Smart-Site v4.0.2

SmartSite 4.0.2 — a simpler project layout

SmartSite's source is now organized into six folders: app, components, hooks, lib, payload and types. Website features, content schema and dependency versions are preserved.

• Group native collections, globals, access rules, schema fields, lifecycle hooks, plugins and MCP under src/payload. Keep payload.config.ts and generated payload-types.ts at the source root.
• Bring dashboard components, navigation, styles, providers and CMS primitives together under src/components/cms. Consolidate editor field components under components/fields; place blocks and website providers under components too.
• Move routing, caching, data, rendering, search, sitemaps, publication services and shared helpers into src/lib. Shared React hooks remain in src/hooks.
• Reduce root configuration clutter: release metadata moves to config/smartsite-release.json; the optional self-hosting example moves to docker/smartsite-deployment.example.json; the exact file-move map lives in docs/upgrades/4.0.2/file-map.json. Remove the unused staging-sync config and two placeholder text files. Existing private deployment configuration and generated export manifests retain their paths.
• Update imports, Payload component references and generated import map, scripts, standalone fixtures, documentation and both Codex and Claude skill sets. Clarify which CMS sidebar is active.
• Keep self-hosting state absent from fresh starters and ordinary local/hosted setup. Both agent kits generate it only when self-hosting is chosen; existing deployment state remains compatible.
• Resolve the remaining navigation lint warnings while preserving full-document preview exit and Payload logout. Lint now requires zero warnings; browser tests cover preview cookies, query preservation and logout.
• Preserve the native 3.x upgrade kit's original source mappings while targeting the new layout and exact 4.0.2 release. Keep the 4.0.0 migration epoch unchanged.

Upgrading from 4.0.1: follow docs/workflows/upgrading.md and the exact move map. Reconcile customized source and imports through a reviewed three-way merge, preserve environment and site identity, and verify standalone before deployment. No database migration, bootstrap, seeding or credential rotation is needed for this layout update. Existing 3.0.0 and 3.0.1 sites use the versioned native Payload upgrade kit.

Verification includes frozen standalone installation, type-check, lint, unit and HTTP/MCP tests, actual frontend/CMS browser checks, production builds, source/data upgrade and rollback, and fresh Codex/Claude documentation-routing evaluations. The source comparison against the verified 4.0.1 release confirms 373 application source files are unchanged after resolving moved import paths and generated import-map identifiers; the two reviewed navigation updates have real browser regression coverage, and the relocated media collection retains the existing project-root upload directory. Published archives include checksums and a file manifest.

Smart-Site v4.0.1

SmartSite 4.0.1 — ordinary Payload code, reliable publishing, portable upgrades

SmartSite 4.0 makes the website easier to understand and extend. Collections, globals, fields and hooks live in ordinary Payload modules, assembled explicitly in src/payload.config.ts. Every standalone site owns its complete source, documentation and agent skills.

• Replaces the protected admin layer and configuration resolver with direct Payload composition. src/admin contains the CMS interface; website routing, caching, rendering and search live in src/website.
• Preserves nested routes, reusable templates, sections, native Payload MCP, editorial controls and existing content shapes.
• Makes website refresh work durable, with bounded batches, interruption recovery and explicit cache acknowledgement. Route changes also keep search addresses and text current.
• Keeps ordinary publishing independent of scheduled services. Sites can explicitly enable native scheduled publishing and periodic recovery when needed, with the documented runner; no hosted cron is enabled by default. Without an opted-in runner, interrupted refresh work can be recovered by an authenticated administrator.
• Includes a versioned upgrade kit for 3.0.0 and 3.0.1: inspection, source reconciliation, type-preserving database backup and verified restore, resumable application, preservation checks and rollback instructions.
• Updates the standalone documentation and Codex/Claude skills for the native structure and pinned Payload API.
• Restores space above the website for the logged-in admin bar, including narrow layouts.
• Enforces native document, field and breadcrumb access in draft previews, and safely recovers preview cookies left by an older build.
• Handles Next.js 16 sitemap identifiers correctly and verifies published, renamed and unpublished URLs in real XML.
• Stops the local app and its owned child workers together while protecting unrelated processes.
• Allows the verified local CMS its bounded first-compilation startup window, while still failing on real HTTP errors, process loss or a missed deadline.
• Preserves Docker uploads across application replacement and documents existing-volume migration.
• Keeps database URLs and other build environment values literal and private through the self-hosted prebuilt-image workflow.

