---
title: Admin UI
description: Add admin pages and dashboard widgets to the EmDash admin panel.
---

import { Aside, Steps, Tabs, TabItem } from "@astrojs/starlight/components";

Plugins can extend the admin panel with custom pages and dashboard widgets. These are React components that render alongside core admin functionality.

## Admin Entry Point

Plugins with admin UI export components from an `admin` entry point:

```typescript title="src/admin.tsx"
import { SEOSettingsPage } from "./components/SEOSettingsPage";
import { SEODashboardWidget } from "./components/SEODashboardWidget";

// Dashboard widgets
export const widgets = {
	"seo-overview": SEODashboardWidget,
};

// Admin pages
export const pages = {
	"/settings": SEOSettingsPage,
};
```

Configure the entry point in `package.json`:

```json title="package.json"
{
	"exports": {
		".": "./dist/index.js",
		"./admin": "./dist/admin.js"
	}
}
```

Reference it in your plugin definition:

```typescript title="src/index.ts"
definePlugin({
	id: "seo",
	version: "1.0.0",

	admin: {
		entry: "@my-org/plugin-seo/admin",
		pages: [{ path: "/settings", label: "SEO Settings", icon: "settings" }],
		widgets: [{ id: "seo-overview", title: "SEO Overview", size: "half" }],
	},
});
```

## Admin Pages

Admin pages are React components that receive the plugin context via hooks.

### Page Definition

Define pages in `admin.pages`:

```typescript
admin: {
	pages: [
		{
			path: "/settings", // URL path (relative to plugin base)
			label: "Settings", // Sidebar label
			icon: "settings", // Icon name (optional)
		},
		{
			path: "/reports",
			label: "Reports",
			icon: "chart",
		},
	];
}
```

Pages mount at `/_emdash/admin/plugins/<plugin-id>/<path>`.

### Page Component

```typescript title="src/components/SettingsPage.tsx"
import { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import { usePluginAPI } from "@emdash-cms/admin";

export function SettingsPage() {
  const api = usePluginAPI();
  const [settings, setSettings] = useState<Record<string, unknown>>({});
  const [saving, setSaving] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    api.get("settings").then(setSettings);
  }, []);

  const handleSave = async () => {
    setSaving(true);
    await api.post("settings/save", settings);
    setSaving(false);
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Plugin Settings</h1>

      <label>
        Site Title
        <input
          type="text"
          value={settings.siteTitle || ""}
          onChange={(e) => setSettings({ ...settings, siteTitle: e.target.value })}
        />
      </label>

      <label>
        <input
          type="checkbox"
          checked={settings.enabled ?? true}
          onChange={(e) => setSettings({ ...settings, enabled: e.target.checked })}
        />
        Enabled
      </label>

      <button onClick={handleSave} disabled={saving}>
        {saving ? "Saving..." : "Save Settings"}
      </button>
    </div>
  );
}
```

### Plugin API Hook

Use `usePluginAPI()` to call your plugin's routes:

```typescript
import { usePluginAPI } from "@emdash-cms/admin";

function MyComponent() {
	const api = usePluginAPI();

	// GET request to plugin route
	const data = await api.get("status");

	// POST request with body
	await api.post("settings/save", { enabled: true });

	// With URL parameters
	const result = await api.get("history?limit=50");
}
```

The hook automatically adds the plugin ID prefix to route URLs.

## Dashboard Widgets

Widgets appear on the admin dashboard and provide at-a-glance information.

### Widget Definition

Define widgets in `admin.widgets`:

```typescript
admin: {
	widgets: [
		{
			id: "seo-overview", // Unique widget ID
			title: "SEO Overview", // Widget title (optional)
			size: "half", // "full" | "half" | "third"
		},
	];
}
```

### Widget Component

```typescript title="src/components/SEOWidget.tsx"
import { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import { usePluginAPI } from "@emdash-cms/admin";

export function SEOWidget() {
  const api = usePluginAPI();
  const [data, setData] = useState({ score: 0, issues: [] });

  useEffect(() => {
    api.get("analyze").then(setData);
  }, []);

  return (
    <div className="widget-content">
      <div className="score">{data.score}%</div>
      <ul>
        {data.issues.map((issue, i) => (
          <li key={i}>{issue.message}</li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}
```

### Widget Sizes

| Size    | Description               |
| ------- | ------------------------- |
| `full`  | Full dashboard width      |
| `half`  | Half dashboard width      |
| `third` | One-third dashboard width |

Widgets wrap automatically based on screen width.

