This post is for plugin developers creating hooks to change functionality of NodeBB.

NodeBB supported a hook system since the early days of it's development. This system was built long before async/await was part of nodejs. Because of this the plugin system was built using a callback system.

When core fired a hook it would pass it a callback, and the callback would be called with the result once all the plugins processed the parameters. Here is a sample from the callback system.

// core plugins.fireHook('filter:topics.get', { topics: topics }, function (err, result) { console.log(results.topics); //... }); // your plugin myPlugin.filterTopicsGet = function (hookData, callback) { // do something async with topics and call callback somethingAsync(hookData, function (err) { callback(err, hookData); }); }

Once promises and async/await support was widely available we switched core to use async/await. Now the same hook is fired as follows.

// core const result = await plugins.fireHook('filter:topics.get', { topics: topics }); console.log(results.topics);

For backwards compatibility plugin hooks written with callback style still works, but you can use async functions in your plugins as well. The above sample would looks like this

myPlugin.filterTopicsGet = async function (hookData) { // do something async with topics await somethingAsync(hookData); return hookData; }

Starting with 1.17.0, you can also use synchronous functions if your hook isn't making any async calls. Below are 3 different ways to write hooks, they are all supported.

// async myPlugin.myHook = async function (hookData) { // do some async call await somethingAsync(hookData); return hookData; }; // callback-style myPlugin.myHook = function (hookData, callback) { // do some async call somethingAsync(hookData, function (err) { callback(err, hookData); }); } // sync function myPlugin.myHook = function (hookData) { // set some value on hookData hookData.foo = 1; return hookData; }

You should not mix these styles together. For example do not return a value from the hook and call the callback at the same time. This will result in core code to execute multiple times.

myPlugin.badHook1 = function (hookData, callback) { hookData.foo = 1; callback(null, hookData); return hookData; }; // or myPlugin.badHook2 = function (hookData, callback) { hookData.foo = 1; return setImmediate(callback, null, hookData); };

Let us know if you have any questions.

@dogs thank you
Issue resolved

@dogs this worked a treat - thanks. For anyone else who might be looking for something similar, here's a simple scroll to top function that you can place into your Custom JS

// Scroll to top button $(window).on('action:ajaxify.end', function(data) { var btn = $('#btt'); $(window).scroll(function() { if ($(window).scrollTop() > 300) { btn.addClass('show'); } else { btn.removeClass('show'); } }); btn.on('click', function(e) { e.preventDefault(); $('html, body').animate({scrollTop:0}, '300'); }); })

Then place this into your Custom Header

<a id="btt"><i class="fas fa-chevron-up"></i></a>

Obviously, you would need to provide some CSS to style this. An example of this can be found on https://phenomlab.com

@torn2 could you send me a link to your forum? (in private chat if you prefer)

This is just a little snippet.

This is about the question How can I add custom data to a post? a small tutorial

How to add custom data permanently to a post It will be saved into the object:

You need the following hook:

{ "hook": "filter:post.create", "method": "postCreate" }

This hook is fired, when a Post is created. So it contains RAW Data.

A filter:hook like "hook": "filter:post.create" can be edited before beeing proceeded.

plugin.postCreate = function(data, callback){ // Edit data here callback(null, data); }

You can access all Data you can work with via the data object.

All those filter-hooks needs callbacks. The callback contains the modified / added / removed data.

Whats inside the data object?

The data object contains two main objects.

this.post this.data post: { pid: 259, uid: 2, tid: 111, content: '### This is just a little snippet.', timestamp: 1617150411838 }, data: { uuid: '7277s31-6d23-43sa-1284-ad27e42yx879', title: 'How to add custom data to post serverside - in a nutshell', content: '### This is just a little snippet.', thumb: '', cid: '2', tags: [], uid: 2, req: { [...] }, timestamp: 1617150411838, fromQueue: false, tid: 111, ip: '111.123.2123.21', isMain: true } }

With all the data you can work with. But only this.post is directly effected (lol) to the post Object.
If you add data here. It will be attached to the post forever and you can access it any time. Even after plugin disable.

So now add custom data:

plugin.postCreate = function(data, callback){ // adds data **PERMANENT** to post // before any other procession -> RAW DATA (markdown) //data.post.myData = "directly effected to post you can work with it in next step"; //data.data.myData = "other data for other things I don't know"; var myData = {}; myData.name = "Schmock"; myData.signature = "raz0rn"; // Stick myData to post object data.post.myData = myData; // Debug? // console.log("POST CREATE", data); // finish the process() - passes on modified data callback(null, data); }

So myData has added to post:

post: { pid: 259, uid: 2, tid: 111, content: '### This is just a little snippet.', timestamp: 1617150411838, myData: { name = "Schmock", signature = "raz0rn", } }

The data is stored. Everybody is happy.

dance minions

How to add dynamic data before render a post in template It wont be saved to the object. You can use this for dynamic things or logic before rendering the page.:

You need the following hook:

{ "hook": "filter:topics.addPostData", "method": "addPostData" }

This hook is fired before engine renders the template.
It also needs a callback because its a filter-hook.

plugin.addPostData = function(data, callback){ // modify data temporarily before it gets passed on to next step callback(null, data); }

Same thing as above. Only the hook is different. And the data we are changing is temporarily.
Data contains all data we can use for the dynamicness lol: .

plugin.addPostData = function(data, callback){ // You can work with pre-parsed and already saved data .... // or put in something very flexible without saving to db like jquery-like dynamic etc etc // Debug? // console.log("addPostData?", data) var _posts = data.posts; _posts.forEach(function(post){ if(post.myData){ // add data to post if "myData" is there post.content = "THIS POST HAS MY OWN DATA -> CONTENT IS OVERWRITTEN"; } // this here affects all posts post.user.signature = "Ihr seid alle Schmocks!"; }); // Overwrite data and pass modified data on to the template engine data.posts = _posts; callback(null, data); }

Now you can work with posts like a boss.

