josbeir · josbeir · Mar 14, 2026 · Mar 14, 2026 · Mar 14, 2026 · Mar 14, 2026
diff --git a/bin/dev-router.php b/bin/dev-router.php
@@ -8,12 +8,6 @@
 use Cake\Http\ServerRequestFactory;
 use Glaze\Application;
 use Glaze\Config\ProjectConfigurationReader;
-use Glaze\Http\DevPageRequestHandler;
-use Glaze\Http\Middleware\ContentAssetMiddleware;
-use Glaze\Http\Middleware\ErrorHandlingMiddleware;
-use Glaze\Http\Middleware\PublicAssetMiddleware;
-use Glaze\Http\Middleware\StaticAssetMiddleware;
-use Glaze\Http\StaticPageRequestHandler;
 
 require dirname(__DIR__) . '/vendor/autoload.php';
 
@@ -30,31 +24,19 @@
 
 $includeDrafts = getenv('GLAZE_INCLUDE_DRAFTS') === '1';
 $staticMode = getenv('GLAZE_STATIC_MODE') === '1';
+$debug = getenv('GLAZE_DEBUG') === '1';
 
 $application = new Application();
 $application->bootstrap();
-$container = $application->getContainer();
 
 (new ProjectConfigurationReader())->read($projectRoot);
 Configure::write('projectRoot', $projectRoot);
+Configure::write('debug', $debug);
 if ($includeDrafts) {
     Configure::write('build.drafts', true);
 }
 
-/** @var \Glaze\Http\Middleware\PublicAssetMiddleware $publicAssetMiddleware */
-$publicAssetMiddleware = $container->get(PublicAssetMiddleware::class);
-/** @var \Glaze\Http\Middleware\StaticAssetMiddleware $staticAssetMiddleware */
-$staticAssetMiddleware = $container->get(StaticAssetMiddleware::class);
-/** @var \Glaze\Http\Middleware\ContentAssetMiddleware $contentAssetMiddleware */
-$contentAssetMiddleware = $container->get(ContentAssetMiddleware::class);
-
-if ($staticMode) {
-    /** @var \Glaze\Http\StaticPageRequestHandler $fallbackHandler */
-    $fallbackHandler = $container->get(StaticPageRequestHandler::class);
-} else {
-    /** @var \Glaze\Http\DevPageRequestHandler $fallbackHandler */
-    $fallbackHandler = $container->get(DevPageRequestHandler::class);
-}
+$fallbackHandler = $application->fallbackHandler($staticMode);
 
 $requestMethod = $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] ?? null;
 if (!is_string($requestMethod) || $requestMethod === '') {
@@ -76,11 +58,7 @@
     $request = $request->withQueryParams($queryParams);
 }
 
-$queue = new MiddlewareQueue();
-$queue->add(new ErrorHandlingMiddleware(true));
-$queue->add($publicAssetMiddleware);
-$queue->add($staticAssetMiddleware);
-$queue->add($contentAssetMiddleware);
+$queue = $application->middleware(new MiddlewareQueue(), $staticMode);
 
 $response = (new Runner())->run($queue, $request, $fallbackHandler);
 

diff --git a/docs/content/reference/commands.dj b/docs/content/reference/commands.dj
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ Options:
 - `--static` serve prebuilt `public/`
 - `--build` prebuild before static serve (`--static` required)
 - `--drafts` include drafts for static mode
+- `--debug` enable debug mode
 - `--vite` enable Vite integration in live mode
 - `--vite-host <host>` Vite host (default `127.0.0.1`)
 - `--vite-port <port>` Vite port (default `5173`)

diff --git a/docs/content/reference/recipes.dj b/docs/content/reference/recipes.dj
@@ -7,16 +7,17 @@ weight: 50
 
 Short, copy-paste patterns for common real-world needs.
 
-## Environment-aware templates with `$debug`
+## Environment-aware templates with `$this->isLiveMode()`
 
-Every template receives a `$debug` boolean that is `true` when Glaze is running in
-`glaze serve` (development) mode and `false` during `glaze build` (production).
+Inside templates, `$this` is a `SiteContext` object. Use `$this->isLiveMode()` to
+detect whether Glaze is running in `glaze serve` (live mode) or `glaze build`
+(static build mode).
 
 This lets you keep a single template codebase while varying content by environment —
 no separate config files required.
 
