orion/docs/architecture/menu-management.md

Menu Management Architecture

The Orion platform provides a module-driven menu system where each module defines its own menu items. The MenuDiscoveryService aggregates menus from all enabled modules, applying visibility configuration and permission filtering.

Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   MODULE DEFINITIONS (Source of Truth)                   │
│  app/modules/*/definition.py                                            │
│                                                                          │
│  Each module defines its menu items per FrontendType:                   │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────────────────┐      │
│  │   catalog.definition.py     │  │   orders.definition.py      │      │
│  │   menus={ADMIN: [...],     │  │   menus={ADMIN: [...],      │      │
│  │          STORE: [...]}     │  │          STORE: [...]}     │      │
│  └─────────────────────────────┘  └─────────────────────────────┘      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    MENU DISCOVERY SERVICE                                │
│  app/modules/core/services/menu_discovery_service.py                    │
│                                                                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  1. Collect menu items from all enabled modules                  │   │
│  │  2. Filter by user permissions (super_admin_only)               │   │
│  │  3. Apply visibility overrides (AdminMenuConfig)                │   │
│  │  4. Sort by section/item order                                  │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    VISIBILITY CONFIGURATION                              │
│  app/modules/core/models/admin_menu_config.py                           │
│                                                                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                    AdminMenuConfig Table                         │   │
│  │  Stores visibility overrides (hidden items only)                 │   │
│  │  - Platform scope: applies to platform admins/stores            │   │
│  │  - User scope: applies to specific super admin                   │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        FILTERED MENU OUTPUT                              │
│                                                                          │
│  Module Menus - Disabled Modules - Hidden Items = Visible Menu          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Frontend Types

The system supports four distinct frontend types:

Frontend	Description	Users
PLATFORM	Public marketing pages	Unauthenticated visitors
ADMIN	Admin panel	Super admins, platform admins
STORE	Store dashboard	Stores on a platform
STOREFRONT	Customer-facing shop	Shop customers

from app.modules.enums import FrontendType

# Use in code
FrontendType.PLATFORM    # "platform"
FrontendType.ADMIN       # "admin"
FrontendType.STORE      # "store"
FrontendType.STOREFRONT  # "storefront"

Module-Driven Menus

Each module defines its menu items in definition.py using dataclasses:

Menu Item Definition

# app/modules/base.py

@dataclass
class MenuItemDefinition:
    """Single menu item definition."""
    id: str                      # Unique identifier (e.g., "catalog.products")
    label_key: str               # i18n key for label
    icon: str                    # Lucide icon name
    route: str                   # URL path
    order: int = 100             # Sort order within section
    is_mandatory: bool = False   # Cannot be hidden by user
    is_super_admin_only: bool = False  # Only visible to super admins

@dataclass
class MenuSectionDefinition:
    """Section containing menu items."""
    id: str                      # Section identifier
    label_key: str               # i18n key for section label
    icon: str                    # Section icon
    order: int = 100             # Sort order
    items: list[MenuItemDefinition] = field(default_factory=list)
    is_super_admin_only: bool = False

Example Module Definition

# app/modules/catalog/definition.py

from app.modules.base import ModuleDefinition, MenuSectionDefinition, MenuItemDefinition
from app.modules.enums import FrontendType

catalog_module = ModuleDefinition(
    code="catalog",
    name="Product Catalog",
    description="Product and category management",
    version="1.0.0",
    is_core=True,
    menus={
        FrontendType.ADMIN: [
            MenuSectionDefinition(
                id="catalog",
                label_key="menu.catalog",
                icon="package",
                order=30,
                items=[
                    MenuItemDefinition(
                        id="products",
                        label_key="menu.products",
                        icon="box",
                        route="/admin/products",
                        order=10,
                        is_mandatory=True
                    ),
                    MenuItemDefinition(
                        id="categories",
                        label_key="menu.categories",
                        icon="folder-tree",
                        route="/admin/categories",
                        order=20
                    ),
                ]
            )
        ],
        FrontendType.STORE: [
            MenuSectionDefinition(
                id="products",
                label_key="menu.my_products",
                icon="package",
                order=10,
                items=[
                    MenuItemDefinition(
                        id="products",
                        label_key="menu.products",
                        icon="box",
                        route="/store/{store_code}/products",
                        order=10,
                        is_mandatory=True
                    ),
                ]
            )
        ],
    }
)

