`Indiekit.addPostType`

A post type defines fields for creating and editing different post (or content) types, either using Indiekit or via third-party Micropub clients.

Syntax

new Indiekit.addPostType(type, options);

Constructor

type: A string representing the name of the post type.
options: An object used to customise the behaviour of the plug-in.

Properties

config

An object providing a post type’s configuration. Required.

name

A string representing the post type name.

h

A string representing the Microformat vocabulary to use. Defaults to entry.

fields

An object containing FieldType objects, keyed by field name.Required.

discovery

A string representing the field name to use when identifying incoming Micropub requests.

The value must match one of the field names provided in config.fields.

In most cases this option is required. Only post types already defined in the post type discovery algorithm (article, event, like, note, photo, repost, rsvp, reply and video) can ignore this option.

validationSchemas

An object containing Schema objects.

Interfaces

`FieldType`

required: A boolean indicating if a field is required. Micropub clients may use this value in their publishing interfaces. Indiekit will use this property to check for validation errors when creating or editing a post.

`Schema`

Learn about schema validation in the express-validator documentation:

Schemas are an object-based way of defining validations or sanitizations on requests.

Example

export default class RecipePostType {
  constructor() {
    this.name = "Recipe post type";
  }

  get config() {
    return {
      name: "Recipe",
      h: "recipe",
      fields: {
        name: { required: true },
        ingredient: { required: true },
        instructions: { required: true },
        category: {}
      },
      discovery: "ingredient"
    };
  }

  get validationSchemas() {
    return {
      "ingredient": {
        errorMessage: (value, { req }) => 'Add some ingredients',
        exists: { if: (value, { req }) => isRequired(req, "ingredient") },
        notEmpty: true,
      },
      "instructions": {
        errorMessage: (value, { req }) => 'Add instructions',
        exists: { if: (value, { req }) => isRequired(req, "instructions") },
        notEmpty: true,
      }
    }
  }

  init(Indiekit) {
    Indiekit.addPostType("recipe", this);
  }
}

Add a name

Indiekit and other Micropub clients can display this value in their publishing interfaces, for example in interfaces asking a user which type of post they would like to create, or filtering posts by type.

As such, you should provide a short name. In most cases, this will be the same as the type name, but capitalised.

The post type name can be added to config.name, for example:

get config() {
  return {
    name: "Recipe"
  };
}

Choose a vocabulary

Post types belong to a Microformat’s vocabulary. In most cases this will by h-entry, but another vocabulary might be more suited to a given post type. For example, for recipe posts, you might use the h-recipe vocabulary.

A post type’s vocabulary can be set using config.h, for example:

get config() {
  return {
    h: "recipe"
  };
}

Create post fields

Post fields dictate a number of tasks:

which input fields are shown when creating or editing a post
which properties appear when viewing a post
which properties are included in a post template
which properties are supported for the post type when responding to a query from a third-party Micropub client

Indiekit provides automatic support for the following field types:

category
content
geo
location
name
summary

Installing other post type plug-ins will add to this list, and these fields can be shared by other post type plug-ins.

Any new fields will need to be provided by the post type plug-in. To add a new field, you need to supply:

a field name
and input field for Indiekit’s editing interface
a way of displaying the field in Indiekit’s interface
optional validation

Fields can be added to config.fields, for example:

get config() {
  return {
    fields: {
      name: { required: true },
      ingredient: { required: true },
      instructions: { required: true },
      category: {}
    }
  };
}

Adding required means this field can use a validation schema before publishing.

If your post type includes custom fields, you need to provide the following:

To display a field, include a Nunjucks file at /includes/post-types/[field-name].njk.
To edit a field, include a Nunjucks file at /includes/post-types/[field-name]-field.njk.

In the above example, because both ingredient and instructions are new field types, the post type plug-in would need to provide Nunjucks template partials:

/includes/post-types/ingredient.njk
/includes/post-types/ingredient-field.njk
/includes/post-types/instructions.njk
/includes/post-types/instructions-field.njk

Enable post type discovery

When receiving Micropub requests from other clients, Indiekit needs to know what post type to assign given the properties in that request. The post type discovery algorithm handles this for common post types, but new post types need to be identified using another means.

Indicating which property a post type will have that others won’t is a way of achieving this.

The property to use for discovery can be added to config.discovery, for example:

get config() {
  return {
    discovery: "ingredients"
  };
}

Add validation schemas

To check that required values entered into field inputs in Indiekit’s interface exist (if required) or match an expected value, a post type plug-in can supply a validation schema.

For example, to check that a recipe post type includes values for the ingredients and instructions fields, you could provide the following for validationSchemas:

get validationSchemas() {
  return {
    "ingredient": {
      errorMessage: (value, { req }) => 'Add some ingredients',
      exists: { if: (value, { req }) => isRequired(req, "ingredient") },
      notEmpty: true,
    },
    "instructions": {
      errorMessage: (value, { req }) => 'Add instructions',
      exists: { if: (value, { req }) => isRequired(req, "instructions") },
      notEmpty: true,
    }
  }
}