Today I'm doing the thing every busy web person puts off: taking my OWN Joomla site to the doctor. cybersalt.org has been running for years while I keep everyone else's sites patched and clean โ so today it goes up on the lift, live and unedited. The vitals are good โ Joomla core is current, PHP is current, the site is fast. But open the cabinet and there are 600 installed extensions, 86 of them disabled but never removed, plus a few default files left sitting in the open. That's the real lesson of this stream: "current on the important stuff" is the starting line, not the finish line. What I work through on air:
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A real health check โ core, PHP, and the pre-update healthcheck
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The medicine cabinet cleanout โ uninstalling dozens of dead, disabled extensions (disabled is NOT removed)
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Confirming the update list is real and not just a stale cache
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Checking old security scars from a cleanup earlier this year
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Tmp/cache and log hygiene
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Locking down default files that shouldn't be public
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Making sure my own backups are actually running
00:00:00 โ Intro, Sponsor & Joomla Site Overview
00:09:16 โ AI Homepage Planning with Claude
00:16:16 โ Joomla 6 Migration & PHP 8.4
00:26:27 โ Joomla 6 Compatibility & Debugging
00:37:05 โ AI Homepage Redesign
00:54:47 โ Mobile Layout & CSS Fixes
01:18:24 โ New AI Homepage Reveal
01:22:04 โ MCP4J Setup & Joomla Updates
01:36:34 โ Publishing the New Homepage
01:39:34 โ Joomla Module & Footer Debugging
01:50:59 โ Joomla 6 Compatibility & Regular Labs Fixes
02:08:21 โ Wrap-Up & Closing
Summary
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Project Kickoff & Long-Term Website Vision
Tim opens the livestream with community chat, discusses domain registration strategies, celebrates CyberSalt.org's 27-year history, and outlines his goal of redesigning the homepage using AI. -
Preparing for Joomla 6
After switching to Claude Opus 5, Tim upgrades the website to Joomla 6 and PHP 8.4, demonstrating the planning and compatibility checks required before major platform updates. -
Post-Migration Troubleshooting
Following the upgrade, he resolves extension compatibility problems, configures Remote Admin access, investigates configuration errors, and files a GitHub issue for a bug discovered during testing. -
Using AI to Redesign the Homepage
Tim collaborates with Claude to brainstorm homepage concepts, comparing portal-style and splash-page designs before selecting a cleaner, more modern layout for CyberSalt.org. -
Refining the Frontend Experience
The redesign continues with Joomla module cleanup, blog testing, responsive layout improvements, CSS adjustments, Bootstrap image fixes, and Cloudflare cache management to ensure consistent rendering. -
Publishing the New Homepage
After multiple design iterations, Tim unveils the completed AI-assisted homepage and successfully deploys the redesigned version to the live CyberSalt website. -
Exploring MCP4J & Joomla Automation
The stream shifts to MCP4J development, covering future roadmap plans, custom field integration, and troubleshooting a Regular Labs extension update detection issue. -
Fixing Website Features After Deployment
Tim repairs several issues introduced during the migration, including a broken Random Jokes module, footer construction, and enabling Joomla 6's Backward Compatibility plugin where necessary. -
Debugging Extension & Navigation Issues
Additional troubleshooting focuses on a Regular Labs licensing/debug mode conflict, footer navigation, review links, and resolving non-SEF URL behavior after the migration. -
Migration Success & Closing Thoughts
Tim concludes by reflecting on the successful Joomla 6 migration, AI-assisted homepage redesign, and the importance of iterative testing, debugging, and continuous improvement before closing the livestream.
Please send any feedback or bug reports or queries to;
Contact Tim Davis โบ
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