Sythan: New: editor documentation, content architecture phase

2026-08-07T22:18:25Z

New: editor documentation, content architecture phase

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How EDFM's structured game data works, and how to add to it without writing Lua.

== The idea ==
For data genuinely reused in more than one place (an Engineer's own infobox, [[List of Engineers]], and [[Engineer Capability Comparison]] all need the same facts about that Engineer), EDFM stores the canonical value '''once''', as a JSON page, and lets a small Scribunto (Lua) module read and format it everywhere it's needed. This means an Engineer's infobox and the list/comparison pages can never quietly drift out of sync — there's only one place the fact actually lives.

This is deliberately '''not''' used for everything — most of an article (its prose, its walkthrough steps, its sourcing) stays as normal wikitext. Structured data is specifically for facts that get reused across multiple pages. See [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Content Style Guide]] and the project's general preference for plain templates over Lua wherever plain templates are enough.

== Adding a new Engineer's data record ==
This is the only structured-data type live so far (Engineers) — the same pattern will extend to other entity types later.
# Create a new page named <code>Module:Data/Engineers/<Engineer name></code> (matching the Engineer's own Main-namespace article title exactly), with content model '''JSON'''. The <code>Module:</code> namespace defaults to Lua/Scribunto, not JSON, so you'll need to set the content model explicitly — either via <code>Special:ChangeContentModel</code> right after creating the page, or by appending <code>&contentmodel=json</code> to the edit URL before your first save.
# Copy the shape of an existing record — e.g. <code>Module:Data/Engineers/Broo Tarquin</code> — field for field. Fields: <code>name</code>, <code>engineer_type</code>, <code>system</code>, <code>body</code>, <code>facility</code>, <code>region</code>, <code>allegiance</code>, <code>specialties</code> (a list), <code>max_grade</code>, <code>prerequisite_engineer</code>, <code>prerequisite_engineer_note</code>, <code>discovery_requirement</code>, <code>invitation_requirement</code>, <code>unlock_requirement</code>, <code>colonia</code> (true/false). Use <code>null</code> for anything genuinely not yet confirmed — never invent a value just to fill the field.
# Add the Engineer's name to the list in <code>Module:Data/Engineers/index</code>.
# On the Engineer's own article, replace a bare {{tl|Infobox}} call with {{tl|Engineer infobox|name=Engineer name}} — it will automatically pick up the new JSON record.

'''Don't edit <code>Module:Engineers</code>''' (the Lua module itself) unless you're changing the schema everyone's data depends on — adding a record is a JSON-only, no-Lua-required task.

== Checking your work ==
After saving, revisit the Engineer's own page and confirm the infobox still looks right, then check [[List of Engineers]] and [[Engineer Capability Comparison]] picked up the new row automatically. If a Lua error appears instead, the JSON is probably malformed (check for a missing comma or unescaped quote) — Special:ChangeContentModel can confirm the page actually saved as JSON rather than plain wikitext.

{{Related articles|[[List of Engineers]] [[Engineer Capability Comparison]] [[Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Editorial Policy]]}}

Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Adding Structured Data - Revision history

Sythan: New: editor documentation, content architecture phase