Lightning Changelog

Every Lightning update includes fixes. Updates without a changelog entry contain fixes only.

5.07

• automatic new version checking and one-click update

5.01

• upgraded and redesigned Toolbox:
  • Server Info
  • CPU and SQL Process Viewer
  • SQL Tables, including optimization and repair tools
  • Disk Space and Inode Analysis
  • Search in Files
  • Changed Files Timeline
  • Lightning CRON Job Activity
  • Modifications Viewer
• collapsible Lightning panel on the storefront:
  • page generation and serving times, with additional details
  • Delete this page cache button that clears all cached variations
  • performance log for the current page
  • Edit product button that opens the product editor in a popup
• deep page profiling with SQL and PHP timings, time spent on external web requests, and other diagnostic details
• shareable links for page performance logs and deep profiling results
• SQL Optimization Evaluation on profiling pages
• improved JS and CSS optimization
• visitors automatically receive updated CSS files after the cache is cleared
• mobile-friendly interface throughout
• ChatGPT buttons throughout the interface for analyzing and discussing the current information
• Pause button in the widget for easier inspection of live requests
• page cache is retained unless timed deletion is enabled in Troubleshooting;
  cached pages are automatically updated when products change
• SQL cache is retained unless timed deletion is enabled in Troubleshooting;
  SQL cache is automatically updated when data changes
• simple on/off switches for JS and CSS optimization, with optimal settings instead of multiple optimization levels
• critical CSS is served from a separate file by default, with an option to inline it on each page
• large Journal 3 page stylesheets are now served from separate files
• "Info for AI" links in the admin widget and frontend panel provide a guide to AI-assisted troubleshooting and performance optimization, with WebMCP support for automatic guide discovery

4.63

• false positive malware detection triggering on Lightning fix

4.62

• category or manufacturer edit now updates the corresponding page caches
• passed fake visitors challenge display in live requests (green shield)
• suspicious visitors are redirected to cached page

4.59

• complete fix for the sessions table bloating from bot traffic
• fake-visitor detection — more effective than Cloudflare, with no "please wait" challenges
• product update requests that don't modify anything no longer invalidate the cache, avoiding unnecessary page regeneration
• new Server Info tool with a one-click OPcache reset

4.58

• AI search is now considered as important like major search engines
• subnets and substring support in Access Control
• better SQL optimizations

4.57

• Added "Solve with ChatGPT" icon to Lightning notices. That will help greatly with everything, including slow queries and PHP errors. No ChatGPT account needed (but you will have better recommendations if you have one)

4.52

• live requests display now displays more request types including CRON jobs 

4.51

• search in files now does not inspect JS/CSS files by default
• added Lightning header for backend with page generation statistics

4.50

• Opencart 4.1 support

4.48

• function to specify SQL queries with late cache update (up to 24 hours) for not time-critical queries

4.47

• full compatability with Ronixa theme
• Optimize SQL queries option is safe to use in live shops
• great LCP optimization for Owl Carousel banners 

4.46

• WebP images are now served to all clients without any support checks
• full support of third-party WebP extensions
• Lightning WebP function is now turned off by default

4.44

• automatic blocking of visitors with frequent bot-like requests
• automatic Access Control entries are removed after 3 days to keep Access Control fresh
• experimental SQL queries optimization - do not use at live shops without good testing
• Single language or language is coded in every URL option that may impove pregeneration in such setups

4.43

• option to give cached pages to bots and search engines only
• "Single language or language is coded in every URL" option that may improve pregeneration in such a situations
• li_sql param that shows used queries now works for admin pages

4.42

• uses Imagick WebP support if GD WebP support is missing 

4.39

• option to disable CSS optimization for desktop
• image originals for Journal 3.2 support

4.38

• ability to permanently block IPs that are not identified as bots and try to visit certain URLs (helps to atomatically ban malicious bots) 

4.36

• tool to see the latest modified files
• option to not speed up 404 (not found) answers (on redirect managers problems or giving 404 instead of URL)

4.35

• folded Lightning widget on mobile

4.34

• cart and login are now saved for 30 days even if Lightning is disabled

4.33

• WebP quality selection
• slow queries inspection tool which gives the ability to test and add indexes

