Ghost Release: 2.25.0

TL;DR

Ghost 2.25.0: Performance Boost for Image Processing & Admin UI Refresh

This release brings significant performance improvements to image processing by implementing faster image size detection, especially for remote images. The admin interface has received a design refresh with usability enhancements. Additionally, the codebase now includes preliminary support for Node.js v12 (ahead of its LTS status), ensuring Ghost stays compatible with upcoming Node.js versions.

Highlight of the Release

• Significant performance improvement for image processing with the new probe-image-size dependency
• Updated admin interface with refreshed design and usability enhancements
• Added preliminary support for Node.js v12 (ahead of its LTS status)
• Better error logging for oEmbed unknown provider issues

Migration Guide

No migration steps are required for this update. This is a compatible release that can be installed with a standard update procedure:

ghost update

If you're using a custom theme or have made modifications to the core codebase, no additional changes should be needed.

Upgrade Recommendations

This update is recommended for all Ghost users as it brings performance improvements and UI enhancements without breaking changes.

Priority: Medium Complexity: Low (standard update)

The performance improvements for image processing will be particularly beneficial for sites that work with many images or remote embeds. The admin UI refresh enhances the content creation experience.

To update:

1. Back up your Ghost installation
2. Run ghost update if using Ghost-CLI
3. If manually installed, follow the standard update procedure

Bug Fixes

Admin Interface

• Various bug fixes and improvements included in Ghost-Admin updates to versions 2.24.0 and 2.25.0

Build System

• Fixed Node.js v12 failing build on Travis CI by adding appropriate configuration options

New Features

Enhanced Image Processing

• Added probe-image-size dependency to speed up image size detection
• Optimized network requests by fetching only partial image data when possible
• This significantly improves performance when working with remote images

Improved Error Logging

• Added URL context to oEmbed unknownProvider errors
• Makes it easier to identify and debug issues with unsupported embed sources

Node.js v12 Support

• Added preliminary support for Node.js v12 (ahead of its official LTS date of October 22, 2019)
• Modified CI configuration to allow testing with Node.js v12
• Added --ignore-engines option to the install step to enable v12 builds

Security Updates

No specific security fixes were mentioned in this release.

Performance Improvements

Image Processing Optimization

• Significantly improved the performance of the image-size utility functions
• Now uses probe-image-size to fetch only partial image data over the network where possible
• Reduces bandwidth usage and processing time when working with remote images

Admin Interface

• The updated admin interface includes performance improvements for a smoother user experience

Impact Summary

This release focuses on performance and user experience improvements. The most significant change is the optimization of image processing, which will be especially noticeable on sites that work with many images or remote embeds. Content creators will benefit from both the performance boost and the refreshed admin interface.

The addition of preliminary Node.js v12 support is forward-looking but doesn't affect current production environments, as v12 wasn't yet an LTS release at the time. The improved error logging for oEmbed providers will help developers identify issues with unsupported embed sources.

Overall, this is a quality-of-life update that improves Ghost's performance and usability without introducing breaking changes or requiring migration steps.

Full Release Notes