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Version: 3.x

Developer Reference

Version
3.x
Updated
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Audience: developers building on, integrating with, or debugging CBX · Scope: the component's internals and machine interfaces · Last reviewed: 2026-08-02

What this is — the reference for how CBX actually works under the hood: the Kenedo framework it runs on, the four API surfaces it exposes, the engines that evaluate rules and prices, and the tooling around migrations, the CLI and code generation. If you are styling, overriding or extending a store rather than digging into internals, start with Customization instead; if you are evaluating CBX, the functional overview is the shorter read.

Start here

  • The four ways in — the map of every API surface (admin UI, HTTP API, CLI, MCP) and how they converge on one shared layer. Read this first; every other API page assumes it.
  • Kenedo MVC — the framework overview: controllers, the metadata-driven mini-ORM, views, and the conventions the whole component follows.

Coming back after a while? Latest features is the what's-new track — what has landed since the 4.0 line opened, per surface. The developer-facing cuts are the HTTP API, the CLI, the MCP server and platform & extensibility; each links straight back into the pages below.

The Kenedo framework

PageWhat it covers
Kenedo MVCThe architecture in one page — read before the deep dives
KenedoControllerTasks, request → response lifecycle, authorization
KenedoModelProperty definitions, reads, the store pipeline, delete/copy
KenedoViewView resolution, templates, assets
KenedoDatabaseQueries, prepared statements, transactions, escaping discipline
MVC tasks in depthWhat each base task really does, including copy()'s two-pass id mapping
Property definition settingsEvery key a getPropertyDefinitions() entry accepts
Property typesThe type system — with one page per type

APIs and integration

PageWhat it covers
The four ways inThe map — surfaces, auth, convergence
API contractThe response-shape contract and its migration ledger
API tokens and scopesThe credential every API caller presents — the seven areas, the four rules, presets, where tokens are minted
Entity APIREST CRUD over every registered entity — for API clients
HTTP API internalsHow the HTTP surface is built — for component developers
Runtime APIThe headless configurator and cart — sessions, selections, checkout
MCP serverDriving CBX from an AI assistant — tools and semantics
MCP server internalsHow the MCP server is built
com_configbox_ai_surface.htmlThe picture — what MCP is, how a conversation runs, two transports converging, the scope grid, the tools by area. Open it in a browser
Frontend requestsThe storefront JS request layer and its response envelope
Type generationGenerated JSON schemas, PHP record stubs and TypeScript types

Engines

PageWhat it covers
Rule engineRule JSON, evaluation, PHP/JS parity
Calculation engineFormula, matrix and code evaluation
Configurator questionsQuestion state, selections and the configurator lifecycle
Configurator client storeThe page's client-side state tree — actions, selectors, the legacy bridge

Operations and tooling

PageWhat it covers
MigrationsVersioned update scripts, idempotency, the failure freeze
Product transferExporting a product and importing it into another install
Editor image uploadDropping an image into a rich-text field — downscale, WebP, where it lands
CLI commandsEvery configbox:* console command
Chat advisorThe in-product AI assistant's architecture
Host stylesheetsHow host-platform styling reaches component views
Admin themingLight / dark / auto: the --cb-* token layer and how each platform resolves the scheme

Reading tips

  • Pages are point-in-time engineering docs tracking current master — each states its scope in the first paragraph and links its siblings; trust the page over your memory of an older release.
  • The encoded engine helpers (rules, calculation, configurator) are documented here by behavior and interface; their sources are not part of this repository.