What's coming in Umbraco 15? Highlights from Umbraco UK Festival 2024

Introduction

Having just returned from the Umbraco Festival UK 2024 held in London, I’m still filled with exhilaration. This event is a haven for those passionate about web development and the Umbraco community. Here’s a snapshot of my experience at the festival.

A day filled with inspiration

The day kicked off with a keynote address that set the tone for the entire day. The speakers were knowledgeable but also incredibly engaging, sharing the latest trends and updates in the Umbraco world. It was fascinating to hear first-hand about Umbraco’s innovations and future direction.

Technical deep dives

The initial talk was based on the Impact Framework, an open-source tool designed to quantify the environmental impact of software. It converts easily collected observations from operating systems, such as CPU usage, page views, installations, and prompts, into environmental impacts like carbon emissions, waste generation, and water consumption.

There is a Green Software Foundation Github Repo.

Four new features in Umbraco 15

• Blocks: We were introduced to a new way of editing block-based content. This allows editors to maintain a common structure across all variants while supporting variant content at a property level.
• API Users (Introduced in Umbraco 15 to facilitate Client Credentials authentication): Utilising the Management API in a machine-to-machine setting. This means we can build and run integrations against the Umbraco API out of the box, using the tech stack of our preference.
• API Members: Query protected content from the Delivery API. This can be handy in a setup where end-user authentication is decoupled from Umbraco.
• Management API: The Management API powers the entire backoffice of Umbraco (14+). Anything you can do in the backoffice, can also be done using the API, it's also fully extendable, so you can build your own APIs, which will also be available for consumption with Client Credentials. The API user is identical to a regular backoffice user. The difference is, that it has no password and, therefore cannot log into the backoffice. Instead, the API user can hold several sets of Client Credentials.

Customising the backoffice

Those who have worked with the backoffice in version Umbraco < 13 would be aware that there are some challenges faced to create a similar look and experience when designing your custom section.

Umbraco 15 has been re-written from the ground up, and this version certainly has its learning curve, allowing you to use Vite, Lit, TypeScript and now registering your components using umbraco-package.json (especially if you’re creating dashboards), which comes with a number of properties.

Setting up your development environment does require you to run through a number of steps (see the development flow) however, as of writing this article, installing the latest Umbraco templates (Umbraco.Templates::15.0.0) does bring in a template ready for use.

CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous development)

CI/CD Pipelines from Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions, an insight and demo on how to setup Azure DevOps and recommended ways of working.

Start by cloning Umbraco Cloud projects so you can work with them locally. A detailed version of this topic can be found on Umbraco's documentation site.

As we all know, using FTP to make sites live comes with risks. This session was geared towards cloning repositories setting up your deployment process, as well as way to work within a team and utilise PR (Pull Requests) effectively. Finally, building pipelines.

A step-by-step guide can be found to setup an Umbraco Azure pipeline.

Build your own Umbraco co-pilot

An inspiring talk about Azure AI Studio providing access to 1800+ models (Models are used to manage quotas and filters to ensure they work for the intended purpose).

Utilising LLM (Large Language Model, essentially a tool designed to understand human language and respond like a human), Microsoft built a lightweight open-source SDK called Semantic Kernel, which then allows you to add existing code and enables an editor to request the AI companion in Umbraco to create Document Types and even certain content to be added by different editor levels.

Final thoughts

The community spirit was palpable, with everyone eager to share their experiences and knowledge. I struck up conversations with developers from around the world, exchanging tips and tricks.

The Umbraco Festival UK was a great experience, brimming with knowledge, creativity, and community spirit. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or new to the world of Umbraco, this festival offers something for everyone. I left with new skills, new friends and a renewed sense of enthusiasm for all things Umbraco/.NETCore.

If you ever get the chance to attend, don’t hesitate—dive in and enjoy every moment. It’s an event that truly captures the essence of what it means to be part of the Umbraco community.

If you have any questions about this article or want to chat about the new features of Umbraco, please contact us where our fantastic Umbraco team can reach out directly.

For more information, please see the Umbraco 15 release notes.