Live configuration and data editing

October 3rd, 2024 | Changelog

Live data and configuration editing and the Unified Configuration file format are now available for everyone on CloudCannon! Thank you to everyone who assisted in our September 2024 Live Configuration Beta. Your feedback is always valuable to our team.

All new Organizations will now use the Unified Configuration file format by default. Existing Organizations can opt into live data and configuration editing or Unified Configuration on the Org-level or Site-level by following the Unified Configuration Migration Guide.

The Legacy version of CloudCannon (which does not support live data and configuration editing or Unified Configuration) is still available for a short time. CloudCannon will support the Legacy app until October 31st, 2024. If you have any feedback about this change, please get in touch with our support team or contact us through your dedicated Slack channel.

This release added a warning if CloudCannon detects that you need to enable Git LFS, new features for Select and Multiselect inputs, UI elements for returning to CloudCannon Legacy, UI improvements to the Status and Flags pages, and better messaging in-app.

This release also addressed several issues affecting Object inputs and the CloudCannon configuration file.

Features & Improvements#

  • CloudCannon will now warn you if you have a /.gitattributes file but have not enabled Git LFS on the Source Syncing page in your Site Settings. This warning will appear in the new Needs Attention section on the Status page.
  • Groups within Structures are now configured using the values.groups key to avoid a common source of misconfiguration.
  • You can now configure whether an Object input is tabbed using options.subtype: tabbed value.
  • Added a Clear button, a loading spinner, and icons to Select and Multiselect inputs.
  • You can now populate Select and Multiselect inputs with a filtered subset of values from Collections, data files, or data sets. Most JSONPath expressions are supported here. For example, the following Multiselect input will only provide values from the Posts collection where the author key is equal to james.
james-author-profile.yml
copied
_inputs:
  james_posts:
    type: multiselect
    label: James
    options:
      values: "collections.posts[?(@.author == 'james')].title"
  • CloudCannon now uses the Collection preview options for Select and Multiselect inputs populated by a Collection.
  • You can now configure the full set of preview options for Select and Multiselect inputs, including icon, metadata, gallery, subtext, image, and tags. Additionally, the new keys view, picker_view, and picker_preview are now available.
  • Partner Organizations can select whether new Client Organizations use the Legacy app by default during Organization creation.
  • Client Sharing users can control if they are in the Legacy environment using the Enter Legacy button in the App Navigation sidebar.
    • This button enables a Site-wide flag that affects all Client Sharing users.
    • Client Sharing users cannot open Sites using the Unified Configuration file format while in the Legacy app.
  • The Summary tab on the Status page now has a Needs attention notice if CloudCannon detects an issue with your Site configuration, a Suggestions section, and a link to Support. The most recent Sync and Build are on the right of the page.
  • The Flags page now has sections for General, Upgrade to Unified Configuration, Input naming conventions, and Legacy options.
    • Flags available under the General section include the Disable setup prompts flag.
    • Flags available under the Upgrade to Unified Configuration section include the Enable live configuration and data reloading and Use Unified Configuration flags. This section will not appear if your Site is already using the Unified Configuration file format.
    • Flags available under the Input naming conventions section include the Infer Select values from input key and Infer Structure from input key flags.
    • Flags available under the Legacy options section include the Image size attributes default behavior and Legacy collections value key flags.
  • Better messaging when discarding unsaved changes.
  • Better messaging in the Data Editor when you set your source in the CloudCannon configuration file.

Live data and configuration editing#

  • You can now see your updates affect CloudCannon live whenever you edit your data and configuration files without waiting for a build.
  • When you create a new file in a Collection, Select inputs populated by that Collection will display the new file before you save it.
  • When you update your Input, Structure, or Schema configuration, you can see those changes the next time you open a file in an editing interface.
    • CloudCannon applies a Schema to a file when first opened during an editing session. You will not see live changes from an updated Schema if a file is already open with unsaved changes.

Live data and configuration editing is available by default on all Sites with the Unified Configuration file format.

You can enable live data and configuration editing on your existing Sites using the Enable live configuration and data reloading flag on the Flags page. For more information, please read steps one and two of our Unified Configuration Migration Guide.

The Unified Configuration file format#

  • The Unified Configuration file format for your CloudCannon configuration file simplifies Site setup.
  • When you create a Site using the Unified Configuration file format, CloudCannon requires less information from you. It also uses the same configuration options regardless of SSG.
  • CloudCannon can now detect your Collections immediately after syncing your files, regardless of SSG.
  • You can now manage your content in CloudCannon before your first build.
  • Loading your Sites in CloudCannon is now faster.
  • CloudCannon now provides suggestions for your build configuration settings based on your files and SSG, including your command line options and environment variables.
  • Added the CloudCannon Configuration Path field to the Editing page under Site Settings for specifying the location of your configuration file. You can no longer configure this path in your environment variables.
    • This setting is important for Sites using Headless Mode or which do not build using CloudCannon.
  • You can now enable Headless Mode if you want to create a headless Site on CloudCannon. Headless mode disables building and hosting for your Site and streamlines your Site Settings by removing settings you don't need.
    • Headless Mode is useful if you want to create externally hosted static websites with visual editing, server-side rendering (SSR) or other server-side functions, or externally hosted APIs while still using CloudCannon as your primary CMS.
  • The Site Details page now includes fields for your Site Name, Mode, and Static Site Generator. Mode determines whether your Site is Hosted or Headless, toggling Site hosting and builds. Adding a Site icon is now part of the onboarding flow.
  • The Build Configuration page now includes a checkbox for Building Locked and sections for Command line options, Build system options, and Library versions. The SSG dropdown has moved to the Site Details page.
    • Fields available under Command line options are Install Command, Build Command, Output Path, and Environment Variables.
    • Fields available under Build system options are Preserved Paths, Preserve Output, Include Git Folder, and Manually Configure URLs.
    • Fields available under Library versions are Hugo version, Ruby version, Node version, and Deno version.
    • Many configuration options have been removed from this page as you no longer need to specify them in CloudCannon for Sites using the Unified Configuration file format.

All new Organizations now use the Unified Configuration file format by default.

You can migrate to the Unified Configuration file format on your existing Sites by following our Unified Configuration Migration Guide.

Changes to input naming conventions#

  • New flags have been added to Sites to control some input naming conventions. Existing Sites will be unaffected.
    • The Infer Select values from input key flag controls whether inputs will select from collections automatically. For example, whether an input named author will automatically become a select box referencing a collection named authors. New Sites using Unified Configuration will not have this flag enabled, but it can be enabled in the Site settings.
    • The Infer Structure from input key flag controls whether inputs will reference a configured structure automatically. For example, whether an input named content_blocks will automatically become an array of the structure named content_blocks. All sites will continue to have this flag enabled by default, but this can be disabled in the Site settings.

Fixes#

  • Fixed an issue where CloudCannon incorrectly showed an error for undefined mutable Object inputs.
  • Fixed a spacing issue for Object inputs with a context box.
  • Fixed an issue where CloudCannon did not display the correct icons in the CloudCannon configuration file.
  • Fixed an issue causing inputs with an undefined input.type in your CloudCannon configuration file to break when you open it in the Data Editor.
  • Fixed an issue preventing input selectors prefixed with $. from applying inside a structured array.
  • Fixed an issue where, in some cases, CloudCannon did not register an unsaved change when you deleted the content of a Rich Text input.
  • Fixed an issue where, in some cases, you could not save changes to your Site while another person had a new file open in an editing interface.
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