## Export Structure

The admin entry point exports two objects:

```typescript title="src/admin.tsx"
import { SettingsPage } from "./components/SettingsPage";
import { ReportsPage } from "./components/ReportsPage";
import { StatusWidget } from "./components/StatusWidget";
import { OverviewWidget } from "./components/OverviewWidget";

// Pages keyed by path
export const pages = {
	"/settings": SettingsPage,
	"/reports": ReportsPage,
};

// Widgets keyed by ID
export const widgets = {
	status: StatusWidget,
	overview: OverviewWidget,
};
```

<Aside type="caution">
	Page paths in `pages` must match the `path` values in `admin.pages`. Widget keys must match the
	`id` values in `admin.widgets`.
</Aside>

## Using Admin Components

EmDash provides pre-built components for common patterns:

```typescript
import {
  Card,
  Button,
  Input,
  Select,
  Toggle,
  Table,
  Pagination,
  Alert,
  Loading
} from "@emdash-cms/admin";

function SettingsPage() {
  return (
    <Card title="Settings">
      <Input label="API Key" type="password" />
      <Toggle label="Enabled" defaultChecked />
      <Button variant="primary">Save</Button>
    </Card>
  );
}
```

## Auto-Generated Settings UI

If your plugin only needs a settings form, use `admin.settingsSchema` without custom components:

```typescript
admin: {
  settingsSchema: {
    apiKey: { type: "secret", label: "API Key" },
    enabled: { type: "boolean", label: "Enabled", default: true }
  }
}
```

EmDash generates a settings page automatically. Add custom pages only for functionality beyond basic settings.

## Navigation

Plugin pages appear in the admin sidebar under the plugin name. The order matches the `admin.pages` array.

```typescript
admin: {
	pages: [
		{ path: "/settings", label: "Settings", icon: "settings" }, // First
		{ path: "/history", label: "History", icon: "history" }, // Second
		{ path: "/reports", label: "Reports", icon: "chart" }, // Third
	];
}
```

## Build Configuration

Admin components need a separate build entry point. Configure your bundler:

<Tabs>
  <TabItem label="tsdown">
```typescript title="tsdown.config.ts"
export default {
  entry: {
    index: "src/index.ts",
    admin: "src/admin.tsx"
  },
  format: "esm",
  dts: true,
  external: ["react", "react-dom", "emdash", "@emdash-cms/admin"]
};
```
  </TabItem>
  <TabItem label="tsup">
```typescript title="tsup.config.ts"
export default {
  entry: ["src/index.ts", "src/admin.tsx"],
  format: "esm",
  dts: true,
  external: ["react", "react-dom", "emdash", "@emdash-cms/admin"]
};
```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

Keep React and EmDash admin as external dependencies to avoid bundling duplicates.

## Plugin Enable/Disable

When a plugin is disabled in the admin:

- Sidebar links are hidden
- Dashboard widgets are not rendered
- Admin pages return 404
- Backend hooks still execute (for data safety)

Plugins can check their enabled state:

```typescript
const enabled = await ctx.kv.get<boolean>("_emdash:enabled");
```

## Example: Complete Admin UI

```typescript title="src/index.ts"
import { definePlugin } from "emdash";

export default definePlugin({
	id: "analytics",
	version: "1.0.0",

	capabilities: ["network:fetch"],
	allowedHosts: ["api.analytics.example.com"],

	storage: {
		events: { indexes: ["type", "createdAt"] },
	},

	admin: {
		entry: "@my-org/plugin-analytics/admin",
		settingsSchema: {
			trackingId: { type: "string", label: "Tracking ID" },
			enabled: { type: "boolean", label: "Enabled", default: true },
		},
		pages: [
			{ path: "/dashboard", label: "Dashboard", icon: "chart" },
			{ path: "/settings", label: "Settings", icon: "settings" },
		],
		widgets: [{ id: "events-today", title: "Events Today", size: "third" }],
	},

	routes: {
		stats: {
			handler: async (ctx) => {
				const today = new Date().toISOString().split("T")[0];
				const count = await ctx.storage.events!.count({
					createdAt: { gte: today },
				});
				return { today: count };
			},
		},
	},
});
```

```typescript title="src/admin.tsx"
import { EventsWidget } from "./components/EventsWidget";
import { DashboardPage } from "./components/DashboardPage";
import { SettingsPage } from "./components/SettingsPage";

export const widgets = {
	"events-today": EventsWidget,
};

export const pages = {
	"/dashboard": DashboardPage,
	"/settings": SettingsPage,
};
```
