Ghost Release: 1.0.0-alpha.18

TL;DR

Ghost 1.0.0-alpha.18 brings significant improvements to the editor with better card selection, fixes critical styling issues on error pages, resolves admin area installation problems, and introduces developer workflow enhancements with Yarn integration and live reloading. This alpha release continues to refine Ghost's core functionality as it approaches the final stages before the stable 1.0 release.

Highlight of the Release

• Switched from npm to Yarn for dependency management with updated developer install instructions
• Added live reloading for admin changes when using grunt dev
• Fixed critical issues with error pages styling and 404s
• Improved card selection in the editor with consistent naming convention
• Fixed missing admin area when installing via ghost-cli or npm

Migration Guide

Migrating to Yarn

Developers should now use Yarn instead of npm for managing dependencies:

1. Install Yarn globally if you haven't already:

   npm install -g yarn
   

2. Follow the updated developer install instructions

3. Use yarn commands instead of npm:

   • yarn install instead of npm install
   • yarn add [package] instead of npm install --save [package]
   • yarn add [package] --dev instead of npm install --save-dev [package]

Theme Helper Changes

If you've built custom themes or extensions that interact with Ghost's helper system:

1. Review the theme helper changes as coupling has been reduced
2. Update any references to helper missing code as it has been removed
3. Check for any dependencies on the adminHbs concept which has been removed from tests

Card Naming Convention

If you've built custom cards, rename them to follow the new convention:

• Change from {{name}}-card to card-{{name}}

Upgrade Recommendations

For Developers and Testers

This alpha release is strictly for development and testing only and should not be used in production environments. If you're actively testing or developing with Ghost alpha, we recommend upgrading to this version to test the latest improvements and provide feedback.

For Production Users

Production users should continue using the stable v0.11.x LTS release. Do not attempt to use this alpha release in production environments.

Upgrade Process

1. Backup your content and configuration
2. Follow the developer install instructions which now use Yarn
3. Test thoroughly in a development environment before considering any production use

Bug Fixes

Critical Fixes

• Admin Installation: Fixed missing admin area when installing via ghost-cli or npm
• Error Pages: Fixed broken styling and 404s on error pages
• Admin Templates: Ensured that admin templates (now HTML files) are properly included in npm package (fixes #8216)

Testing and Configuration Fixes

• Timezone Tests: Set timezone in time-related tests to prevent inconsistent test results (fixes #8017)
• Test URLs: Replaced testurl.com in tests with a guaranteed "down" localhost URL to prevent timeouts and inconsistent test behavior
• Compression Config: Fixed configuration for compression to use top-level "compress" setting as documented (refs #7488)
• Get Helper: Fixed public API labs for get helper

New Features

Developer Workflow Improvements

• Yarn Integration: Replaced npm with Yarn for dependency management throughout the codebase and build processes
• Live Reloading: Added admin livereload capability when using grunt dev to automatically refresh the admin screen when files change
• Flexible Development Options: Added --server and --client options to grunt dev for more targeted development workflows
• Labs Utility: Added new labs utility for enabling helpers

Editor Enhancements

• Card Naming Convention: Renamed cards to follow the consistent card-{{name}} convention rather than {{name}}-card
• Unknown Card Handler: Added an unknown card handler to the editor for better error handling

Template Improvements

• CSS Separation: Split CSS server templates to remove default template dependency on client-side CSS
• Shared CSS Files: Added new shared CSS files (normalizer.css, error.css, extracted.css, ghost.css) for server-side template rendering

Security Updates

No specific security fixes were mentioned in this release.

Performance Improvements

Theme Helper Optimizations

• Significant cleanup and simplification of theme helpers:
  • Reduced coupling inside of /helpers
  • Used settingsCache in ghost_foot and ghost_head for better performance
  • Moved loadCoreHelpers to blog for better organization
  • Removed unused helper missing code that hasn't been used for some time

Development Process Improvements

• Improved Gruntfile tasks for better development experience
• Updated bgShell:client task to filter potentially confusing output from ember serve
• Improved npm initialization by hiding error logs when running npm run init

Impact Summary

Ghost 1.0.0-alpha.18 represents a significant step toward the final 1.0 release with important refinements to both user-facing features and developer tooling. The switch to Yarn for dependency management modernizes the development workflow and aligns with current best practices. The improvements to the editor's card system enhance content creation capabilities, while fixes for critical issues like missing admin areas and broken error pages ensure a more stable experience.

For developers, the addition of live reloading and more flexible development options with grunt dev significantly improves productivity. The cleanup and simplification of theme helpers reduces complexity and improves maintainability.

This release continues to demonstrate Ghost's commitment to both developer experience and end-user functionality as it approaches the stable 1.0 release. The focus on fixing critical issues while also introducing workflow improvements shows a balanced approach to development.

Full Release Notes