unlayered means source order determines specificity.
313 
314Theme tokens/variants/animations are defined in CSS (`apps/shade/tailwind.theme.css` + runtime vars in `styles.css`), so there is no JS `@config` bridge in the Admin runtime lane. `tw-animate-css` is the v4 replacement for `tailwindcss-animate`.
315 
316### Critical Rule: Embedded Apps Must NOT Import Shade Independently
317 
318Apps consumed via `@source` (activitypub, admin-x-settings) must **NOT** import `@tryghost/shade/styles.css` in their own CSS. Doing so causes duplicate Tailwind utilities and cascade conflicts. All Tailwind CSS is generated once via the admin entry point.
319 
320### Public Apps
321 
322Public-facing apps (`comments-ui`, `signup-form`, `sodo-search`, `portal`, `announcement-bar`) remain on **TailwindCSS v3**. They are built as UMD bundles for CDN distribution and are independent of the admin CSS pipeline.
323 
324### Legacy Apps
325 
326`admin-x-design-system` and `admin-x-settings` are consumed via `@source` in admin's centralized v4 pipeline for production, and both packages build with CSS-first Tailwind v4 setup.
327 
328## Code Guidelines
329 
330### Commit Messages
331When the user asks you to create a commit or draft a commit message, load and follow the `commit` skill from `.agents/skills/commit`.
332 
333### ESLint Config
334Source of truth: two internal config packages — [`@internal/cfg-eslint`](configs/eslint/index.mjs) (shared rule atoms + the `nodeLibConfig` factory for Node libs) and [`@internal/cfg-eslint-react`](configs/eslint-react/index.mjs) (the `reactAppConfig` factory for every `apps/*` workspace). Both factories are synchronous and have full JSDoc with `@example`s; hover the call site in your editor. Consume them by name — declare the package as a `workspace:*` devDependency.
335 
336Minimal example for a new admin React app (`apps/new-feature/eslint.config.js`):
337 
338```js
339import {reactAppConfig} from '@internal/cfg-eslint-react';
340export default reactAppConfig({
341    tailwindCssPath: `${import.meta.dirname}/../admin/src/index.css`,
342    shadeRestricted: true
343});
344```
345 
346Conventions:
347- **Rules are `'error'` or `'off'` — never `'warn'`.** Warnings get ignored and pollute output. Applies to every workspace covered by the factories above + the standalones; `e2e/` has its own setup (see [e2e/CLAUDE.md](e2e/CLAUDE.md)) and currently still uses warn-level Playwright rules — a separate cleanup.
348- **Params prefixed `legacy*`** (`legacyTailwindV3ConfigPath`, `legacyJsTsSplit`) are escape hatches for migrations that haven't shipped yet. Intentional and visible — PRs to remove them are scoped.
349- **Standalone configs** (`ghost/core`, `apps/ember-admin`, `apps/admin-toolbar`) exist because their rule sets genuinely don't fit a factory — read the file directly. They import shared atoms (`correctnessRules`, `nodeLibRules`, `localFilenamesPlugin`, `strictLinterOptions`) from `@internal/cfg-eslint`.
350- **Plugin deps**: a workspace must declare every eslint plugin its config resolves. Two cases:
351  - *Factory consumers* only import a factory, which supplies its plugins as objects from the config package — so they need just the config package (`@internal/cfg-eslint` / `@internal/cfg-eslint-react`) as a `workspace:*` devDependency, not the individual plugins.
352  - *Hand-rolled configs* (the standalones above, plus the inline configs in `koenig/kg-*` and `e2e/`) `import` plugins directly, so each must list those plugins in its own `devDependencies` — most commonly `eslint-plugin-ghost: catalog:`. Don't rely on the root hoisting a plugin for you; there are no eslint plugins left in the root `package.json` (only `eslint` itself and `globals`, which the root config uses).
353  - Exception: Tailwind — a workspace that uses it must list `tailwindcss` as its own (dev)Dependency regardless (the settings-based resolver requires it locally), and the legacy v3 apps pin `eslint-plugin-tailwindcss` via `catalog:tailwind3`.
354 
355### When Working on Admin UI
356- **New features:** Build in React in `apps/admin` (domain folders under `src/`)
357- **Use:** `admin-x-framework` for API hooks (`useBrowse`, `useEdit`, etc.)
358- **Use:** `shade` design system for new components (not admin-x-design-system)
359- **Translations:** Add to `packages/i18n/locales/en/ghost.json`
360 
361### When Working on Public UI
362- **Edit:** `apps/portal`, `apps/comments-ui`, etc.
363- **Translations:** Separate namespaces (`portal.json`, `comments.json`)
364- **Build:** UMD bundles for CDN distribution
365 
366### When Working on Backend
367- **Core logic:** `ghost/core/core/server/`
368- **Database Schema:** `ghost/core/core/server/data/schema/`
369- **API routes:** `ghost/core/core/server/api/`
370- **Services:** `ghost/core/core/server/services/`
371- **Models:** `ghost/core/core/server/models/`
372- **Frontend & theme rendering:** `ghost/core/core/frontend/`
373 
374### Design System Usage
375- **New components:** Use `shade` (shadcn/ui-inspired)
376- **Legacy:** `admin-x-design-system` (being phased out, avoid for new work)
377 
378### Analytics (Tinybird)
379- **Local development:** `pnpm dev:analytics` (starts Tinybird + MySQL)
380- **Config:** Add Tinybird config to `ghost/core/config.development.json`
381- **Scripts:** `ghost/core/core/server/data/tinybird/scripts/`
382- **Datafiles:** `ghost/core/core/server/data/tinybird/`
383 
384## Troubleshooting
385 
386### Build Issues
387```bash
388pnpm fix                       # Clean cache + node_modules + reinstall
389pnpm build:clean               # Clean build artifacts
390pnpm nx reset                  # Reset Nx cache
391```
392 
393### Test Issues
394- **E2E failures:** Check `e2e/CLAUDE.md` for debugging tips
395- **Docker issues:** `pnpm docker:clean && pnpm docker:build`
396