 ::: info
-`$debug` maps 1-to-1 with the `glaze serve` / `glaze build` distinction
+`$this->isLiveMode()` maps 1-to-1 with the `glaze serve` / `glaze build` distinction
 — it is not affected by your NEON config, OS environment variables, or Vite settings.
 :::
 
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ Keep your development credentials out of production builds (and vice versa):
 
 ```php
 <?php
-$apiKey = $debug
+$apiKey = $this->isLiveMode()
     ? 'pk_test_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'   // development key
     : 'pk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx';  // production key
 ?>
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ site:
 
 ```php
 <?php
-$apiKey = $debug
+$apiKey = $this->isLiveMode()
     ? $site->siteMeta('apiKeyDev')
     : $site->siteMeta('apiKeyLive');
 ?>
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ Emit the GTM snippet only when generating the static build so analytics data is
 never polluted by local development traffic:
 
 ```php
-<?php if (!$debug): ?>
+<?php if (!$this->isLiveMode()): ?>
 <!-- Google Tag Manager -->
 <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
 new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
 And the corresponding `<noscript>` body tag:
 
 ```php
-<?php if (!$debug): ?>
+<?php if (!$this->isLiveMode()): ?>
 <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->
 <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-XXXXXXX"
 height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
@@ -88,7 +89,7 @@ height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
 The same pattern works for Google Analytics 4 directly:
 
 ```php
-<?php if (!$debug): ?>
+<?php if (!$this->isLiveMode()): ?>
 <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXX"></script>
 <script>
   window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ Render a strip at the top of every page in dev mode so it is immediately clear y
 are not looking at the live site:
 
 ```php
-<?php if ($debug): ?>
+<?php if ($this->isLiveMode()): ?>
 <div class="alert alert-warning rounded-none text-sm text-center">
   Development preview — not the live site
 </div>
@@ -114,13 +115,14 @@ are not looking at the live site:
 
 ### Combine multiple conditions
 
-You can mix `$debug` with other template variables freely:
+You can mix `$this->isLiveMode()` with other template variables freely:
 
 ```php
 <?php
-$gaId      = $debug ? null : 'G-XXXXXXXX';
-$cookieBanner = !$debug;
-$chatWidget   = !$debug && $site->siteMeta('chat.enabled');
+$isLiveMode = $this->isLiveMode();
+$gaId      = $isLiveMode ? null : 'G-XXXXXXXX';
+$cookieBanner = !$isLiveMode;
+$chatWidget   = !$isLiveMode && $site->siteMeta('chat.enabled');
 ?>
 ```
 

diff --git a/docs/content/templating/index.dj b/docs/content/templating/index.dj
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ These variables are injected into every page template by Glaze:
 | `$page` | `ContentPage` | Full page object |
 | `$meta` | `array` | Merged page metadata |
 | `$site` | `SiteConfig` | Global site config |
-| `$debug` | `bool` | `true` when running `glaze serve`, `false` during `glaze build` |
+
+Use `$this->isLiveMode()` from `SiteContext` to check live (`glaze serve`) vs build (`glaze build`) mode.
 
 ### `$page` properties
 
@@ -137,6 +138,7 @@ $this->tree()                           // root Section node
 $this->section('blog')                  // ?Section for a path (supports nesting: docs/guides)
 $this->sections()                       // array<string, Section> — top-level sections, ordered by weight
 $this->rootPages()                      // PageCollection — root-level pages (no section)
+$this->isLiveMode()                     // bool -- true in live mode (`glaze serve`), false in build mode
 $this->isCurrent('/blog/')              // bool -- true when current page matches path
 $this->previous(?callable $predicate = null)           // ?ContentPage — previous in global display order
 $this->next(?callable $predicate = null)               // ?ContentPage — next in global display order

