Architecture

Overview

Aether is a modern, lightweight Content Management System built on top of LiteNode, designed for developers who need a flexible, extensible platform for creating dynamic websites and static sites. The architecture follows a modular design pattern with clear separation of concerns, making it easy to maintain, extend, and customize.

Key Features

• Dual Mode Operation: Dynamic CMS and Static Site Generator
• Theme System: Flexible theme architecture with custom templates
• Content Types: Posts, Pages, and Custom Pages
• Media Management: Image and document handling with metadata
• User Management: Role-based access control
• API-First: Complete REST API for all operations
• Extensible: Hook system for plugins and customizations

System Architecture

Directory Structure

📦 Root
├── 📁 assets/             # Static assets (CSS, JS)
├── 📁 content/            # Content storage
│   ├── 📁 data/           # Content files and configuration
│   │   ├── 📁 posts/      # Blog posts (Markdown)
│   │   ├── 📁 pages/      # Static pages (Markdown)
│   │   ├── 📁 custom/     # Custom pages (Markdown)
│   │   ├── 📄 settings.json
│   │   ├── 📄 users.json
│   │   └── 📄 menu.json
│   ├── 📁 themes/         # Theme files
│   └── 📁 uploads/        # Media uploads
├── 📁 core/               # Core application code
│   ├── 📁 admin/          # Admin interface
│   ├── 📁 api/            # API endpoints
│   ├── 📁 lib/            # Core libraries
│   ├── 📁 routes/         # Frontend routes
│   ├── 📁 utils/          # Utility functions
|   └── 📄 app.js          # Core application setup
└── 📄 index.js            # Application entry point

Core Modules

1. Content Management

The content management system is centered around these core modules:

• ContentManager (core/lib/content/content-manager.js): Orchestrates all content-related operations
• ContentItemManager (core/lib/content/modules/content-item-manager.js): Handles CRUD operations for content items (posts and pages)
• ContentQueryManager (core/lib/content/modules/content-query-manager.js): Manages content queries, filtering, and retrieval

The CMS stores content as Markdown files with YAML frontmatter for metadata.

2. Theme System

The theme system manages site appearance and templating:

• ThemeManager (core/lib/theme/theme-manager.js): Main coordinator for theme operations
• ThemeDiscovery (core/lib/theme/modules/theme-discovery.js): Scans for available themes
• ThemeTemplateResolver (core/lib/theme/modules/theme-template-resolver.js): Resolves template paths
• ThemeInstaller (core/lib/theme/modules/theme-installer.js): Handles theme installation
• ThemeMarketplaceCDN (core/lib/theme/modules/theme-marketplace-cdn.js): Integrates with theme marketplace

3. Authentication System

The authentication system handles users, sessions, and security:

• AuthManager (core/lib/auth/auth-manager.js): Coordinates authentication modules
• UserManager (core/lib/auth/modules/user-manager.js): Manages user accounts
• SessionManager (core/lib/auth/modules/session-manager.js): Handles login sessions
• PasswordService (core/lib/auth/modules/password-service.js): Secure password hashing
• RateLimiter (core/lib/auth/modules/rate-limiter.js): Prevents brute-force attacks

4. File Storage

Handles uploads and media management:

• FileStorage (core/lib/store/file-storage.js): Manages file uploads
• FileManager (core/lib/store/modules/file-manager.js): Core file operations
• ImageHandler (core/lib/store/modules/image-handler.js): Image-specific operations
• DocumentHandler (core/lib/store/modules/document-handler.js): Document-specific operations
• MetadataManager (core/lib/store/modules/metadata-manager.js): Manages file metadata

5. Hook System

Provides extensibility through hooks:

• HookSystem (core/lib/hooks.js): Implements actions and filters
• Hook utilities for content optimization

6. Navigation & Menu Management

• GlobalMenuManager (core/lib/global-menu-manager.js): Manages site-wide navigation

7. Settings Management

• SettingsService (core/lib/settings-service.js): Centralized settings with caching

8. API Layer

RESTful API endpoints for different functionalities:

• Content API, Media API, User API, Theme API, and Static Generator API

9. Route System

• Frontend routes for rendering content
• Admin routes for the control panel
• SEO routes (sitemap, RSS)
• Custom page routes

10. Static Site Generator

• StaticSiteGenerator (core/utils/static-generator.js): Converts the dynamic site to static HTML

These modules work together in a modular architecture, with clear separation of concerns. The system follows a pattern where managers coordinate specialized modules that handle specific aspects of functionality. Each major component (content, theme, auth, file storage) follows this pattern, making the system maintainable and extensible.