Ghost Release: 5.22.6

TL;DR

Ghost v5.22.6: Performance Improvements and Bug Fixes

This release focuses on improving performance through caching enhancements and fixing several critical bugs affecting member management and UI functionality. The update adds comma separation to comment numbers for better readability, fixes issues with comped subscription duration dropdowns, resolves tier archiving problems, and implements caching for the comments count endpoint to reduce server load. These changes primarily benefit site administrators and developers by improving the stability and performance of the Ghost platform.

Highlight of the Release

• Added caching capability for comments count endpoint to improve performance
• Fixed comped subscription duration dropdown visibility issue
• Fixed tier archiving functionality
• Improved readability with comma separation for comment numbers

Migration Guide

No migration steps are required for this update. This is a minor release with bug fixes and performance improvements that should not affect existing functionality.

Upgrade Recommendations

This release contains important bug fixes and performance improvements that benefit all Ghost installations. We recommend all users upgrade to v5.22.6, especially those who:

• Use the membership and subscription features
• Have sites with active comment sections
• Experience performance issues with high-traffic sites

The update is backward compatible and should not disrupt existing functionality.

Bug Fixes

Critical Bug Fixes

• Fixed Comped Subscription UI: Resolved an issue where the comped subscription duration drop-down was sometimes not visible, affecting member management capabilities.
• Tier Archiving Fix: Corrected the TiersAPI which was incorrectly using the active property rather than the status property when editing Tiers.
• Hosting Management Screen: Fixed an issue where the hosting management screen would not load properly after the sign-in process.
• Lexical Editor Loading: Addressed a problem with the lexical editor not loading correctly due to configuration service changes.
• Upgrades for Paid Members: Fixed incorrect filtering of tiers from the upgrade screen by ensuring proper currency comparison using the isSameCurrency helper.

New Features

Enhanced Caching Capabilities

• Comments Count Endpoint Caching: Changed the comments count request from POST to GET to enable request caching, reducing server load and improving performance.
• Stale-While-Revalidate Support: Added ability to pass stale-while-revalidate option to cache control, allowing browsers to use cached data while fetching fresh content in the background.
• Improved CORS Handling: Added proper 'Origin' value in Vary header for OPTIONS requests, allowing correct bucketing of CORS responses in shared caches.

Security Updates

No significant security fixes were included in this release.

Performance Improvements

Performance Optimizations

• Comments Count Caching: Changed the comments count endpoint from POST to GET to enable browser and CDN caching, reducing server load.
• Stale-While-Revalidate Implementation: Added support for the stale-while-revalidate cache control directive, allowing browsers to use cached data while fetching fresh content in the background, reducing perceived latency.
• CORS Caching Improvements: Added proper Vary header values for CORS in both Admin API and Frontend, enabling better caching of OPTIONS requests in shared caches.
• Event Listener Cleanup: Fixed <GhExploreIframe> component to properly clean up event listeners, preventing memory leaks.

Impact Summary

Ghost v5.22.6 delivers targeted improvements to the platform's performance and stability. The caching enhancements for comments count and OPTIONS requests will particularly benefit high-traffic sites by reducing server load and improving response times.

The bug fixes address several pain points in the member management workflow, including issues with comped subscription dropdowns and tier archiving. These fixes ensure administrators can more effectively manage their membership programs without encountering UI obstacles.

The UI improvements, such as adding comma separation to comment numbers, enhance readability and provide a more polished user experience. Overall, this release represents Ghost's ongoing commitment to performance optimization and quality-of-life improvements for both administrators and end users.

Full Release Notes