Skip to main content

AEM Recipes

Goal-oriented walkthroughs that connect the reference pages on this site into complete workflows. Each recipe is a short checklist with links to the detailed pages.

Build a configurable component​

  1. Scaffold the component and HTL -- Your First Component.
  2. Write the markup with HTL and a Sling Model for logic.
  3. Add an authoring dialog with the fields authors need.
  4. Add validation for any business rules (and re-check in the model).
  5. Allow it in a template policy so authors can place it.

Add a dynamic dropdown to a dialog​

  1. Add a select with a datasource resource type -- Component Dialogs: datasource.
  2. Implement the datasource servlet that builds the options.
  3. Read the saved value in your Sling Model.

Deliver content headlessly (GraphQL)​

  1. Model the content as a Content Fragment Model.
  2. Author fragments in the Content Fragments Console.
  3. Enable the model and create a GraphQL endpoint.
  4. Save a persisted query and fetch it from your frontend -- headless end-to-end.
  5. Configure CORS, the referrer filter, and caching for production.

Make a slow query fast​

  1. Run the query through the Explain Query tool to confirm whether it traverses -- Search & Indexing.
  2. Tighten the path and type constraints.
  3. Define an Oak property or Lucene index that matches the filter + sort.
  4. Deploy the index under /oak:index (use the -custom-N convention on AEMaaCS) and reindex.

Bulk-edit existing content​

  1. Write a guarded script in the Groovy Console (always start with DRY_RUN = true).
  2. Iterate in batches and session.save() periodically.
  3. Review the dry-run output, then flip DRY_RUN = false.
  4. For repeatable jobs, schedule the script or trigger it from CI.

Publish content (and its dependencies)​

  1. Use Manage Publication to activate a page with its references (assets, fragments, tags, /conf).
  2. Confirm the replication/distribution completed.
  3. Verify the Dispatcher/CDN cache was flushed.

Automate a content process​

  1. Model the steps as a workflow (process + participant steps).
  2. Wire a launcher to start it on the right JCR change.
  3. For high-volume, non-interactive work, prefer a Sling Job instead.

Secure a section of the site​

  1. Model roles as groups and ACLs; assign permissions to groups.
  2. Define them as code with repoinit so environments stay consistent.
  3. For gated delivery, apply a Closed User Group to the content root.
  4. Harden the Dispatcher with deny-by-default filters.

Debug "my component isn't rendering"​

  1. Is the bundle Active and the DS component satisfied? Check the OSGi consoles.
  2. Which script rendered? Check Recent Requests and sling:resourceType.
  3. Did the dialog value persist? Inspect the node in CRXDE Lite.
  4. Still stuck? Attach a remote debugger and set a breakpoint in the model.

Translate a site​

  1. Create language copies of the master language.
  2. Configure the Translation Integration Framework and a connector.
  3. Register custom translatable properties in translation rules.
  4. Translate UI strings with i18n dictionaries.

See also​