4.32

• security fixes
• improved pregeneration
• Lightning tools link added to the bottom of the widget:
  • Lightning CRON Job Activity
  • Search in Files
  • Logs Viewer
  • Disk Space Analysis
  • inodes Analysis
  • DB Tables Info
  • Process Viewer
  • SQL Process Viewer
  • ocMods Viewer

4.29

• Github 3.0.x.x_Maintenance version support
• image cache creation speed up
• Journal 3.2 admins now get cached pages

4.28

• improved WebP quality

4.25

• option to load icons first (avoids squares on first visit, but lowers PageSpeed scores)
• inodes calculation (in disk space taken display)

4.24

• improved PageSpeed score
• sessions table growth prevention

4.20

• option to improve resized images details (example)
• image sizes propagation is improved and enabled by default
• automatic currency detection from browser language data
• improved language code in URLs support
• referer display in error notices
• load cart by AJAX fix

4.19

• page caches update on new products addition fix
• separate page cache for logged-in customers troubleshooting option
• fake search bots now get pages from cache only

4.18

• admin password bruteforce protection
• search pages are now cached by default
• regular product views count queries are disabled for speed and can be enabled back in troubleshooting settings

4.17

• product views count and who's online info is not written for bots
• option to see SQL processes in Lightning processes viewer (that is opened by clicking at CPU bar)

4.16

• ability to forbid some URLs visiting for bots (even Google sometimes ignores robots.txt directives)
• monitor for external products updates is now separate option that is not enabled by default
• Journal 3.2 Beta compatibility
• Speed up mail sending option not sending mails on some setups fixed

4.14

• largest page image is now pushed before everything else improving LCP
• ability to use image originals for big images of product to save server disk space is back
• ability to customize cookie notification
• better compatibility with SEO extensions
• products deletion with external DB access now updates page caches
• option to use default language instead of detected from browser

4.13

• plays nice with official Facebook Business Extension for OpenCart
• performance fix for Opencart 1.5-2.3

4.12

• Corresponding page caches are updated on new products creation
• Cart contents and session data now is preserved for 30 days
• Session data is not written for robots and search engines

4.11

• pages are now updated on admin visit even when "Do not show cached pages to admins" option is on

4.10

• wishlist & compare modification in Journal3 fixes
• page update on admin visit fix

4.09

• repetitive requests now are remembered and served from memory
• compatibility with Test Site extension
• compatibility with new Replacer extension

4.08

• option to disable preload directives removal from HTML

4.07

• OCMod log is cleared before modification refresh
• while module is loading by AJAX, its old content (written when page was generated) is displayed
• modules AJAX loading now is more stable
• images lazy load is now recommended to turn off for any theme, including Journal3

4.06

• HTML preload directives removal is back, like in Lightning 3.38 (preloads hurts PageSpeed)
• products and other entities, that should be displayed in the future, are not respected anymore, making DB caches more useful
• various fixes

4.05

• option to disable image sizes propagation
• disabling bots overload protection clears Access Control list
• Journal3 admin missing links dropdown fix

4.0

• optimized TWIG engine that can save up to 70ms CPU time at heavy templates
• CPU load display
• click on CPU meter shows the processes using CPU including processed URLs
• WebP support for Apple devices
• JPEG/PNG optimization is abandoned in favor of WebP
• new JS/CSS optimization techniques
• option to disable JavaScript for robots, search engines and PageSpeed Insight
• GZIP compression for admin area
• detailed IP info with map is working again
• all JS scripts work for AJAX-loaded modules as well
• Clear Cache button clears all caches except Lightning DB cache, making the procedure faster
• Lightning Disable button also clears Lightning DB cache

3.39

• events optimization issues fix
• smaller CSS critical path
• reduced page load flickering
• improved original images function
• third-party WebP extensions are automatically disabled
• more accurate preload directives removal

3.37

• use image originals feature for disk space saving
• additional Journal 3 filters speed up

3.35

• Mail sending speed up feature (for the cases of slow last checkout step)
• CRON Job problems warnings

3.34

• Access Control feature
• JOURNAL3 filter and search optimization

3.33 

• ability to exclude some images from WebP conversion

3.32

• native images and frames lazy loading (for browsers that support it)
• option to load cart contents by AJAX

3.31

• old browsers warning in JOURNAL3

3.30

• clicking on the free space in Lightning shows the directories that occupy the most space