Marketing App - Project Context

Tech Stack

Frontend: React (Vite), Tailwind CSS, Lucide icons
Backend: Express.js, NocoDB (database via REST API), SQLite (auth)
Key patterns: api.js normalizes NocoDB responses (snake_case + camelCase aliases, Id/id/_id). SlidePanel uses createPortal. AppContext provides brands/teamMembers. AuthContext provides user/permissions/canEditResource/canDeleteResource.

Architecture Notes

NocoDB uses Id (capital I) as primary key, CreatedAt/UpdatedAt timestamps
ensureRequiredTables() only creates NEW tables — skips existing ones
ensureFKColumns() adds Number columns to existing tables (FK_COLUMNS map)
ensureTextColumns() adds text/other columns to existing tables (TEXT_COLUMNS map)
Column migrations run on every server restart in startServer()

Current State / Known Issues

CRITICAL: Approvers on Artefacts — NOT YET WORKING

The approver_ids column (SingleLineText, comma-separated user IDs) may not exist in the NocoDB Artefacts table. Symptoms: approvers selected in the UI don't persist when panel is closed and reopened.

Diagnosis steps added:

Server startup now lists ALL Artefacts table columns and auto-creates missing ones (approver_ids, project_id, campaign_id)
POST /artefacts logs the approver_ids being sent and what NocoDB returns
PATCH /artefacts/:id logs the update data and the re-read value
ensureTextColumns() now logs success/failure for each column creation

What to check: Restart the server and look at terminal output:

If approver_ids is listed in columns → column exists, issue is elsewhere
If ⚠ MISSING column appears → column was missing, should be auto-created now
PATCH logs show if the value persists after write (After re-read: approver_ids=...)

Root cause: ensureRequiredTables() (line ~310) skips existing tables entirely (if (existingTables.has(tableName)) continue). The approver_ids column was added to REQUIRED_TABLES schema but the Artefacts table already existed, so the column was never created. Fixed by adding to TEXT_COLUMNS and adding a belt-and-suspenders check at startup.

Recently Completed Features

Artefacts Page

Grid + List view toggle with sorting (recently updated, newest, oldest, title A-Z)
Filters: brand, status, type, creator, project, campaign
Project and Campaign assignment (dropdowns in create modal + detail panel)
Approver multi-select (ApproverMultiSelect component at bottom of Artefacts.jsx)
Save Draft button in detail panel header (saves title + description)
Delete button in detail panel header (with permission check via canDeleteResource)
Editable title (inline input in header) and description (textarea) in detail panel
Language picker for copy artefacts uses predefined list: Arabic (AR), English (EN), French (FR), Bahasa Indonesia (ID)
Auto-opens detail panel after creating an artefact

Issues Page

Board (kanban) + List view toggle with drag-and-drop
5 status columns: New, Acknowledged, In Progress, Resolved, Declined
IssueCard component (client/src/components/IssueCard.jsx)
Inline filters (always visible, no toggle button)
Status count cards work as quick-filter buttons

AuthContext

Added artefact type to canEditResource and canDeleteResource (uses canEditAnyPost/canDeleteAnyPost permissions + isOwner)

Server

Artefacts schema has: project_id, campaign_id, approver_ids columns
GET/POST/PATCH /artefacts routes handle project_id, campaign_id, approver_ids with name enrichment
Issues PATCH supports brand_id (bug fix)
FK_COLUMNS includes Artefacts: ['project_id', 'campaign_id']
TEXT_COLUMNS includes Artefacts: [{ name: 'approver_ids', uidt: 'SingleLineText' }]

i18n

Added 12+ keys to both en.json and ar.json for issues board/list and artefacts grid/list/filters/sorting

Key Files

server/server.js — all API routes, schema definitions, migrations
server/nocodb.js — NocoDB client wrapper
client/src/pages/Artefacts.jsx — artefacts page + ArtefactDetailPanel + ApproverMultiSelect
client/src/pages/Issues.jsx — issues page with board + list views
client/src/components/IssueCard.jsx — card component for issues kanban
client/src/contexts/AuthContext.jsx — auth, permissions, ownership checks
client/src/utils/api.js — API client with normalize function
client/src/i18n/en.json / ar.json — translations

Debugging Tips

Console logs prefixed with [POST /artefacts] and [PATCH /artefacts/:id] show approver data flow
Startup logs show all Artefacts table columns and missing column auto-creation
NocoDB silently ignores writes to non-existent columns (no error thrown) — this is why approvers appear to save but don't persist

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