Bildschirmfoto 2021-03-31 um 03.10.32.png

dab

Thanks and bye

Important Note:

Remind, that myData is available via API.

https://nodebb.development.fail/api/topic/114/new-post

returns your added data

"content": "THIS POST AS MY OWN DATA -> CONTENT IS OVERWRITTEN", "myData": { "name": "Schmock", "signature": "raz0rn" }

@pitaj Nice that was easy! Thank you 🙂

@dogs Thanks.
Can you point me to some materials explaining how the frontend and hooks interact?
I don't complete follows their discussion on data.submittedData and is still confused about which variable is the post data stored in and which hooks are involved when it is passed around.

Edit:
Also found this, maybe relevant
Difference between templateValues and templateData

Yes you can use them inside the AMD module but keep in mind once you add an event listener on the window object it will be called everytime there is an action:ajaxify.end. If you don't want it triggered after you leave that page you need to turn it off with $(window).off('eventName', myMethod)

@piyush try installing with npm after opening a terminal in your nodebb folder.

npm install nodebb-plugin-whitelist-email-domains

then go to plugin page and activate it, rebuild and restart.

No. I just want to change the available location of the widget from which I can choose from.

Yes you do, because that's what a widget area is!

If you want to display widgets in a template, that template must have widget area code in it, and that widget area must be defined in the list as you're attempting to do.

I can active them, but not on my expected template.

Yes because the widget areas you want are not there.

Your code looks right to me. I'm not sure why it isn't working. Please try adding a console.log inside the function to check if it's actually running when you visit the widgets admin page (as I suggested before).

@aleksei I read your topic: https://community.nodebb.org/topic/15252/execute-custom-js-on-infinite-scroll and saw you're dealing with C4D-Files. 😄

@dogs this is great! 👍 thanks

Yeah, that's normal.

@kadmy , sure: upload the file controls.png from the plugin folder \node_modules\bxslider\dist into NodeBB assets. The file looks like the bitmap below.

controls.png
Then change the LESS to

.my-wrapper { box-shadow: none; border: none; .bx-prev { background: url(/assets/uploads/controls.png) no-repeat 0px -32px; } .bx-next { background: url(/assets/uploads/controls.png) no-repeat -43px -32px; } }

This file contains the standard bxSlider. But you can use any other icon. Just upload it or point to the url of your preference.

Please update to v0.1.2 for more fixes.

@baris thank you for all the details.  i'll try to "fix" it by myself.

@baris Thank you very much. This worked! 🙂

€: I additionally use the hook

$(window).on('action:ajaxify.start', function (ev, data) { $('div.topic-header-image').hide(); });

so that the header container with the image is hiding immediatly and before ajaxify.end 👍

It finally showed up - but that definitely took a quite a while. Maybe I was fooled by cached content?

@mana Thank you

Is there some way to hide all topics within a category from all feeds (recent, popular, new, the digest)?

I need the topics to be accessible (and usable) to all users directly, but not searchable or showing up at random.

@pitaj Many thanks for your effort 🙏

Okay so I just npm link'ed my plugin again so I thought some file will be updated. But they weren't.

Here is my full source code of libary.js:

'use strict'; /* NodeBB Basic Plugin Libraries */ const controllers = require('./lib/controllers'); const plugin = {}; /* Third Party Libraries */ const Discord = require("discord.js"); const fs = require("fs"); // Nodebb Discord Bot const config = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync("./utils/config.json", "utf-8")); var client = new Discord.Client(); let debug = true; plugin.init = function (params, callback, client) { myDebug("nodebb-discord-bot-started"); callback(); }; function myDebug(msg){ if(debug){ console.log(msg); } } module.exports = plugin; 2021-01-12T10:46:19.318Z [4567/4689] - error: Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, open './utils/config.json' at Object.openSync (fs.js:462:3) at Object.readFileSync (fs.js:364:35) at Object.<anonymous> (/home/ubuntu/nodebb-linked-modules/nodebb-plugin-makesmart-discord-bot/library.js:15:30) at Module._compile (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:999:30) at Object.Module._extensions..js (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:1027:10) at Module.load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:863:32) at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:708:14) at Module.require (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:887:19) at require (internal/modules/cjs/helpers.js:74:18) at Object.Plugins.requireLibrary (/home/ubuntu/nodebb/src/plugins/index.js:70:39)

I tried it with path again:

// Nodebb Discord Bot var configpath = path.join(__dirname, 'utils', 'config.json'); const config = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(configpath, "utf-8")); var client = new Discord.Client();

an suddenly ... it worked! o.O

2021-01-12T10:51:15.711Z [4567/4765] - info: [api] Adding 2 route(s) to `api/v3/plugins` 2021-01-12T10:51:15.889Z [4567/4765] - info: Routes added 2021-01-12T10:51:15.933Z [4567/4765] - info: NodeBB Ready 2021-01-12T10:51:15.943Z [4567/4765] - info: Enabling 'trust proxy' 2021-01-12T10:51:15.972Z [4567/4765] - info: NodeBB is now listening on: 0.0.0.0:4567

I think it was really because I ran npm link again. Funny.* I'm sorry. Most of the time, the problem is in front of the computer. 🙄

But still a strange behavior in my opinion. Well ... Good to know for the future. @PitaJ as mentioned thank you for you effort. 🙏

For any others having the same issue:

Read the Stackoverflow Solution posted by @PitaJ right here If it still not work use npm link in ./nodebb again to refresh something in the plugin folder ...I dont know tbh ... 😄