Bookface 2.2.1-rc for Friendica 2026.08-rc

There have been something like 150 more commits to the Release Candidate since my last Bookface update so this should be current as of today. Get it here:

gitlab.com/randompenguin/bookf…

ONLY FOR FRIENDICA 2026.08-rc! It will NOT work with any earlier version of Friendica!

Keep in mind that the Release Candidate is still receiving frequent updates and possible breaking changes.

• Text completion position and z-index fixed.
• Notification badge no longer crops long numbers.
• old Font/Fork Awesome styling removed.
• unnecessary css label variables removed.
• Button alignment fixed below 900px wide (still slight overlap of Home with Search from 769px to 796px but both buttons can still be used).
• Directory Search widget action button alignment fixed.
• Delete Checkbox label alignment fixed.
• Dark Mode background color on thumbnail links fixed.
• Added experiemental "Compact View" option

NEW: Bookface Auto Color Compact (Experimental)

One of the most common complaints I hear from people trying Friendica is that the feed is really, really long (especially on a phone screen) because of all the comments being shown. Pretty much no other platforms show the comments in the feed itself. Even Facebook now shows the comments in a separate context. So this makes Friendica Bookface work a lot more like Bluesky and Mastodon.

There is a new "Compact Conversation View" option in the settings, but that still shows some comments (your own and the post author's). I had submitted my method to the Release Candidate but, because it conflicts with that already added option, it needs to be reworked to an either/or option. But it's also possible to accomplish my version with nothing but stylesheets, so I'm including a new "Auto Color Mode" stylesheet with this "no comments in feeds" compact view option:

• ALL comments in ALL feeds are hidden
• New Downloaded/Visible Comment Counter in upper right corner of post
• The body text of the post becomes a link to the single post display page.
• To comment on a post you must go to the single post display page.
• Images, Link Previews, Videos, Audio, and Quote Shares remain clickable in feeds.

Known Issues with Compact View:

• Comment Action button is still navigable by keyboard and can be pressed.
• Add-ons that add content to posts can cause the clickable area to shift.
• Single-post display is always in a new tab.
• Some post attachments can only be opened from single-post view
• Posts are still created for feeds, just hidden, so it's not any more efficient.
• Incompatible with and Overrides "Compact Conversation View" option.

Let me know what you think of this option. If people like it I'll resubmit my PR to make it available to all themes in a future Friendica release.

@Friendica Admins @Friendica Developers #Friendica #theme #Bookface

Bookface for Friendica 2028.06-rc

ONLY FOR FRIENDICA 2026.08-rc! It will NOT work with any earlier version of Friendica!

Keep in mind that the Release Candidate is still receiving frequent updates and possible breaking changes.

There are now MORE files to copy into the /view/themes/frio/schemes folder!

• bookface_auto.css
• bookface_auto.php
• bookface_dark.css
• bookface_dark.php
• bookface_light.css
• bookface_light.php
• bookface_legacy.css (new!)
• bookface_legacy.php (new!)
• bookface_assets folder (new!)

You should not copy the /src folder unless you're planning to make changes or contribute.

Make sure you set the permissions correctly on the files, the assets subfolder, and its contents.

This Bookface version represents a massive rewrite of Bookface due to the major refactoring of Friendica. Some of the most noticeable changes are:

• Most of the Nav and Action button label variables are now removed because auto-translated labels have been added as an option in Friendica.
• The --link-color variable now only applies to text color while backgrounds and borders use --accent-color
• The user's color choice now creates a full "color theme" using tints, shades, and tones of the accent color.
• The File Browser button is no longer hidden by default. While there is still no way to actually manage the files the browser layout has been improved.
• Bookface now makes extensive use of the new light-dark() CSS function. It is widely supported by new browsers. However some users on older devices that can't update the browser may experience unexpected results. So there is also a "Bookface Auto Legacy" style included that uses the older, more widely supported prefers-light-color and prefers-dark-color method.
• In Settings > Display > Theme and Admin > Themes > Frio it now shows a screenshot of Bookface instead of Frio
• The stylesheets are now modularized to make it easier to update and maintain this project.

OTHER NOTES:

• The README file references the "Bookface Custom" add-on. That add-on has not yet been updated to work with 2.1.7.
• The README file points user to the "Bookface Wiki." That has not yet been updated to reflect the changes in version 2.1.7. The wiki will be updated when there is a stable release.

@Friendica Admins @Friendica Developers #Friendica #theme #dev

gitlab.com/randompenguin/bookf…

Bookface 2.1.5

Requirements: Friendica 2026.05, 2026.01, or 2025.07-rc.

This does NOT work with older versions of Friendica and there is no Bookface for 2026.08-dev yet.

But there haven't been any changes and additions for a few months so it felt like time to actually make a release. It's all minor compatibility fixes, no new features or major changes.

@Friendica Admins #Bookface #Friendica #theme

gitlab.com/randompenguin/bookf…

I am aware of some minor Bookface layout issues that cropped up in Friendica 2026.05 and already have opened three issues on my GitLab. If you notice any other stuff please screenshot it and open an issue there: gitlab.com/randompenguin/bookf…

I already have some ideas how to fix the ones I found, but will need to test them and see if they can also be backported or if they should only be applied to the 2026.05 release.

@Friendica Admins

#Friendica #Bookface #UI #theme #Frio