mattermost/webapp/CLAUDE.OPTIONAL.md

CLAUDE.md

Guidance for Claude Code when working inside webapp/.

Project Overview

This is the Mattermost web app codebase, a React-based frontend application for the Mattermost collaboration platform. The repository is structured as an npm workspace monorepo with multiple packages, with the main application code in the channels package and shared platform code in platform/* packages.

• Primary workspace: channels/ (UI, Redux, routing).
• Shared packages: platform/*.
• Scripts: webapp/scripts/ power dev server, builds, and localization flows.
• Coding Standards: Read webapp/STYLE_GUIDE.md for canonical standards; nested CLAUDE.md files cover directory-specific rules.

Core Commands

Task	Command
Install deps	npm install (includes postinstall build of platform packages)
Dev server (prod build watch)	make run
Dev server (webpack-dev-server)	make dev or npm run dev-server --workspace=channels
Build all workspaces	make dist or npm run build
Build Channels only	npm run build --workspace=channels
Tests	make test or npm run test --workspace=channels (use test:watch, test:updatesnapshot as needed)
Lint / Style	make check-style, make fix-style, npm run check --workspace=channels, npm run fix --workspace=channels
Type check	make check-types
Clean artifacts	make clean or npm run clean --workspaces --if-present

Top-Level Directory Map

• channels/ – Channels workspace. See channels/CLAUDE.md.
  • src/ – App source with further scoped guides (components, actions, selectors, reducers, store, sass, i18n, tests, utils, types, plugins, packages/mattermost-redux).
• platform/ – Shared packages (client, components, types, eslint-plugin). See platform/CLAUDE.md plus sub-guides.
• scripts/ – Build/dev automation. See scripts/CLAUDE.md.
• STYLE_GUIDE.md – Authoritative style + accessibility + testing reference.
• README.md, config.mk, Makefile – onboarding, env config, and command wiring.

Workspace Architecture

This repository uses npm workspaces:

• channels (channels/): Main Mattermost web app containing all UI components, Redux logic, and application code
• @mattermost/types (platform/types/): TypeScript type definitions
• @mattermost/client (platform/client/): REST and WebSocket client for the Mattermost API
• @mattermost/components (platform/components/): Shared React components
• @mattermost/shared (platform/shared/): Cross-product components and utilities used by the web app and plugins (e.g. Button, WithTooltip). Prefer these over hand-rolled equivalents.
• @mattermost/eslint-plugin (platform/eslint-plugin/): Custom ESLint rules

Importing Packages

Always import packages using their full name, never relative paths:

// Correct
import {Client4} from '@mattermost/client';
import {UserProfile} from '@mattermost/types/users';
import {Button} from '@mattermost/shared/components/button';
import {WithTooltip} from '@mattermost/shared/components/tooltip';
import {getUser} from 'mattermost-redux/selectors/entities/users';

// Incorrect
import Client4 from '../platform/client/src/client4.ts';

Key Dependencies

• React 18.2: Main UI framework
• Redux 5.0: State management
• React Router 5.3: Client-side routing
• React Intl: Internationalization
• Floating UI: Tooltips and popovers (prefer WithTooltip from @mattermost/shared/components/tooltip)
• @mattermost/shared: Shared components and utilities (Button, WithTooltip, etc.) — prefer these over rolling your own
• @mattermost/compass-icons: Icon library (prefer over font-awesome)
• Monaco Editor: Code editor integration
• Styled Components: Limited use (for MUI and some legacy components)

Important Configuration Files

• channels/webpack.config.js: Webpack configuration with module federation
• channels/jest.config.js: Jest test configuration
• channels/tsconfig.json: TypeScript configuration with workspace references
• channels/.eslintrc.json: ESLint configuration

Cross-Cutting Standards & Common Gotchas

• Functional Components: Prefer functional React components with hooks; memoize expensive logic.
• Data Access: Client4/WebSocket access happens via Redux actions only—never directly from components.
• Internationalization: All UI strings must be translatable via React Intl. Use FormattedMessage unless a raw string is required. When adding or modifying a new translatable string, add or modify ONLY the English main file en.json. DO NOT update the other languages.
• Styling: Uses SCSS + CSS variables with BEM naming; avoid !important unless migrating legacy code.
• Testing: RTL + userEvent for tests; no snapshots. Use helpers under channels/src/tests/.
• Accessibility: Follow guidance in STYLE_GUIDE.md (semantic elements, keyboard support, focus management).
• Platform Packages: Rebuild automatically on npm install; re-run if types appear stale.
• Adding Dependencies: Always add dependencies with npm add <pkg> --workspace=channels (or the relevant workspace).
• Redux State Split: state.entities.* (server data via mattermost-redux) vs state.views.* (UI/persisted). Store new server entities in mattermost-redux first.
• Client4 Returns: Methods return {response, headers, data} – unwrap accordingly in actions.

Nested CLAUDE Files

• Channels workspace: channels/CLAUDE.md, channels/src/CLAUDE.md.
• Channels source subfolders: components/, actions/, selectors/, reducers/, store/, sass/, i18n/, tests/, utils/, types/, plugins/, packages/mattermost-redux/.
• Platform packages: platform/CLAUDE.md, plus platform/client/, platform/components/, platform/shared/, platform/types/.
• Tooling: scripts/CLAUDE.md.

Use these nested guides for focused, actionable instructions when working within each directory.