mygit/docs

Ghost Contributor Documentation

Welcome to the Ghost contributor documentation! This guide will help you understand the codebase, set up your development environment, and start contributing to Ghost.

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js - Recommended to install via nvm
• pnpm - Package manager
• Docker - For MySQL database and development services

Initial Setup

1. Fork and Clone

First, fork the Ghost repository on GitHub, then:

# Clone your fork with submodules
git clone --recurse-submodules git@github.com:<YourUsername>/Ghost.git
cd Ghost

# Configure remotes
git remote rename origin upstream
git remote add origin git@github.com:<YourUsername>/Ghost.git

2. Install and Setup

# Install dependencies and initialize submodules
corepack enable pnpm
pnpm run setup

3. Start Ghost

# Start development (runs Docker backend services + frontend dev servers)
pnpm dev

Ghost will be available at:

• Main site: http://localhost:2368/
• Admin panel: http://localhost:2368/ghost/

Troubleshooting Setup

If you encounter issues during setup:

# Fix dependency issues
pnpm fix

# Update to latest main branch
pnpm main

# Reset running dev data
pnpm reset:data

Repository Structure

Ghost/
├── apps/              # Frontend applications
│   ├── admin-x-*/     # New React-based admin apps
│   ├── portal/        # Member portal
│   ├── comments-ui/   # Comments widget
│   ├── signup-form/   # Signup form widget
│   └── ...
├── ghost/             # Core Ghost application
│   ├── core/          # Main Ghost backend
│   ├── admin/         # Admin build output
│   └── i18n/          # Internationalization
├── e2e/               # End-to-end tests
├── adr/               # Architecture Decision Records

Contributing

Before contributing, please read:

1. Contributing Guide - Guidelines for contributions
2. Code of Conduct - Community standards

Finding Issues to Work On

• Good First Issues - Great for newcomers
• Help Wanted - Issues that need attention

Development Workflow

1. Fork and clone the repository
2. Create a branch for your changes
3. Make your changes and write tests
4. Run tests to ensure everything works
5. Commit following our commit message conventions
6. Submit a pull request to the main branch

Additional Resources

• Official Documentation - User and developer docs
• Ghost Forum - Community support and discussions
• API Documentation - Content and Admin API reference
• Theme Documentation - Theme development

Architecture Decision Records

The adr/ directory contains Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) that document significant architectural decisions made in the project.

Getting Help

• Forum: forum.ghost.org
• Support: See SUPPORT.md
• Issues: GitHub Issues

License

Ghost is open source software licensed under the MIT License.