Frappe Portal

Portal & Website Development

Usage

Use this skill when:

• Exposing a DocType on the customer/supplier portal (list + detail pages)
• Choosing between WebsiteGenerator and the portal-list pattern
• Portal access control (has_website_permission, portal_users)
• Extending existing ERPNext portal pages without forking templates
• Debugging "portal page shows nothing" or PDF-generation hangs

Two patterns for exposing DocTypes

Pattern A: WebsiteGenerator

• Set has_web_view = 1 on the DocType, controller extends WebsiteGenerator
• Requires a route field; each document gets its own URL
• Template file named after the doctype (.html) inside the doctype folder's templates directory
• Override get_context(context) for template variables

Pattern B: Portal List (recommended for transaction documents)

# In the DocType controller module (my_doctype.py)
def get_list_context(context=None):
    return {
        "show_sidebar": True,
        "show_search": True,
        "no_breadcrumbs": True,
        "title": _("My Documents"),
        "get_list": get_filtered_list,
        "row_template": "templates/includes/my_app/my_row.html",
        "list_template": "templates/includes/list/list.html",
    }

def get_filtered_list(doctype, txt, filters, limit_start, limit_page_length=20, order_by=None):
    """Filter list to only show current user's documents."""
    return frappe.get_all(
        doctype,
        filters={"user": frappe.session.user},
        fields=["name", "status", "creation"],
        limit_start=limit_start,
        limit_page_length=limit_page_length,
        order_by=order_by or "modified desc",
    )

def has_website_permission(doc, ptype, user=None, verbose=False):
    """Only allow users to see their own documents."""
    return doc.user == (user or frappe.session.user)

# hooks.py
website_route_rules = [
    # List page — maps to DocType with get_list_context
    {"from_route": "/my-docs", "to_route": "My DocType"},
    # Detail page — maps to a template
    {
        "from_route": "/my-docs/<path:name>",
        "to_route": "my-doc-detail",
        "defaults": {
            "doctype": "My DocType",
            "parents": [{"label": "My Docs", "route": "my-docs"}],
        },
    },
]

standard_portal_menu_items = [
    {"title": "My Docs", "route": "/my-docs", "reference_doctype": "My DocType", "role": "My Role"},
]

has_website_permission = {
    "My DocType": "my_app.module.doctype.my_doctype.my_doctype.has_website_permission",
}

Detail page template

# templates/pages/my-doc-detail.py
import frappe
from frappe import _

def get_context(context):
    context.no_cache = 1
    context.show_sidebar = True
    context.doc = frappe.get_doc(frappe.form_dict.doctype, frappe.form_dict.name)
    context.parents = frappe.form_dict.parents
    context.title = context.doc.name
    if not frappe.has_website_permission(context.doc):
        frappe.throw(_("Not Permitted"), frappe.PermissionError)

{# templates/pages/my-doc-detail.html #}
{% extends "templates/web.html" %}
{% block title %}{{ doc.name }}{% endblock %}
{% block breadcrumbs %}{% include "templates/includes/breadcrumbs.html" %}{% endblock %}
{% block page_content %}
    <h3>{{ doc.name }}</h3>
    <p>Status: {{ doc.status }}</p>
{% endblock %}

Row template for the list

{# templates/includes/my_app/my_row.html #}
<div class="row py-3 border-bottom">
    <div class="col-sm-4">
        <a href="/my-docs/{{ doc.name }}"><strong>{{ doc.name }}</strong></a>
    </div>
    <div class="col-sm-4">
        <span class="indicator-pill {{ 'green' if doc.status == 'Active' else 'orange' }}">
            {{ doc.status }}
        </span>
    </div>
    <div class="col-sm-4 text-right text-muted small">
        {{ frappe.utils.format_date(doc.creation, 'medium') }}
    </div>
</div>

Extending existing portal pages WITHOUT template overrides

The upgrade-safe way — no ERPNext template gets forked:

# hooks.py
web_include_js = "my_portal.bundle.js"          # JS on all portal pages
web_include_css = "my_portal.bundle.css"        # CSS on all portal pages
update_website_context = ["my_app.portal.context.update_website_context"]

# portal/context.py
def update_website_context(context):
    if frappe.session.user == "Guest":
        return
    if "My Role" not in frappe.get_roles():
        return
    context.my_custom_flag = True

// public/js/my_portal.bundle.js
(function() {
    document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
        const path = window.location.pathname;
        if (path.match(/^\/orders\/.+/)) {
            // inject custom UI into the order detail page
        }
    });
})();

update_website_context runs on every portal page — keep it lightweight.

Portal access control (ERPNext pattern)

ERPNext scopes portal transactions through the Customer/Supplier portal_users child table:

# website_list_for_contact.py pattern
def get_transaction_list(doctype, ...):
    # 1. Find which customers belong to this portal user
    customers = get_parents_for_user("Customer")
    # 2. Filter transactions by those customers
    return frappe.get_all(doctype, filters={"customer": ["in", customers]}, ...)

Portal users need BOTH:

1. The appropriate role (Customer, Supplier, or a custom role)
2. Their email in the Customer/Supplier portal_users table

Missing either one produces an empty portal list with no error — the most common "portal shows nothing" cause.

Portal gotchas

• bench serve --nothreading deadlocks when wkhtmltopdf loads CSS from the same server (PDF generation hangs forever in single-threaded dev).
• frm.call() sends form values to the server — Password fields get overwritten on the round-trip. Use frappe.xcall() for methods that set Password fields.
• Template resolution: last installed app wins. Use {% extends "appname/path" %} prefix to pin a specific app's template.
• standard_portal_menu_items only sync on bench migrate (or Portal Settings save) — adding an entry to hooks.py does nothing until you migrate.
• website_route_rules changes need bench --site <site> clear-website-cache.