Ghost Release: 1.18.0

TL;DR

Ghost 1.18.0 introduces webhooks support for subscriber events, fixes a critical bug with slugs exceeding database limits, and adds the bookshelf-relations dependency for improved relationship handling. This release includes a database migration to support future functionality and various dependency updates for better performance and security. The update is particularly valuable for developers integrating Ghost with third-party services and for sites with long post titles that previously encountered saving issues.

Highlight of the Release

• Added webhooks support for subscriber events (subscribers.added and subscribers.deleted)
• Fixed critical bug preventing posts with very long titles from being saved due to slug length limitations
• Added bookshelf-relations as a dependency for improved relationship handling
• Updated Casper theme to version 2.1.7
• Included database migration to support future functionality

Migration Guide

Database Migration

This release contains a database migration to support future functionality. Before upgrading, ensure you:

1. Back up your database
2. Allow sufficient time for the migration to complete
3. Test the upgrade in a staging environment if possible

Webhooks Implementation

If you're planning to use the new webhooks functionality:

1. Only HTTPS URLs are supported for webhook targets
2. Currently supported events are subscribers.added and subscribers.deleted
3. Webhooks can be added via direct database manipulation or through the private API endpoint /webhooks/ using password authentication

Upgrade Recommendations

This is a recommended upgrade for all Ghost users, especially for:

• Sites experiencing issues with long post titles that couldn't be saved due to slug length limitations
• Developers looking to integrate Ghost subscriber events with third-party services
• Anyone wanting to benefit from the latest dependency updates and bug fixes

As this release includes a database migration, make sure to:

1. Create a complete backup of your Ghost installation and database before upgrading
2. Schedule the upgrade during a low-traffic period
3. Test the upgrade process in a staging environment if possible
4. Follow the standard Ghost upgrade process for your installation method (CLI, Docker, etc.)

Bug Fixes

Fixed Slugs Exceeding Database Limit

Fixed a critical issue where automatically generated slugs could exceed the database field limit of 191 characters. This primarily affected posts with very long titles (up to 255 characters), which would generate slugs of the same length and prevent users from saving their posts.

The fix implements a simplified approach that limits all generated slugs to 185 characters (plus counter for duplicates), making it easier to find duplicates while ensuring the database constraints are respected. This limit is not applied during content imports.

New Features

Webhooks Support for Subscriber Events

Ghost now supports REST Hooks style webhooks that can be used with Zapier triggers and other integrations. This feature allows you to receive notifications when subscribers are added or deleted from your Ghost site. Currently, webhooks can be added in two ways:

• Adding a webhook record to the database manually
• Using the API with password authentication and POSTing to /webhooks/ (private API)

Note that only HTTPS URLs are supported in the webhook target_url field for security reasons.

Bookshelf-Relations Integration

Ghost now includes bookshelf-relations as a dependency, which improves how relationship data is handled. This change:

• Removes existing tag handling in favor of the new system
• Ensures all relationship operations run within a transaction for data integrity
• Provides better validation for relationships

Security Updates

No specific security fixes were mentioned in this release. However, the dependency updates likely include security patches, and the enforcement of HTTPS for webhook target URLs is a security-focused design decision.

Performance Improvements

Dependency Updates

Several dependencies have been updated for improved performance and compatibility:

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Amperize Update

Amperize has been updated to version 0.3.6, which includes:

• Various dependency updates
• Node v8 support
• Eslint refactoring

Impact Summary

Ghost 1.18.0 delivers significant improvements for developers through the addition of webhooks support for subscriber events and the integration of bookshelf-relations for better relationship handling. Content creators will appreciate the fix for the slug length limitation that previously prevented saving posts with very long titles.

The database migration included in this release lays groundwork for future functionality, making this an important foundational update. The various dependency updates improve overall performance, compatibility with Node v8, and likely include security enhancements.

The Casper theme update to 2.1.7 ensures the default theme remains current with the latest features and fixes.

Overall, this release focuses on enhancing Ghost's extensibility through webhooks, improving reliability by fixing the slug length issue, and maintaining a healthy codebase through dependency updates and refactoring.

Full Release Notes