Existing sites should follow docs/upgrades/4.0.0/UPGRADE.md. The kit keeps its 4.0 architecture path and targets the published 4.0.1 artifact. This is a source-structure upgrade: do not replace an existing site's database, regenerate its identity or copy a new admin folder over custom code. Rehearse against a verified restore and retain the original source and media before production cutover.

The blank starter remains separate from the Elvora showcase. Neither the monorepo nor an external SmartSite package is required to run an exported site.

Pinned application baseline: Payload 3.92.0, Next.js 16.3.3, Node.js 24.22.1 and pnpm 10.34.8. MongoDB is the verified upgrade path; native Windows startup and multi-instance self-hosted invalidation are outside this release's supported topology.

Validation includes fresh and upgraded standalone sites, rollback, independent Codex and Claude sessions, Vercel/Blob and local S3-compatible storage. Cloudinary and UploadThing retain their adapter configuration but were not externally verified for this release.

Smart-Site v3.0.1

SmartSite 3.0.1 — public website-building kit and deployment fixes

SmartSite is a standalone Next.js/Payload website starter with native Payload MCP and portable Codex/Claude skills. This patch improves the public introduction and fixes issues found while upgrading and testing a complete Elvora showcase separately from the blank starter.

Changes

• Expanded README: features, WordPress-style editorial experience, agent workflow, setup, native MCP tools, shipped skills, extension points, databases/media, hosting, maintenance, FAQs and current limits. Includes direct template/demo/docs/release links and an MIT license file consistent with package metadata.
• Moved native MCP API Keys under Settings with a key icon.
• Kept server extension implementations out of the browser configuration graph; the server resolver still validates registered extensions.
• Selected standalone build output only outside Vercel, avoiding the Next16.3 standalone/adapter finalization failure while preserving self-hosting output.
• Initialized form values by field name instead of passing field definitions as values; added a regression check for submitted fields and preserved defaults.

The starter remains blank. Elvora branding, content, workshops and custom sections belong to the separate demo and are not included in this template release. No private credentials, database snapshots or monorepo execution plans are shipped.

Verification

• Fresh standalone frozen install and bootstrap passed.
• TypeScript and lint passed (two existing lint warnings).
• Seven unit contracts passed.
• Actual Chrome inspection verified API Keys grouping/icon. The separate demo also verified content editing, image delivery, a local form submission and native MCP read/revision-checked save.
• Hosted preview verified the Vercel output correction. Mobile viewport automation did not take effect, so this release does not claim new mobile visual acceptance.

Runtime: Node24.22.1 or supported newer24patch; pnpm10.34.8; Next16.3.3; Payload3.92.0. Guided setup and transactional MCP use MongoDB8 with replica-set support. Windows lifecycle automation remains uncertified. Existing3.0sites should review the upgrade guide and preserve their configuration, data, media and secrets.

Smart-Site v3.0.0

SmartSite 3.0.0 — standalone website-building kit with native Payload MCP

SmartSite now ships as a complete standalone project that Codex or Claude Code can set up and build through conversation. The exported site owns its source, dependencies, database lifecycle, documentation and skills, with no connection back to the factory repository.

What changed

• Adopted the official Payload 3.92.0 MCP plugin for transport and authentication, with four focused SmartSite tools for reads/schema discovery, revision-checked saves, bounded media upload and uncertain-operation recovery.
• Added project-local startup and repair helpers with private credentials, independent site identity/ports, authenticated Mongo transactions and resumable initialization. First startup creates essentials rather than demo business content.
• Included matching Codex and Claude skill kits covering startup, website building, reusable sections, content, databases, repair and launch, plus the licensed Payload reference skill.
• Removed the global SmartSite CLI, separate AI chat application, embedded chat/control routes and HTTP seed endpoint from the current starter. The site requires no model-provider API key.
• Added reviewed content-transfer receipts and explicit account mapping, standalone upgrade guidance, and authenticated self-hosted Mongo replica-set conversion/backup/recovery procedures.
• Fixed CMS visibility, transactional publication/redirects, post-template rendering and public author/avatar handling found by real browser acceptance.
• Pinned Next 16.3.3, React 19.3.1, Node >=24.22.1 <25 and pnpm 10.34.8; included the standalone dependency lockfile and export integrity manifest.