diff --git a/resources/backend/.gitignore b/resources/backend/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+node_modules
diff --git a/resources/backend/assets/css/dev.css b/resources/backend/assets/css/dev.css
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+*, *::before, *::after {
+    box-sizing: border-box;
+    margin: 0;
+    padding: 0;
+}
+
+:root {
+    --glaze-bg: #0f1117;
+    --glaze-surface: #1a1d27;
+    --glaze-border: #2d3148;
+    --glaze-text: #e2e8f0;
+    --glaze-muted: #64748b;
+    --glaze-accent: #6366f1;
+    --glaze-warn: #f59e0b;
+    --glaze-info: #38bdf8;
+    --glaze-radius: 6px;
+    --glaze-font: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif;
+}
+
+body {
+    font-family: var(--glaze-font);
+    background: var(--glaze-bg);
+    color: var(--glaze-text);
+    font-size: 14px;
+    line-height: 1.6;
+    min-height: 100vh;
+}
+
+.glaze-container {
+    max-width: 1100px;
+    margin: 0 auto;
+    padding: 0 24px;
+}
+
+/* Header */
+.glaze-header {
+    border-bottom: 1px solid var(--glaze-border);
+    padding: 12px 0;
+    margin-bottom: 32px;
+}
+
+.glaze-header-inner {
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: center;
+    gap: 24px;
+}
+
+.glaze-logo {
+    font-size: 16px;
+    font-weight: 700;
+    color: var(--glaze-accent);
+    letter-spacing: -0.01em;
+}
+
+.glaze-nav {
+    display: flex;
+    gap: 4px;
+}
+
+.glaze-nav-link {
+    padding: 4px 12px;
+    border-radius: var(--glaze-radius);
+    color: var(--glaze-muted);
+    text-decoration: none;
+    font-size: 13px;
+    transition: color 0.15s, background 0.15s;
+}
+
+.glaze-nav-link:hover {
+    color: var(--glaze-text);
+    background: var(--glaze-surface);
+}
+
+.glaze-nav-active {
+    color: var(--glaze-text);
+    background: var(--glaze-surface);
+}
+
+/* Page header */
+.glaze-main {
+    padding-bottom: 48px;
+}
+
+.glaze-page-header {
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: center;
+    gap: 12px;
+    margin-bottom: 20px;
+}
+
+.glaze-page-title {
+    font-size: 20px;
+    font-weight: 600;
+}
+
+/* Badge */
+.glaze-badge {
+    background: var(--glaze-surface);
+    border: 1px solid var(--glaze-border);
+    color: var(--glaze-muted);
+    padding: 2px 8px;
+    border-radius: 999px;
+    font-size: 12px;
+}
+
+/* Table */
+.glaze-table-wrap {
+    overflow-x: auto;
+    border: 1px solid var(--glaze-border);
+    border-radius: var(--glaze-radius);
+}
+
+.glaze-table {
+    width: 100%;
+    border-collapse: collapse;
+}
+
+.glaze-table thead tr {
+    background: var(--glaze-surface);
+}
+
+.glaze-table th {
+    padding: 10px 16px;
+    text-align: left;
+    font-weight: 500;
+    font-size: 12px;
+    text-transform: uppercase;
+    letter-spacing: 0.05em;
+    color: var(--glaze-muted);
+    border-bottom: 1px solid var(--glaze-border);
+}
+
+.glaze-table td {
+    padding: 10px 16px;
+    border-bottom: 1px solid var(--glaze-border);
+    vertical-align: middle;
+}
+
+.glaze-table tbody tr:last-child td {
+    border-bottom: none;
+}
+
+.glaze-table tbody tr:hover td {
+    background: var(--glaze-surface);
+}
+
+/* Link */
+.glaze-link {
+    color: var(--glaze-accent);
+    text-decoration: none;
+    font-family: 'SFMono-Regular', Consolas, monospace;
+    font-size: 13px;
+}
+
+.glaze-link:hover {
+    text-decoration: underline;
+}
+
+/* Tags */
+.glaze-tag {
+    display: inline-block;
+    padding: 2px 8px;
+    border-radius: 4px;
+    font-size: 11px;
+    font-weight: 500;
+    background: var(--glaze-surface);
+    border: 1px solid var(--glaze-border);
+    color: var(--glaze-muted);
+}
+
+.glaze-tag-warn {
+    border-color: var(--glaze-warn);
+    color: var(--glaze-warn);
+}
+
+.glaze-tag-info {
+    border-color: var(--glaze-info);
+    color: var(--glaze-info);
+}
+
+.glaze-muted {
+    color: var(--glaze-muted);
+}
+
+.glaze-flags {
+    display: flex;
+    gap: 4px;
+    flex-wrap: wrap;
+}
+
+/* Empty state */
+.glaze-empty {
+    color: var(--glaze-muted);
+    text-align: center;
+    padding: 48px;
+}
diff --git a/resources/backend/assets/dist/.vite/manifest.json b/resources/backend/assets/dist/.vite/manifest.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "assets/css/dev.css": {
+    "file": "assets/dev-BBpMC4gS.css",
+    "src": "assets/css/dev.css",
+    "isEntry": true
+  }
+}
diff --git a/resources/backend/assets/dist/assets/dev-BBpMC4gS.css b/resources/backend/assets/dist/assets/dev-BBpMC4gS.css