Application: frontend

Serves most frontend pages for www.gov.uk

• GitHub: frontend
• Ownership: #govuk-patterns-and-pages-tech
• Category: Frontend apps
• Links:
  • Sentry (error tracking)
  • App dashboard: request rates, errors, durations
  • Kibana App Logs (Production, last 3 hours)
  • Kibana Worker Logs (Production, last 3 hours)
  • Argo CD (frontend)
  • Argo CD (draft-frontend)

Relevant manual pages

• Add an organisation’s brand colour or logo
• Setup maintenance mode

Example pages rendered by frontend

• Sign in to your Universal Credit account
• Check the MOT history of a vehicle
• HMRC online services: sign in or set up an account
• Universal Credit
• Tax your vehicle
• eVisas: access and use your online immigration status
• Check if a vehicle is taxed
• Get information about a company
• Book your driving test
• Check the MOT status of a vehicle

README

Frontend renders the citizen-facing part of content items, and some hard-coded routes.

The content items are obtained using govuk_content_item_loader from either Content Store or Publishing API (GraphQL). The code for some types of documents also obtains additional data directly from Content Store, after the original content item has been retrieved from the content item loader.

Formats

Format	Schema/Document Type	Live example(s)
AB testing	hardcoded	https://www.gov.uk/help/ab-testing
Answer	answer	https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
Asset placeholder	hardcoded	https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/placeholder
Calendars	calendar	https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays
		https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change
Call for evidence	schema: call_for_evidence	https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/credit-union-common-bond-reform
		https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/safety-of-journalists-call-for-evidence
		https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/review-of-civil-legal-aid-call-for-evidence
Case studies	case_study	https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/aiding-capability-decision-making-for-the-royal-navy
Consultation	consultation	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/soft-drinks-industry-levy
Cookies	hardcoded	https://www.gov.uk/help/cookies
Corporate information pages	corporate_information_page	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/forensic-science-regulator/about
		https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/forensic-science-regulator/about/accessible-documents-policy
Detailed Guide	detailed_guide	https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-second-hand-vehicles-using-a-vat-margin-scheme
Document collection	document_collection	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statutory-guidance-schools
Fatality notice	fatality_notice	https://www.gov.uk/government/fatalities/corporal-lee-churcher-dies-in-iraq
Field of operation	field_of_operation	https://www.gov.uk/government/fields-of-operation/united-kingdom
Fields of operation	fields_of_operation	https://www.gov.uk/government/fields-of-operation
Find electoral office	hardcoded	https://www.gov.uk/contact-electoral-registration-office
Find local council	hardcoded	https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council
Foreign travel advice index	travel_advice_index	https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
Foreign travel advice	travel_advice	https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/azerbaijan
Get involved	get_involved	https://www.gov.uk/government/get-involved
Gone	gone	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/greenhouse-gas-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting
Guide	guide	https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services
Help index	hardcoded	https://www.gov.uk/help
Help	help_page	https://www.gov.uk/help/browsers
History	history	https://www.gov.uk/government/history/10-downing-street
HMRC Manual	hmrc_manual	https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/capital-gains-manual
HMRC Manual Section	hmrc_manual_section	https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim11202
Homepage	homepage	https://www.gov.uk/
How Government Works	how_government_works	https://www.gov.uk/government/how-government-works
HTML Publication	html_publication	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-show-me-tell-me-vehicle-safety-questions/car-show-me-tell-me-vehicle-safety-questions
		https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skilled-worker-visa-temporary-shortage-list/skilled-worker-visa-temporary-shortage-list
		https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/usa-apply-for-a-uk-visa/apply-for-a-uk-visa-in-the-usa
Licence finder	schema: specialist_document	https://www.gov.uk/find-licences/premises-licence
	document_type: licence_transaction	https://www.gov.uk/find-licences/zoo-licence
Local transaction	local_transaction	https://www.gov.uk/school-term-holiday-dates
		https://www.gov.uk/apply-council-tax-reduction
Manual	manual	https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code
Manual Section	manual_section	https://www.gov.uk/guidance/systems-change-learning/1-securing-strategic-buy-in-and-alignment
News Article	news_article	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-personal-independence-payment-amendment-regulations-2017-statement-by-paul-gray
Place	place	https://www.gov.uk/register-offices
		https://www.gov.uk/register-offices
Publication	publication	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2016-documents
Roadmap	hardcoded	https://www.gov.uk/roadmap
Service Manual guide	service_manual_guide	https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery/how-the-discovery-phase-works
Service Manual homepage	service_manual_homepage	https://www.gov.uk/service-manual
Service Manual service standard page	service_manual_service_standard	https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard
Service Manual topic	service_manual_topic	https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery
		https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/user-research
		https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/helping-people-to-use-your-service
Service toolkit page	service_toolkit_page	https://www.gov.uk/service-toolkit
Simple smart answer	simple_smart_answer	https://www.gov.uk/sold-bought-vehicle
		https://www.gov.uk/contact-the-dvla
Specialist Document	schema: specialist_document	https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/veterinary-services-market-for-pets-review
		https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-investigation-to-aw189-g-fsar
		https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/pitahaya-amazonica-de-palora
Speech	speech	https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/motorcycle-testing
Statistical Data Set	statistical_data_set	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-government-pension-scheme-funds-summary-data-2011-to-2012
Statistics announcement	statistics_announcement	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/diagnostic-imaging-dataset-for-september-2015
Topical Event	topical_event	https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/youth-matters-national-youth-strategy
Topical Event About Page	topical_event_about_page	https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/western-balkans-summit-london-2018/about
Transaction start page	transaction	https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
		https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax
		https://www.gov.uk/find-a-job
Working group	working_group	https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/abstraction-reform
Worldwide corporate information page	worldwide_corporate_information_page	https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-dakar/about/recruitment
Worldwide office page	worldwide_office	https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/high-commission-victoria/office/british-high-commission-victoria
Worldwide organisation page	worldwide_organisation	https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/high-commission-victoria

Nomenclature

• format: our phrase for a type of content

Technical documentation

Frontend is a Ruby on Rails application and should follow our Rails app conventions.

See the CONTRIBUTING guide for more information.

Dependencies

• alphagov/content-store - provides raw data for rendering formats
• alphagov/local-links-manager - provides council info lookups
• alphagov/locations-api - provides postcode lookups
• alphagov/places-manager - provides places lookups (e.g. for find-my-nearest)
• alphagov/publishing-api - this app sends data to the content-store

Running the application

You can use the GOV.UK Docker environment or the local startup.sh script to run the app. Read the guidance on local frontend development to find out more about each approach, before you get started.

If you are using GOV.UK Docker, remember to combine it with the commands that follow. See the GOV.UK Docker usage instructions for examples.

If you are using the startup.sh script, execute the following command:

./startup.sh --live

which uses content from production.

Note that you will have to have GOV.UK Locations API running locally. A valid dataset will have to be loaded for Locations API or postcode lookups will not succeed. This is part of the standard GOV.UK data replication steps.

Running the test suite

bundle exec rake

Further documentation

• Calendars
• Debugging
• Elections

Licence

MIT Licence