Menu Discovery Service

The MenuDiscoveryService aggregates menus from all enabled modules:

from app.modules.core.services.menu_discovery_service import menu_discovery_service

# Get menu for a frontend type
sections = menu_discovery_service.get_menu_for_frontend(
    db=db,
    frontend_type=FrontendType.ADMIN,
    platform_id=1,
    user_id=current_user.id,
    is_super_admin=current_user.is_super_admin,
)

# Get all menu items for configuration UI
all_items = menu_discovery_service.get_all_menu_items(
    db=db,
    frontend_type=FrontendType.ADMIN,
    platform_id=1,
)

Discovery Flow

1. Collect: Get menu definitions from all modules in MODULES registry
2. Filter by Module: Only include menus from enabled modules for the platform
3. Filter by Permissions: Remove super_admin_only items for non-super admins
4. Apply Visibility: Check AdminMenuConfig for hidden items
5. Sort: Order sections and items by their order field
6. Return: List of MenuSectionDefinition with filtered items

Visibility Configuration

Opt-Out Model

The system uses an opt-out model:

• All menu items are visible by default
• Only hidden items are stored in the database
• This keeps the database small and makes the default state explicit

Mandatory Items

Certain menu items cannot be hidden. These are marked with is_mandatory=True in their definition:

MenuItemDefinition(
    id="dashboard",
    label_key="menu.dashboard",
    icon="home",
    route="/admin/dashboard",
    is_mandatory=True,  # Cannot be hidden
)

Scope Types

Menu configuration supports two scopes:

Scope	Field	Description	Use Case
Platform	platform_id	Applies to all users on platform	Hide features not used by platform
User	user_id	Applies to specific super admin	Personal preference customization

Important Rules:

• Exactly one scope must be set (platform XOR user)
• User scope is only allowed for admin frontend (super admins only)
• Store frontend only supports platform scope

Resolution Order

Admin Frontend:

Platform admin → Check platform config → Fall back to default (all visible)
Super admin   → Check user config → Fall back to default (all visible)

Store Frontend:

Store → Check platform config → Fall back to default (all visible)

Database Model

AdminMenuConfig Table

CREATE TABLE admin_menu_configs (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    frontend_type VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL,  -- 'admin' or 'store'
    platform_id INTEGER REFERENCES platforms(id),
    user_id INTEGER REFERENCES users(id),
    menu_item_id VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
    is_visible BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT TRUE,
    created_at TIMESTAMP,
    updated_at TIMESTAMP,

    -- Constraints
    CONSTRAINT uq_frontend_platform_menu_config
        UNIQUE (frontend_type, platform_id, menu_item_id),
    CONSTRAINT uq_frontend_user_menu_config
        UNIQUE (frontend_type, user_id, menu_item_id),
    CONSTRAINT ck_admin_menu_config_scope
        CHECK ((platform_id IS NOT NULL AND user_id IS NULL) OR
               (platform_id IS NULL AND user_id IS NOT NULL)),
    CONSTRAINT ck_user_scope_admin_only
        CHECK ((user_id IS NULL) OR (frontend_type = 'admin'))
);

Examples

from app.modules.core.models import AdminMenuConfig
from app.modules.enums import FrontendType

# Platform "OMS" hides inventory from admin panel
AdminMenuConfig(
    frontend_type=FrontendType.ADMIN,
    platform_id=1,
    menu_item_id="inventory",
    is_visible=False
)

# Platform "OMS" hides letzshop from store dashboard
AdminMenuConfig(
    frontend_type=FrontendType.STORE,
    platform_id=1,
    menu_item_id="letzshop",
    is_visible=False
)

# Super admin "john" hides code-quality from their admin panel
AdminMenuConfig(
    frontend_type=FrontendType.ADMIN,
    user_id=5,
    menu_item_id="code-quality",
    is_visible=False
)

Module Integration

Automatic Menu Discovery

When a module is enabled/disabled for a platform, the menu discovery service automatically includes/excludes its menu items:

