Ghost Release: 3.6.0

TL;DR

Ghost 3.6.0 introduces member labels, a powerful new feature that allows site owners to categorize and organize their members for better segmentation and targeting. This release also fixes critical bugs in the member CSV export functionality and resolves an upgrade failure issue affecting users moving to version 3.5.x. Additionally, it enhances the {{#has}} helper with visibility property support for more flexible theme development.

Highlight of the Release

• Introduction of member labels for better organization and segmentation
• Fixed CSV export to properly handle undefined values
• Enhanced {{#has}} helper with visibility property support
• Fixed upgrade failure issue when moving to version 3.5.x

Migration Guide

Upgrading to Ghost 3.6.0

This is a standard minor release with no breaking changes. You can upgrade as usual:

1. Back up your Ghost installation
2. Follow the standard upgrade process

If you were previously experiencing issues upgrading to version 3.5.x, this release includes a fix that should resolve those problems.

Member Labels

If you're using the Members feature, you'll now see the ability to add labels to members. No additional configuration is required to use this feature.

Upgrade Recommendations

We recommend all Ghost users upgrade to version 3.6.0, especially:

• Users who are currently on version 3.5.x or earlier and use the Members feature
• Users who have experienced issues when trying to upgrade to version 3.5.x
• Theme developers who want to take advantage of the enhanced {{#has}} helper functionality

This is a stable release with important bug fixes and useful new features for member management.

Bug Fixes

Fixed "undefined" Values in Member CSV Export

Previously, when exporting members to CSV, fields that didn't exist would show up as literal "undefined" values in the CSV file. This caused issues both in the exported data and when trying to import that data back into Ghost. This release properly handles empty/undefined values during export.

Fixed Upgrade Failure to Version 3.5.x

Resolved an issue that prevented some users from upgrading to version 3.5.x. The problem was caused by a refactor where the backup module signature changed but wasn't updated in migrations. This fix ensures smooth upgrades from older versions.

New Features

Member Labels

Ghost now supports labels for members, allowing site owners to categorize and organize their audience. This powerful feature enables better segmentation for targeted content and communications.

• Add custom labels to any member
• Filter and search members by labels
• Export and import members with their labels preserved
• Labels are sanitized to prevent case-insensitive duplicates

Enhanced {{#has}} Helper

The {{#has}} helper now supports the visibility property, allowing theme developers to create more dynamic experiences based on content access levels:

{{#has visibility="paid"}}
  This content is for paid members only
{{/has}}

This enhancement makes it easier to distinguish between paid, member-only, and public posts in member-enabled themes.

Host Limit Check for Members Email

Added a host limit check for members email publishing, improving system reliability and preventing potential issues.

Security Updates

No security fixes were mentioned in this release.

Performance Improvements

No specific performance improvements were highlighted in this release.

Impact Summary

Ghost 3.6.0 significantly enhances the Members feature with the addition of labels, providing site owners with better tools for organizing and segmenting their audience. This improvement allows for more targeted content and communications strategies.

The bug fixes in this release address important issues that affected member data management and system upgrades. The fix for "undefined" values in CSV exports ensures cleaner data handling, while the resolution of the 3.5.x upgrade failure removes a potential roadblock for users on older versions.

For theme developers, the enhanced {{#has}} helper with visibility property support enables more sophisticated theme designs that can adapt based on content access levels, improving the experience for both free and paid members.

Overall, this release focuses on enhancing the members experience while fixing critical bugs, making it a recommended upgrade for all Ghost users.

Full Release Notes