Admin extension

Skill ColdBox/skills/contentbox-boxlang/admin-extension

Collection of skills for the ColdBox Platform and Claude Plugin

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npx -y skills add ColdBox/skills --skill admin-extension

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Use this skill when extending the ContentBox admin UI with custom menus, views, interception points, editor integrations, workflows, and secure admin-only module behaviors.

SKILL.md

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ContentBox Admin Extension (BoxLang)

Extend the ContentBox admin interface using BoxLang. Add custom panels, modify existing screens, inject HTML into admin layouts, hook into content lifecycle events, and register new admin functionality.

Admin Module Overview

The admin module lives at modules/contentbox/modules/contentbox-admin/ with entry point cbadmin. It provides:

30+ handlers for managing content, authors, settings, security, etc.
Admin layouts with consistent navigation and UI
Interceptors for request processing, 2FA enforcement, menu management
Interception points for extending every part of the admin UI

Admin Extension Points

1. Layout HTML Injection

Inject custom HTML into the admin layout at specific points:

Interception Point	Location
`cbadmin_beforeHeadEnd`	Before `</head>` tag
`cbadmin_afterBodyStart`	After `<body>` tag
`cbadmin_beforeBodyEnd`	Before `</body>` tag
`cbadmin_footer`	Admin footer area
`cbadmin_beforeContent`	Before main content area
`cbadmin_afterContent`	After main content area
`cbadmin_onTagLine`	Tag line area
`cbadmin_onTopBar`	Top navigation bar

Example: Inject Custom CSS/JS

// interceptors/AdminAssets.bx
component {

	function configure(){
	}

	function onCbadmin_beforeHeadEnd( event, data, buffer, rc, prc ){
		buffer.append( '<link rel="stylesheet" href="/modules/mymodule/includes/css/admin.css">' )
	}

	function onCbadmin_beforeBodyEnd( event, data, buffer, rc, prc ){
		buffer.append( '<script src="/modules/mymodule/includes/js/admin.js"></script>' )
	}

}

2. Content Editor Extension

Extend the content editor (entry/page editing screens):

Interception Point	Location
`cbadmin_contentEditorSidebar`	Sidebar area
`cbadmin_contentEditorSidebarAccordion`	Sidebar accordion sections
`cbadmin_contentEditorSidebarFooter`	Bottom of sidebar
`cbadmin_contentEditorFooter`	Editor footer
`cbadmin_contentEditorInBody`	Inside editor body
`cbadmin_contentEditorNav`	Editor navigation
`cbadmin_contentEditorNavContent`	Editor nav content

Example: Add Custom Sidebar Panel

// interceptors/EditorSidebar.bx
component {

	function configure(){
	}

	function onCbadmin_contentEditorSidebarAccordion( event, data, buffer, rc, prc ){
		content = '
			<div class="accordion-section">
				<h4>My Custom Panel</h4>
				<div class="accordion-content">
					<p>Custom panel content here</p>
				</div>
			</div>
		'
		buffer.append( content )
	}

}

3. Content Lifecycle Events

Hook into content save, remove, and status change events:

Entry Events

Point	When
`cbadmin_preEntrySave`	Before entry is saved
`cbadmin_postEntrySave`	After entry is saved
`cbadmin_preEntryRemove`	Before entry is deleted
`cbadmin_postEntryRemove`	After entry is deleted
`cbadmin_onEntryStatusUpdate`	When entry status changes

Page Events

Point	When
`cbadmin_prePageSave`	Before page is saved
`cbadmin_postPageSave`	After page is saved
`cbadmin_prePageRemove`	Before page is deleted
`cbadmin_postPageRemove`	After page is deleted
`cbadmin_onPageStatusUpdate`	When page status changes

Example: Post-Save Hook

// interceptors/EntryAudit.bx
component {

	property name="log" inject="logbox:logger:EntryAudit"

	function configure(){
	}

	function onCbadmin_postEntrySave( event, data, buffer, rc, prc ){
		// data.entry contains the saved entry
		entry = data.entry
		log.info( "Entry saved: #{entry.getTitle()}# by #{entry.getAuthor().getUsername()}#" )

		// Could also trigger external API, send notifications, etc.
	}

}

4. Author Extension

Extend author management screens:

Point	Location
`cbadmin_UserPreferencePanel`	User preferences panel
`cbadmin_onAuthorEditorNav`	Author editor navigation
`cbadmin_onAuthorEditorContent`	Author editor content area
`cbadmin_onAuthorEditorSidebar`	Author editor sidebar
`cbadmin_onAuthorEditorActions`	Author editor action buttons
`cbadmin_onNewAuthorForm`	New author form
`cbadmin_onNewAuthorActions`	New author form actions
`cbadmin_preNewAuthorSave`	Before new author saved
`cbadmin_postNewAuthorSave`	After new author saved
`cbadmin_onAuthorPasswordChange`	When author password changes
`cbadmin_preAuthorPreferencesSave`	Before preferences saved
`cbadmin_postAuthorPreferencesSave`	After preferences saved

