From d009ac94fb1d782aae96f61ed56af64f99254c42 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: cproudlock <cproudlock@localhost>
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:10:40 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] Lean build: always ship core (manifest-less) frontends

A frontend dir under plugins/ with no manifest.json is a CORE feature, not a
per-site plugin - applications is one (backend is shopdb/core/api/applications.py,
nav is advertised as core in dashboard.py). stage-frontend.mjs treated it like
a plugin and dropped it under SITE_PLUGINS, so a lean site showed the core
Applications nav item but had no route for it -> blank page. Now manifest-less
frontends always stage regardless of SITE_PLUGINS; SITE_PLUGINS selection applies
only to real plugins. CI lean-build job asserts ApplicationsList ships in a lean
bundle. Found while testing a live machines+printers lean site.
---
 .github/workflows/ci.yml   |  5 +++++
 scripts/stage-frontend.mjs | 19 +++++++++++++++----
 2 files changed, 20 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 605cb36..d0d4c6a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -82,6 +82,11 @@ jobs:
               echo "FAIL: chosen-plugin code '$code' missing from the lean bundle"
               exit 1; }
           done
+          # Core frontends (no manifest, e.g. applications) must ship in EVERY
+          # build regardless of SITE_PLUGINS, or a lean site loses a core page.
+          grep -rqoh "ApplicationsList" "$assets"/*.js || {
+            echo "FAIL: core page 'ApplicationsList' missing from the lean bundle"
+            exit 1; }
           test -d /tmp/leansite/plugins/machines
           test ! -d /tmp/leansite/plugins/printedparts
           echo "lean build verified: only chosen plugins present"
diff --git a/scripts/stage-frontend.mjs b/scripts/stage-frontend.mjs
index a38bb6c..56fb386 100644
--- a/scripts/stage-frontend.mjs
+++ b/scripts/stage-frontend.mjs
@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@
 // plugins' frontend dirs into frontend/src/.plugins-staged/<name>/ and codegens
 // frontend/src/router/routes.gen.js, which the router imports. A per-site build
 // selects plugins via the SITE_PLUGINS env (comma-separated); with none set,
-// every plugin that has a frontend/ is staged (the default full build).
+// every plugin that has a frontend/ is staged (the default full build). A
+// frontend dir with no manifest.json is a CORE feature and is ALWAYS staged
+// regardless of SITE_PLUGINS.
 //
 // Both outputs are generated (gitignored). Run by npm predev/prebuild.
 
@@ -26,9 +28,18 @@ const withFrontend = readdirSync(pluginsDir, { withFileTypes: true })
     && existsSync(join(pluginsDir, entry.name, 'frontend', 'routes.js')))
   .map(entry => entry.name)
 
-const chosen = requested.length
-  ? withFrontend.filter(name => requested.includes(name))
-  : withFrontend
+// A frontend dir with no manifest.json is a CORE feature (e.g. applications),
+// not a per-site plugin - it MUST always ship, or a lean build loses a core
+// page (its nav is advertised by the core, so the route would 404 to a blank
+// screen). SITE_PLUGINS selection applies only to real plugins (those with a
+// manifest).
+const isPlugin = name => existsSync(join(pluginsDir, name, 'manifest.json'))
+const coreFrontend = withFrontend.filter(name => !isPlugin(name))
+const pluginFrontend = withFrontend.filter(isPlugin)
+const chosenPlugins = requested.length
+  ? pluginFrontend.filter(name => requested.includes(name))
+  : pluginFrontend
+const chosen = [...coreFrontend, ...chosenPlugins]
 
 // Copy each chosen plugin's frontend dir into the staging area (clean first so
 // a removed plugin does not linger).