linkrobins/blog

A Ghost Casper-inspired blog for Flarum 2.0. Promotes discussions in a configurable tag to blog posts with a full-width reading layout. Optionally serves as the forum's homepage.

Maintainers

Package info

github.com/linkrobins/blog

Language:JavaScript

Type:flarum-extension

pkg:composer/linkrobins/blog

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Installs: 8

Dependents: 0

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Stars: 0

Open Issues: 0

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Aikido package health analysis

v1.0.0 2026-05-12 00:44 UTC

Requires

MIT e10b7413eb8998d81998ee3482d9681488e6d06e

This package is auto-updated.

Last update: 2026-05-12 00:45:50 UTC

README

A Ghost Casper-inspired blog for Flarum 2.0. Promotes discussions in a configurable tag to blog posts with a full-width reading layout. Optionally serves as the forum's homepage.

What it does

  • Treats discussions in a designated tag (default: blog) as blog posts
  • Renders them on a Casper-style index page at /blog — full-width, no sidebar, hero header, featured post, three-column card grid
  • Renders each individual post in a Casper-style reading layout at /blog/{id}-{slug} — centered narrow column, generous typography, optional cover image breaking out of the column
  • Pulls excerpts and cover images automatically from the post body — first paragraph and first image
  • Shows the discussion's replies as comments below each blog post, using Flarum's existing comment rendering
  • Can serve as the forum's homepage at /, with the discussion list pushed to /all

Requirements

  • Flarum 2.0 or later
  • PHP 8.2 or later
  • flarum/tags installed (blog posts are tagged discussions)

Installation

composer require linkrobins/blog
php flarum cache:clear

In Flarum admin → Extensions, find Link Robins Blog and enable it.

Setup

  1. Create a tag. Go to Admin → Tags and create a new tag. The slug should match the "Blog tag slug" setting (default blog).
  2. Configure the blog. Go to Admin → Extensions → Link Robins Blog and set:
    • Blog tag slug — must match the tag you just created
    • Blog title — shown in the hero
    • Tagline — one-line description under the title
    • Show featured post — toggle the larger card above the grid
  3. (Optional) Make the blog the homepage. Use the "Make blog the homepage" button on the settings page. This sets Flarum's default_route setting to /blog. Visitors landing at / will see the blog index; the discussion list remains accessible at /all.
  4. Write a post. Start a new discussion and tag it with the blog tag. The first comment post is the blog body. Replies to the discussion become comments under the blog post.

How it works under the hood

  • Routes: /blog and /blog/{id} are registered as forum frontend routes via Extend\Frontend->route() (JS side) and Extend\Routes('forum')->get() (server side). The server-side handlers pre-fetch the relevant discussions so SSR/SEO works.
  • Data model: blog posts are regular Flarum discussions filtered by tag. No new database tables. All of Flarum's machinery — search, permissions, notifications, formatter, tags — applies automatically.
  • Excerpt and cover image: two extra attributes (linkrobinsBlogExcerpt, linkrobinsBlogCoverImage) are added to the DiscussionResource API output. The excerpt is derived from the first paragraph of the first comment post; the cover image is the first <img> found in that body. If a post has no image, the card uses a subtle gradient placeholder.
  • Full-width layout: when a blog page mounts, JS adds LinkRobinsBlogActive to <html>. The LESS hides Flarum's sidebar and zeros out the surrounding container padding, then our own components render at full viewport width with their own max-content-width constraints.
  • Comments: the blog post page fetches the discussion with all its posts, renders the first comment post as the body, and renders subsequent comment posts using Flarum's own CommentPost component in a slimmer-styled list below.

Homepage notes

Setting the blog as the homepage works by changing Flarum's core default_route setting to /blog. This is a non-destructive change — the discussion list is not moved; it lives at /all by default in Flarum 2.0. Reverting via the same setting page restores the previous default route.

If you've installed other extensions that also touch default_route, the last one to write wins. Reactive monitoring of the setting is out of scope.

Limitations / out of scope

  • No separate post-cover-image field — covers are derived from the first <img> in the body. If you want explicit covers, you'd need either an extension that adds an image field to discussions or a follow-up to this extension.
  • No standalone blog comment system — replies use Flarum's discussion model. The link/discussion view still works at /d/{id} for the full Flarum experience.
  • No multi-blog support — one blog per Flarum install. You can use sub-tags within the blog tag to categorize.

License

MIT