Ghost Release: 3.19.1

TL;DR

Ghost 3.19.1 brings responsive image support with srcset attributes for image and gallery cards, enhancing performance across different devices. This release also adds Stripe Connect test mode support, improves member imports with Stripe connections, and fixes several bugs including timezone issues. The update focuses on improving the developer and user experience with better error handling and visual enhancements.

Highlight of the Release

• Added responsive image srcset attribute to image and gallery card output for better performance across devices
• Added support for Stripe Connect test mode for safer payment integration testing
• Improved member imports with special handling for Stripe customer IDs
• Added display_name and account_id to Stripe Connect for better visibility in Admin
• Fixed timezone issues affecting content scheduling

Migration Guide

No significant migration steps are required for this release. The update from 3.19.0 to 3.19.1 should be straightforward with no breaking changes.

If you're using custom themes or integrations that interact with images or Stripe functionality, you may want to review the following:

1. For theme developers: The image and gallery cards now include srcset attributes. This should improve performance without requiring changes, but you may want to test your theme to ensure proper rendering.

2. For developers using Stripe: If you're using Stripe Connect, you now have the option to use test mode by passing the appropriate parameters. This doesn't require migration but offers new functionality you may want to utilize.

Upgrade Recommendations

This is a minor release with several enhancements and bug fixes. We recommend all users upgrade to Ghost 3.19.1 to benefit from:

1. Improved image loading performance with responsive images
2. Better Stripe integration with test mode support
3. Fixed timezone issues
4. Enhanced member import handling

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

Bug Fixes

Stripe and Member Management

• Fixed import stats to correctly show import failures instead of "duplicate" when validation errors are Stripe-related
• Fixed email copy for update email template sent for from address updates
• Removed extra redirect on Admin for from address update

Content and Display

• Shortened insufficient oembed data error message for better display in client
• Fixed post model regression test to account for new srcset in HTML output

System

• Fixed timezone issue affecting content scheduling
• Removed leftover code and comments
• Temporarily disabled verbose Slack notifications for builds

New Features

Responsive Images

• Added responsive-image srcset attribute to image and gallery card output
• Implemented hardcoded "content image sizes" in the base configuration
• Updated image handling middleware to generate the required image sizes
• Enhanced @tryghost/kg-card-factory to allow passthrough of options to card renderers

Stripe Connect Improvements

• Added support for Stripe Connect test mode via a mode parameter
• Implemented the ability to pass a mode param of 'test' to use testmode client_id for OAuth flow
• Added mode query parameter to the members_stripe_connect API auth method
• Encoded the mode in the Stripe Connect OAuth state for proper client_secret selection
• Added display_name and account_id to Stripe Connect for better visibility in Admin

Member Import Enhancements

• Added special handling for member imports with Stripe customer IDs
• Improved validation to fail imports when Stripe is not configured but stripe_customer_id is present
• Updated import stats to show proper failure reasons for Stripe-related errors

Admin Interface

• Added access level filter to posts and pages lists in admin
• Added new isStripeConfigured flag to public members site data to help clients configure payment behavior

Security Updates

No specific security fixes were mentioned in this release.

Performance Improvements

Image Loading Performance

• The addition of responsive image srcset attributes to image and gallery cards significantly improves page load performance by serving appropriately sized images based on the user's device
• This reduces bandwidth usage and improves page load times, especially on mobile devices

Dependency Updates

• Replaced nql-map-key-values with @nexes/nql (updated to 0.4.0)
• Updated analytics-node to v3.4.0-beta.2
• Updated bson-objectid to v1.3.1
• Updated @tryghost/kg-default-atoms to v2.0.1
• Updated @tryghost/members-api to 0.20.1
• Updated @tryghost/members-ssr to v0.8.1

Code Optimization

• Refactored ghost_head to use isStripeConnected for more efficient script loading
• Removed redundant code and improved error handling

Impact Summary

Ghost 3.19.1 delivers notable improvements to both the user experience and developer workflow. The introduction of responsive images with srcset attributes for image and gallery cards represents a significant performance enhancement, ensuring content looks great across all devices while optimizing bandwidth usage.

For site administrators and developers, the addition of Stripe Connect test mode provides a safer way to test payment integrations without affecting live transactions. The improved error handling for member imports with Stripe connections and better visibility of Stripe account information in the admin interface streamline the management of paid memberships.

The release also addresses several bugs, including timezone issues that could affect content scheduling, and improves the user interface with better error messages and more intuitive redirects.

Overall, this update focuses on enhancing performance, improving the developer experience, and fixing bugs that impact day-to-day operations. While it's a minor release, the cumulative effect of these changes delivers meaningful improvements for content creators, developers, and site administrators alike.

Full Release Notes