Cloudlog AI Coding Agent Instructions

Project Overview

Cloudlog is a self-hosted PHP web application for amateur radio contact logging. Built on CodeIgniter 3 MVC framework with Bootstrap 5 frontend, HTMX for AJAX interactions, and jQuery for enhanced functionality.

Stack: PHP 7.4+ (8.2 compatible), MySQL 5.7+, Apache/Nginx, CodeIgniter 3

UI: Default Bootstrap styling (no custom theme by default).

Architecture

MVC Structure (CodeIgniter 3)

• Controllers (application/controllers/): Extend CI_Controller, handle authentication via user_model->validate_session()
• Models (application/models/): Extend CI_Model, handle database operations (e.g., Logbook_model, Stations)
• Views (application/views/): PHP templates with Bootstrap 5 classes, loaded via $this->load->view()
• Libraries (application/libraries/): Custom classes like Qra (gridsquare calculations), optionslib (settings)

Key Patterns

// Controllers always check authentication first
$this->load->model('user_model');
if ($this->user_model->validate_session() == 0) {
    redirect('user/login');
}

// Authorization levels: authorize(2) for users, authorize(99) for admins
if (!$this->user_model->authorize(2)) {
    $this->session->set_flashdata('notice', 'You\'re not allowed to do that!');
    redirect('dashboard');
}

Configuration

• Config files: application/config/config.php (app settings), database.php (DB credentials)
• Sample files: config.sample.php, database.sample.php - copy and customize for local setup
• Environment: Set in index.php - define('ENVIRONMENT', 'development') shows profiler
• Version: Defined in config.php as $config['app_version'] = "2.4.5"

Frontend Integration

HTMX Usage (Primary AJAX Method)

HTMX is the preferred method for dynamic content loading. Views use hx-get, hx-post, hx-target attributes:

<!-- Auto-refreshing component -->
<div id="qso-last-table" hx-get="<?php echo site_url('/qso/component_past_contacts'); ?>" 
     hx-trigger="load, every 5s">
</div>

<!-- Form submission -->
<form hx-post="<?php echo site_url('logbooks/save_publicslug/'); ?>" 
      hx-target="#publicSlugForm">

HTMX In Practice

• Previous QSOs widget:
  • View snippet (auto-refresh):

    <div id="qso-last-table" hx-get="<?php echo site_url('/qso/component_past_contacts'); ?>" hx-trigger="load, every 5s"></div>

  • Controller endpoint: application/controllers/Qso.php::component_past_contacts() loads application/views/qso/components/previous_contacts.php with $this->logbook_model->last_custom('5').
• Save Public Slug form:
  • View snippet:

    <form hx-post="<?php echo site_url('logbooks/save_publicslug/'); ?>" hx-target="#publicSlugForm">
        <input type="hidden" name="logbook_id" value="<?php echo $logbook_id; ?>">
        <input type="text" name="public_slug" required>
        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Save</button>
    </form>

  • Controller endpoint: application/controllers/Logbooks.php::save_publicslug() validates public_slug (required|alpha_numeric) and persists via logbooks_model.

Assets

• Most assets: Live under assets/; core includes are wired via application/views/interface_assets/header.php and application/views/interface_assets/footer.php.
• CSS: assets/css/ - Bootstrap themes, custom overrides in themes/*/overrides.css
• JS: assets/js/ - jQuery, HTMX (htmx.min.js), Leaflet maps, custom logic
• Icons: Font Awesome (via assets/fontawesome/)

Database

Migrations

Database schema managed via CodeIgniter migrations (application/migrations/):

• Sequential numbered files: 001_add_lotw_credentials.php → 232_tag_2_7_7.php
• Each extends CI_Migration with up() method
• Run via: php index.php migrate or through admin interface

Key Tables

• TABLE_HRD_CONTACTS_V01: QSO log (configured in config.php)
• station_profile: Station locations and settings
• station_logbooks: Logbook definitions
• station_logbooks_entity: Logbook-location relationships

Development Workflows

Docker Development Setup

# Start environment (web + db services)
docker-compose up

# Access: http://localhost/
# DB host in Docker: 'db' (service name, not localhost)

Configuration: Copy .env.sample to .env and adjust DB settings before starting.

Testing

Cypress end-to-end tests (cypress/e2e/):

# Install & run tests
npm install cypress
npx cypress run

# Tests require Docker containers running
docker-compose up -d

Tests validate: login flows, station creation, logbook operations, version checks.

Common Tasks

• Enable profiler: Set ENVIRONMENT = 'development' in index.php
• Routing: CI3 maps /controller/method to Controller::method by default; application/config/routes.php is typically left at its default (default_controller = 'dashboard'). Only edit routes for custom remaps.
• Base URL helpers: Use site_url() and base_url() in views/controllers

Where To Start (New Features)

• Controller: Add application/controllers/MyFeature.php extending CI_Controller. In __construct() or method start, load user_model and enforce validate_session()/authorize() as needed. Return views via $this->load->view().
• Model: Add application/models/Myfeature_model.php for DB access. Use CI Query Builder. Inject via $this->load->model('myfeature_model').
• View: Create application/views/myfeature/*.php. Include header/footer (interface_assets/header and interface_assets/footer). Prefer HTMX (hx-get/hx-post) for async UI.
• Migrations: For schema changes, add application/migrations/NNN_description.php and run php index.php migrate (or use the admin UI). Keep IDs sequential.
• Routing note: New endpoints are reachable as /index.php/myfeature/method (and usually /myfeature/method with proper web server config); no routes entry required unless you need a custom URI.

Domain-Specific Context

Amateur Radio Concepts

• Gridsquare/Locator: Maidenhead grid system for location (e.g., IO87JP)
• QSO: Radio contact/log entry
• DXCC: Country entities for award tracking
• ADIF: Amateur Data Interchange Format for import/export
• LoTW/eQSL: Electronic QSL card confirmation systems

Libraries & Helpers

• Qra library (application/libraries/Qra.php): Calculate bearings, distances, gridsquare conversions
• qra2latlong(): Global function (defined in Qra.php) converts Maidenhead to coordinates

Code Conventions

Controllers

• Load models in __construct() or method start
• Use flashdata for user messages: $this->session->set_flashdata('notice', 'Message')
• Redirect after POST: redirect('controller/method')

Views

• Header/footer: $this->load->view('interface_assets/header', $data) + footer.php
• JavaScript globals defined in footer.php: base_url, site_url, my_call
• Language strings: <?php echo lang('key'); ?> (files in application/language/)

Security

• Input sanitization: $this->security->xss_clean($input)
• Prevent direct access: if (!defined('BASEPATH')) exit('No direct script access allowed');
• SQL: Use Query Builder or prepared statements (handled by CI3 models)

Pull Request Guidelines

• Target branch: dev (PRs to main will be rejected)
• One feature per PR: No multi-feature or bundled bug fixes
• Comment code: Explain non-obvious logic
• Test coverage: Run Cypress tests before submitting
• Description: Clearly state what the PR does and why it's needed

Common Pitfalls

• Don't use && in PowerShell commands - use ; to chain commands
• Docker DB host: Use service name db, not localhost or 127.0.0.1
• Config files: Never commit config.php or database.php (use .sample versions as templates)
• Base URL: Must be set correctly in config.php for site to work properly