Upgrading from 2.x
This is a major workflow change. Read docs/releases/native-mcp-transition.md and docs/workflows/upgrading.md before applying it. Back up source, database and media, then rehearse a reviewed source merge and database migration on disposable copies. Preserve client customizations and authored AI context. Do not replace a live project's environment or rerun first-launch content transfer during routine code deployment. Existing Mongo deployments must support authenticated transactions. Per-operator MCP access and the client's normal trust/reconnect step remain explicit.

Verification and limits
Standalone installation, type-check, lint, production build, MCP/permission/concurrency/recovery tests, startup interruption tests and content-transfer tests passed. Independent Codex and Claude CLI sessions used the shipped kit; actual desktop/mobile pages and the authenticated CMS editor were inspected, with nine browser acceptance checks passing. Populated Mongo conversion, restart and backup restoration were exercised in Docker.

Full application acceptance was on native macOS ARM64. Native Windows lifecycle is not supported, and PostgreSQL migrations, a full Linux application deployment and arbitrary customized customer upgrades are not certified. Two existing navigation lint warnings and the official MCP dependency graph's peer warning remain. This source release does not shut down previously deployed AI services or delete old published packages or credentials.

Smart-Site v2.3.13

SmartSite v2.3.13

What changed:

• added starter-local onboarding scripts: pnpm bootstrap, pnpm doctor, pnpm ai:enable, and a protected pnpm seed flow

• made bootstrap interactive for first-run setup, including database choice (local Mongo or Atlas), site name, admin details, optional AI enablement, and optional one-time seed

• made AI opt-in and off by default in the starter; seed now skips AI provisioning unless AI is explicitly enabled

• replaced the old raw curl seed path with a guarded local seed runner that verifies the running site matches the current project before writing data

• separated additive seed from erase-plus-seed so baseline content can be added without forcing a wipe; destructive erase now requires explicit confirmation

• updated seed identity handling so the first admin user comes from the bootstrap-provided admin details instead of hardcoded defaults

• rewrote SmartSite docs toward the manual-first local setup path and clarified bootstrap, seed, self-hosted detection, and AI guardrails

• softened the CLI messaging so it remains an optional helper path rather than the primary SmartSite setup contract

Smart-Site v2.3.12

SmartSite v2.3.12

• republishes the latest SmartSite starter state with the corrected release-note flow, so GitHub releases now publish the full annotated tag body instead of collapsing to the tagged commit message
• carries forward the new self-hosted SmartSite path, including manifest-driven promote/preview/backup/restore/rollback workflows and production safety guards
• keeps the tightened SmartSite docs harness in place, with focused local docs for hosting mode detection, deployment, stale-page recovery, feature toggles, admin-boundary rules, and agent routing
• preserves the original longform SmartSite manuscript as reference material while keeping the main README minimal and task-oriented
• keeps the stronger database safety guardrails: agents must not seed, restore, or rewrite data without explicit user approval, and seeding remains a one-time bootstrap action for fresh local databases only
• keeps the section-development defaults that avoid trapping array rows and keep secondary editor controls collapsed by default
• includes the docs-reference tracking fix so docs-harness validation stays green in CI and locally

Smart-Site v2.3.11

release(smart-site): v2.3.11

Smart-Site v2.3.10

SmartSite v2.3.10

• publish release notes directly from the annotated tag body instead of falling back to an empty changelog section
• require non-empty annotated tag notes in the release workflow so future releases cannot ship placeholder GitHub release text
• document the release-note contract in the factory release docs and release skill
• tighten SmartSite-local docs so they read as a self-contained product surface with no monorepo/export hints
• strengthen SmartSite agent guardrails around seeding, database rewrites, and destructive restore flows
• add explicit section-schema rules to keep array items removable by default and collapse secondary controls by default

Smart-Site v2.3.9

See release notes for details.

Smart-Site v2.3.8

See release notes for details.