# Module enablement check happens automatically in MenuDiscoveryService
enabled_modules = module_service.get_enabled_module_codes(db, platform_id)

# Only modules in enabled_modules have their menus included
for module_code, module_def in MODULES.items():
    if module_code in enabled_modules:
        # Include this module's menus
        pass

Three-Layer Filtering

The final visible menu is computed by three layers:

1. Module Definitions: All possible menu items from modules
2. Module Enablement: Items from disabled modules are hidden
3. Visibility Config: Explicitly hidden items are removed

Final Menu = Module Menu Items
           - Items from Disabled Modules
           - Items with is_visible=False in config
           - Items not matching user role (super_admin_only)

Menu Service Integration

The MenuService provides the interface used by templates:

from app.modules.core.services import menu_service

# Get menu for rendering in templates
menu_data = menu_service.get_menu_for_rendering(
    db=db,
    frontend_type=FrontendType.ADMIN,
    platform_id=platform_id,
    user_id=user_id,
    is_super_admin=is_super_admin,
    store_code=store_code,  # For store frontend
)

# Returns legacy format for template compatibility:
# {
#     "frontend_type": "admin",
#     "sections": [
#         {
#             "id": "main",
#             "label": None,
#             "items": [{"id": "dashboard", "label": "Dashboard", ...}]
#         },
#         ...
#     ]
# }

Access Control

Route Protection

from app.api.deps import require_menu_access

@router.get("/admin/inventory")
async def inventory_page(
    _access: bool = Depends(require_menu_access("inventory", FrontendType.ADMIN))
):
    # Only accessible if menu item is visible for user's context
    pass

Sidebar Rendering

The sidebar template filters items based on:

1. Module enablement
2. Visibility configuration
3. User role (super admin check)

{% for section in menu_sections %}
  {% if not section.super_admin_only or current_user.is_super_admin %}
    {% for item in section.items %}
      {% if item.id in visible_menu_items %}
        <a href="{{ item.url }}">{{ item.label }}</a>
      {% endif %}
    {% endfor %}
  {% endif %}
{% endfor %}

UI for Menu Configuration

Platform Admin Menu Config

Located at /admin/platform-menu-config (accessible by super admins):

• Configure which menu items are visible for platform admins
• Configure which menu items are visible for stores on this platform
• Mandatory items cannot be unchecked

Personal Menu Config (Super Admins)

Located at /admin/my-menu:

• Super admins can customize their own admin panel menu
• Personal preferences that don't affect other users
• Useful for hiding rarely-used features

Adding Menu Items to a Module

1. Define menu sections and items in your module's definition.py:

# app/modules/mymodule/definition.py

from app.modules.base import ModuleDefinition, MenuSectionDefinition, MenuItemDefinition
from app.modules.enums import FrontendType

mymodule = ModuleDefinition(
    code="mymodule",
    name="My Module",
    description="Description of my module",
    version="1.0.0",
    menus={
        FrontendType.ADMIN: [
            MenuSectionDefinition(
                id="mymodule",
                label_key="mymodule.menu.section",
                icon="star",
                order=50,  # Position in sidebar
                items=[
                    MenuItemDefinition(
                        id="mymodule-main",
                        label_key="mymodule.menu.main",
                        icon="star",
                        route="/admin/mymodule",
                        order=10,
                    ),
                ]
            )
        ],
    }
)

2. Add translation keys in your module's locales:

// app/modules/mymodule/locales/en.json
{
  "mymodule.menu.section": "My Module",
  "mymodule.menu.main": "Main Page"
}

3. The menu is automatically discovered - no registration needed.

Best Practices

Do

• Define menus in module definition.py using dataclasses
• Use translation keys (label_key) for labels
• Set appropriate order values for positioning
• Mark essential items as is_mandatory=True
• Use is_super_admin_only=True for admin-only features

Don't

• Hardcode menu item labels (use i18n keys)
• Store is_visible=True in database (default state, wastes space)
• Allow hiding mandatory items via API
• Create menu items outside of module definitions

Related Documentation

• Module System - Module architecture and definitions
• Multi-Tenant System - Platform isolation
• Feature Gating - Tier-based access