Ghost Release: 5.52.0

TL;DR

Ghost v5.52.0 introduces several enhancements to the platform, including custom theme setting descriptions, improved collections management, and AdminX design settings updates. The release also fixes multiple issues with the signup form, page revisions, and the new editor. Key improvements include the ability to fetch posts by collection, better theme management in AdminX, and enhanced signup form functionality. This update focuses on improving developer and user experience while maintaining platform stability.

Highlight of the Release

• Added custom theme setting descriptions for better user guidance
• Added word count to beta editor
• Added 'index' built-in collection for improved content organization
• Improved signup form functionality with multiple bug fixes
• Enhanced theme management in AdminX with preview, upload, activate, and delete capabilities
• Added ability to fetch posts by collection

Migration Guide

Theme Developers

If you're developing custom themes, you can now add descriptions to your theme settings by updating your package.json file. This is an optional feature that enhances the user experience when configuring your theme.

Collection API Users

The Posts API now supports filtering by collection using the collection query parameter. If you're currently using custom filters to achieve this functionality, you can simplify your code by using this new parameter.

AdminX Integration

If you're working with AdminX, note that several new components and hooks have been added for theme management and navigation settings. Review the updated API documentation if you're extending or customizing these areas.

Test Framework Users

Several optimizations have been made to the test framework. If you're experiencing performance issues with tests, consider updating to this version to benefit from these improvements.

Upgrade Recommendations

This release contains important bug fixes and feature enhancements that improve the overall stability and functionality of Ghost. It's recommended for all users to upgrade, especially those who:

1. Use custom themes and would benefit from improved theme management
2. Work with collections and need better post organization capabilities
3. Have experienced issues with signup forms or page revisions
4. Use the beta editor and want access to word count functionality

The upgrade should be straightforward with no breaking changes reported. As always, it's recommended to backup your database before upgrading and test the upgrade in a staging environment if possible.

Bug Fixes

Signup Form Fixes

• Fixed horizontal scrolling on signup form input field when long text is entered
• Fixed visible scrollbars in signup form preview
• Fixed signup form text wrapping after submitting
• Disabled signup form embed menu when members are disabled

Editor Fixes

• Fixed snippet insertion in the new editor, resolving issues with snippet replacement and insertion
• Fixed post history functionality for posts sent as an email

Page Revisions Fixes

• Fixed page revision returning empty array on update and restore
• Fixed revisions relation not linked to Pages API, ensuring revisions are accessible and restorable via Admin

Theme Management Fixes

• Fixed file upload not triggering for same file selection in theme management
• Fixed official theme image assets not loading in AdminX

Other Fixes

• Fixed retrying failed email without error message
• Fixed empty icon crashing signup embed preview
• Fixed check for god_mode parameter
• Fixed mutation of shared state for matcher

New Features

Custom Theme Setting Descriptions

Theme developers can now add descriptions to custom theme settings, providing better guidance to users about the purpose and impact of each setting. These descriptions are displayed in the theme settings UI and can be truncated to maintain a clean interface.

Index Built-in Collection

A new "index" built-in collection has been added to support displaying posts on the index page. This collection will hold all posts that would be displayed on the main index page, providing more flexibility in content organization.

Word Count in Beta Editor

The beta editor now includes word count functionality, allowing content creators to track the length of their content as they write.

Collection Posts API

Added the ability to fetch posts by collection using the collection query parameter, which can accept either an ID or slug. This simplifies the process of retrieving posts that belong to a specific collection.

Theme Management in AdminX

AdminX now includes comprehensive theme management capabilities:

• Browse and preview installed themes
• Upload new themes with confirmation dialogs
• Activate themes with preview
• Delete themes with confirmation
• Download themes
• View official themes with installation status

Navigation Settings in AdminX

Added navigation settings logic to AdminX, allowing for easier management of site navigation with an improved UI.

Security Updates

No significant security fixes were mentioned in this release.

Performance Improvements

Test Framework Improvements

• Collected Ghost boot timing in test framework to track and calculate time spent in boot/DB reset process
• Prevented registering multiple Slack event listeners during tests
• Optimized database reset during tests, reducing the time by 90% in MySQL environments
• Extracted regression tests to a separate workflow for parallel execution
• Reset URL service between test boots to avoid event listeners piling up

Code Structure Improvements

• Moved several standalone apps to the apps/ folder for better organization:
  • Sodo-Search
  • Announcement-bar
  • Portal
• Added support for the apps/ workspace in development tools
• Refactored posts browsing to posts service for cleaner code structure
• Moved serialization of formats into the serializer layer for better architecture

Impact Summary

Ghost v5.52.0 delivers significant improvements to theme management, collections functionality, and the AdminX interface. Theme developers will appreciate the ability to add custom descriptions to theme settings, providing better guidance to users. Content creators benefit from word count in the beta editor and fixed snippet insertion. Site administrators gain enhanced theme management capabilities and improved navigation settings in AdminX.

The new "index" built-in collection improves content organization, while the ability to fetch posts by collection simplifies API usage. Multiple bug fixes address issues with signup forms, page revisions, and the editor, enhancing overall platform stability.

The release also includes performance optimizations for the test framework and a reorganized code structure with standalone apps moved to a dedicated folder. These changes improve developer experience and maintain Ghost's reputation for clean, maintainable code.

With updated translations for multiple languages and the addition of Malay locale support, this release continues Ghost's commitment to internationalization and accessibility for users worldwide.

Full Release Notes