Example: Add Custom Author Field

// interceptors/AuthorExtension.bx
component {

	property name="authorService" inject="authorService@contentbox"

	function configure(){
	}

	function onCbadmin_onAuthorEditorSidebar( event, data, buffer, rc, prc ){
		content = '
			<div class="form-group">
				<label>Department</label>
				<input type="text" name="department"
					value="#{prc.author?.getDepartment() ?: ''}#"
					class="form-control">
			</div>
		'
		buffer.append( content )
	}

	function onCbadmin_postAuthorSave( event, data, buffer, rc, prc ){
		// Save custom field
		if( structKeyExists( rc, "department" ) ){
			data.author.setDepartment( rc.department )
			authorService.save( data.author )
		}
	}

}

5. Dashboard Extension

Add content to the admin dashboard:

Point	Location
`cbadmin_onDashboard`	Dashboard main area
`cbadmin_preDashboardContent`	Before dashboard content
`cbadmin_postDashboardContent`	After dashboard content
`cbadmin_preDashboardSideBar`	Before dashboard sidebar
`cbadmin_postDashboardSideBar`	After dashboard sidebar
`cbadmin_onDashboardTabNav`	Dashboard tab navigation
`cbadmin_preDashboardTabContent`	Before tab content
`cbadmin_postDashboardTabContent`	After tab content

6. Admin Menu Registration

// interceptors/AdminMenu.bx
component {

	function configure(){
	}

	function onCbadmin_onAdminMenuLoad( event, data, buffer, rc, prc ){
		// data.menuItems is the array of menu items
		arrayAppend( data.menuItems, {
			name       : "My Module",
			link       : event.buildLink( "cbadmin/myModule" ),
			icon       : "star",
			permission : "MYMODULE_ACCESS",
			order      : 50
		} )
	}

}

Registering Admin Interceptors

// ModuleConfig.bx
interceptors = [
	{
		class : "mymodule.interceptors.AdminAssets",
		name  : "AdminAssets@mymodule"
	},
	{
		class : "mymodule.interceptors.EditorSidebar",
		name  : "EditorSidebar@mymodule"
	},
	{
		class : "mymodule.interceptors.EntryAudit",
		name  : "EntryAudit@mymodule"
	}
]

Creating Custom Admin Handlers

Extend baseHandler for admin handlers:

// handlers/MyModule.bx
component extends="contentbox.modules.contentbox-admin.handlers.baseHandler" singleton {

	function index(){
		prc.pageTitle = "My Module"
		setView( "myModule/index" )
	}

	function settings(){
		prc.pageTitle = "My Module Settings"
		prc.settings  = settingService.getSettings()
		setView( "myModule/settings" )
	}

}

Admin Routes

Define routes in your module's ModuleConfig.bx:

routes = [
	{ pattern : "/cbadmin/myModule", handler : "myModule", action : "index" },
	{ pattern : "/cbadmin/myModule/settings", handler : "myModule", action : "settings" },
	{ pattern : "/cbadmin/myModule/:action", handler : "myModule" }
]

Admin Security

Admin handlers inherit security from the admin firewall. Configure permissions:

// In your module's ModuleConfig.bx
settings.cbsecurity = {
	firewall : {
		rules : {
			provider : {
				source     : "model",
				properties : {
					model  : "securityRuleService@contentbox",
					method : "getSecurityRules"
				}
			}
		}
	}
}

Best Practices

Use interception points — don't modify core admin files
Register interceptors in your module's ModuleConfig.bx
Extend baseHandler for admin handlers
Use prc scope for passing data to admin views
Check permissions before rendering admin content
Use buffer.append() for HTML injection interceptors
Follow admin UI patterns — match existing styling and structure
Test with all engines — Lucee, Adobe CF, BoxLang
Use provider: injection to avoid circular dependencies
Document custom interception points in your module

Engine Compatibility

This skill targets BoxLang engine. For CFML-specific syntax (Lucee 5+, Adobe ColdFusion 2018+), see the CFML variant of this skill.

Key BoxLang advantages:

Cleaner script syntax without <cfcomponent> / <cffunction> tags
No parentheses needed for zero-argument function calls
#{...}# for inline expression output in .bx templates
Modern syntax: ?: null coalescing, ?. safe navigation
Native support for modern data structures