Stirling-PDF/devGuide
Ludy 80cba55459
refactor: remove legacy Thymeleaf web UI controllers and templates (#5406)
# Description of Changes

This pull request completes the removal of Thymeleaf template engine
support and documentation from the Stirling-PDF codebase and developer
guides, reflecting the project's full migration to a React-based
frontend. It removes all references to Thymeleaf in code, configuration,
and documentation, and updates guides to focus exclusively on the React
SPA architecture. This streamlines the codebase and clarifies the
development workflow for contributors.

**Codebase cleanup: Thymeleaf removal**
- Removed all commented-out Thymeleaf dependencies and related
configuration beans from `build.gradle` and `AppConfig.java`
(`app/common/build.gradle`,
`app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/configuration/AppConfig.java`)
[[1]](diffhunk://#diff-2a1a21726f33b05d16451237c68d6df91a5f4a58419d839715f3f1538a9a14aeL32)
[[2]](diffhunk://#diff-70792df9a0ab5675ded888c9eb8e2815c780d7b39f4bda8cf2da51d1b336899aL67-L76).
- Fully commented out (as a precursor to future deletion) the
`FileFallbackTemplateResolver` and `InputStreamTemplateResource`
classes, which were only used for Thymeleaf template resolution
(`app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/configuration/FileFallbackTemplateResolver.java`,
`app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/model/InputStreamTemplateResource.java`)
[[1]](diffhunk://#diff-e2bc7614074316b972355cb7dda47b98f75b00eb6b2ca4f143a680ab2803dcd8L1-L49)
[[2]](diffhunk://#diff-ab10ee12d8de8fb77759e931170373d388bde04bad6d0e42a0ab674355ef7ef3L1-L40).

**Documentation updates: React-only focus**
- Removed all instructions and references to migrating or developing
with Thymeleaf templates in `DeveloperGuide.md` and `ADDING_TOOLS.md`,
including detailed Thymeleaf usage examples, migration steps, and
translation key usage in templates
[[1]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL5-R5)
[[2]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL41-L43)
[[3]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL103-L105)
[[4]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL157)
[[5]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL312)
[[6]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL404-R396)
[[7]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL451-L505)
[[8]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL530-R467)
[[9]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL585-L669)
[[10]](diffhunk://#diff-ccd22fcbec8148152c8c77b85fbfe2633a6707b5ad50c2ef88fa87e2c47ea88fL699-L709)
[[11]](diffhunk://#diff-e2f8148ea620602b7761e8ee24afeac1c577476630528e210fe0b22e950016ddL3-R3)
[[12]](diffhunk://#diff-e2f8148ea620602b7761e8ee24afeac1c577476630528e210fe0b22e950016ddL267-R267).
- Updated architecture descriptions in `CLAUDE.md` to reflect that the
frontend is now exclusively a React SPA and that Thymeleaf templates
have been fully replaced
[[1]](diffhunk://#diff-6ebdb617a8104a7756d0cf36578ab01103dc9f07e4dc6feb751296b9c402faf7L131-R132)
[[2]](diffhunk://#diff-6ebdb617a8104a7756d0cf36578ab01103dc9f07e4dc6feb751296b9c402faf7L143-L144).

**Labeler configuration update**
- Removed labeler rules for files related to the old Thymeleaf-based web
controllers and UI directories, as these are now obsolete
(`.github/labeler-config-srvaroa.yml`).

These changes ensure the codebase and documentation are consistent with
the new React-only frontend approach, reducing maintenance overhead and
potential confusion for contributors.

---

## Checklist

### General

- [ ] I have read the [Contribution
Guidelines](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
- [ ] I have read the [Stirling-PDF Developer
Guide](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/blob/main/devGuide/DeveloperGuide.md)
(if applicable)
- [ ] I have read the [How to add new languages to
Stirling-PDF](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/blob/main/devGuide/HowToAddNewLanguage.md)
(if applicable)
- [ ] I have performed a self-review of my own code
- [ ] My changes generate no new warnings

### Documentation

- [ ] I have updated relevant docs on [Stirling-PDF's doc
repo](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-Tools.github.io/blob/main/docs/)
(if functionality has heavily changed)
- [ ] I have read the section [Add New Translation
Tags](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/blob/main/devGuide/HowToAddNewLanguage.md#add-new-translation-tags)
(for new translation tags only)

### Translations (if applicable)

- [ ] I ran
[`scripts/counter_translation.py`](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/blob/main/docs/counter_translation.md)

### UI Changes (if applicable)

- [ ] Screenshots or videos demonstrating the UI changes are attached
(e.g., as comments or direct attachments in the PR)

### Testing (if applicable)

- [ ] I have tested my changes locally. Refer to the [Testing
Guide](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/blob/main/devGuide/DeveloperGuide.md#6-testing)
for more details.
2026-01-21 21:58:29 +00:00
..
AGENTS.md
DeveloperGuide.md refactor: remove legacy Thymeleaf web UI controllers and templates (#5406) 2026-01-21 21:58:29 +00:00
EXCEPTION_HANDLING_GUIDE.md
FILE_HISTORY_SPECIFICATION.md Feature/v2/filehistory (#4370) 2025-09-16 15:08:11 +01:00
HowToAddNewLanguage.md Toml (#5115) 2025-12-03 09:57:00 +00:00
README.md
STYLELINT.md refactor: move modules under app/ directory and update file paths (#3938) 2025-07-14 20:53:11 +01:00
USERS.md

Developer Guide Directory

This directory contains all development-related documentation for Stirling PDF.

📚 Documentation Index

Core Development

Features & Documentation

  • AGENTS.md - Agent-based functionality documentation
  • USERS.md - User-focused documentation and guides

📝 Contributing to Documentation

When adding new development documentation:

  1. Place technical guides in this devGuide/ directory
  2. Update this index file with a brief description
  3. Keep user-facing docs (README, CONTRIBUTING, SECURITY) in the root
  4. Follow existing naming conventions (PascalCase for guides)