Ghost Release: 2.1.4

TL;DR

Ghost 2.1.4 introduces the new v2 API endpoints for both content and admin, adds case-insensitive support for redirects, and improves profile image handling with square image validation. This release lays important groundwork for future API improvements while maintaining backward compatibility. The default Casper theme has been updated to version 2.6.3 with visual improvements for galleries and wide images.

Highlight of the Release

• Introduction of v2 API endpoints for both content and admin
• Case-insensitive support for redirects
• New endpoint for uploading square profile images with dimension validation
• Casper theme updated to version 2.6.3 with improved gallery and wide image spacing
• Simplified sitemap generation by removing unnecessary fields

Migration Guide

Migration Notes

• API v2 Usage: The new v2 API endpoints are available but marked as "under active development" in this release. If you're integrating with these endpoints, be aware they may change in future releases.

• Case-insensitive Redirects: If you're using custom redirects, you can now make them case-insensitive by adding the i flag to your regex patterns (e.g., /^\\/example/i).

• Profile Images: The new profile image upload endpoint enforces square dimensions. Existing non-square profile images are not affected by this change, but all new uploads will require square dimensions.

• Sitemap Changes: The sitemap no longer includes change frequency and priority fields. If your SEO strategy relied on these fields, note that according to Google, these properties are not significant for search engine crawling.

Upgrade Recommendations

This is a minor release with several new features and improvements. It's recommended for all Ghost users to upgrade to version 2.1.4, especially if you:

• Are developing against the Ghost API and want to start exploring the new v2 endpoints
• Need case-insensitive redirect support
• Want to ensure consistent square profile images
• Are using the default Casper theme and would benefit from improved gallery and image spacing

The upgrade should be straightforward with no breaking changes to existing functionality. As always, it's recommended to backup your Ghost installation before upgrading.

Bug Fixes

• Private Sites Redirects: Updated private-sites to not redirect to full URLs by parsing redirects as URL with blog as base
• Model Fixes:
  • Updated base model to remove extraAllowedProperties for better extensibility
  • Fixed permittedOptions to correctly call super with proper context
  • Removed duplicate 'id' for User permittedOptions

New Features

New API Endpoints and Features

• v2 API Endpoints: Added new API endpoints under /ghost/api/v2/content/ and /ghost/api/v2/admin/ while maintaining backward compatibility with v0.1
• Case-insensitive Redirects: Added support for case-insensitive redirects using regex pattern flags (e.g., /^\\/case-insensitive/i)
• Square Profile Image Validation: New API endpoint /uploads/profile-image that validates and ensures uploaded profile images are square
• Improved URL Utility: Refactored URL utility to generate multiple API version URLs with centralized API versioning configuration

Theme Updates

• Casper 2.6.3: Updated the default theme with adjusted spacing for galleries and wide images in sequence

Security Updates

No specific security fixes were mentioned in this release.

Performance Improvements

• Simplified Sitemap Generation: Removed change frequency and priority fields from sitemap generator as they are not considered important by search engines when crawling pages
• Code Optimization:
  • Replaced setPrototypeOf with native Object.setPrototypeOf to reduce dependencies
  • Normalized model imports for better consistency and searchability
  • Refactored direct usages of API controllers for better maintainability

Impact Summary

Ghost 2.1.4 represents an important step in the evolution of the platform's API architecture with the introduction of v2 API endpoints. While maintaining backward compatibility, this release lays the groundwork for more flexible and maintainable API interactions in the future.

The addition of case-insensitive redirects improves URL handling flexibility, which is particularly valuable for sites migrating content from other platforms or dealing with inconsistent external links. The new profile image validation ensures a more consistent user experience by enforcing square dimensions for all newly uploaded profile pictures.

For developers, the extensive refactoring and ES6 migrations improve code quality and maintainability. The reorganization of middleware and utilities into a shared structure creates a more logical and consistent codebase.

The update to the Casper theme enhances the visual presentation of content with improved spacing for galleries and wide images, benefiting both content creators and readers.

Overall, this release balances forward-looking architectural improvements with practical enhancements that benefit different types of Ghost users.

Full Release Notes