Ghost Release: 5.96.2

TL;DR

Ghost v5.96.2 Fixes Critical Recommendation System Bug

This patch release addresses a critical regression in Ghost's recommendation system where incoming recommendations were incorrectly marked as deleted and failed to render in Admin Settings. The issue was caused by a previous fix related to bookmark card icons and thumbnails, which has now been reverted and properly resolved. This ensures that site administrators can once again view and manage incoming recommendations properly in the admin interface.

Highlight of the Release

• Fixed critical regression in the recommendation system
• Restored visibility of incoming recommendations in Admin Settings
• Improved recommendation refresh logic to restore previously deleted recommendations when available

Migration Guide

No migration steps are required for this patch release. The fix is applied automatically when updating to v5.96.2.

Upgrade Recommendations

Immediate Upgrade Recommended

All Ghost users should upgrade to v5.96.2 immediately, especially if you use the recommendation system. This patch fixes a critical regression that prevents incoming recommendations from appearing in the Admin Settings.

The update is a standard patch release with no breaking changes or migration requirements, making it safe to apply with minimal risk.

Bug Fixes

Fixed Missing Incoming Recommendations

This release addresses a critical regression introduced in commit 871d21a (which was attempting to fix bookmark card icons and thumbnails). The regression caused incoming recommendations to be incorrectly marked as deleted, preventing them from rendering in the Admin Settings interface.

The fix includes:

• Reverting the problematic commit that caused the regression
• Updating the refresh logic for incoming recommendations during system boot
• Adding functionality to refetch previously deleted incoming recommendations
• Restoring recommendations that are now available without sending staff email notifications

This ensures that site administrators can properly view and manage all incoming recommendations in the admin interface.

New Features

No new features were introduced in this patch release. This update focuses exclusively on fixing a regression in the recommendation system.

Security Updates

No security fixes were included in this patch release.

Performance Improvements

No specific performance improvements were included in this patch release. The focus was on fixing the recommendation system regression.

Impact Summary

This patch release has a moderate impact on Ghost installations that utilize the recommendation system. The fix restores proper functionality to incoming recommendations, ensuring they appear correctly in the Admin Settings interface rather than being incorrectly marked as deleted.

The issue was caused by a regression in a previous fix related to bookmark card icons and thumbnails. By reverting and properly addressing this regression, Ghost v5.96.2 ensures that site administrators can properly manage recommendations again.

The update is particularly important for sites that actively use Ghost's recommendation system for content discovery and cross-promotion. Without this fix, incoming recommendations would continue to be invisible in the admin interface, potentially limiting content discovery and site interconnectivity.

Full Release Notes