---
type: guide
title: Admin Shell & Side Navigation
description: How an authenticated admin navigates the post-login admin area, the side-nav layout, and how the General and Categories pages are reached.
tags: [guide, admin, shell, navigation, tester]
timestamp: 2026-07-22T12:00:00Z
---

# When this view is available

The admin shell is the post-login UI for users with `role === 'admin'`.
It is gated by:

| Layer            | File                                                                                       | Check                              |
|------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Client route     | `frontend/src/app/app.routes.ts`                                                          | `/admin` parent uses `adminGuard`; children inherit it. |
| Client nav link  | `frontend/src/app/features/home/home.component.ts`                                         | Renders only when `showAdminNav()` is true. |
| Client predicate | `frontend/src/app/features/home/home.shell.ts` (`shouldShowAdminNav`)                      | `isAuthenticated && role === 'admin'`. |
| Server route     | `backend/src/modules/admin/admin.controller.ts` + `admin-general.controller.ts` + `admin-categories.controller.ts` (mounted under `@UseGuards(AdminGuard)` + `@Roles('admin')`) | Requires admin JWT. |

A non-admin (or unauthenticated) request to `/admin` is intercepted by
the client guard *before* any HTTP call is made, so the page never
renders.

# How to access (tester steps)

1. Ensure the instance is initialized (`/api/v1/bootstrap` returns
   `initialized: true`). If not, follow [First-Run Bootstrap](/guides/bootstrap.md).
2. Sign in as a user with `role === 'admin'` via `/login`.
3. The browser lands on `/` and renders the **Home shell** with a
   header containing the page title and a sign-in status line.
4. Click the **Admin** nav link (`data-testid="nav-admin"`) in the
   shell header, or open the username menu and choose **Admin area**,
   or navigate directly to `/admin`.
5. The admin area renders inside the shell:
   - **Aside** (`data-testid="admin-aside"`): heading "Admin area" and
     a vertical side-nav (`data-testid="admin-nav"`).
   - **Body** (`data-testid="admin-body"`): holds the
     `<router-outlet />` that renders the active child page.

# Side-nav entries

The side-nav is defined as a static `ENTRIES` array in
`frontend/src/app/features/admin/admin-shell.component.ts`:

| Label       | Path                  | Enabled | Renders                                                                                     |
|-------------|-----------------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| General     | `/admin/general`      | yes     | [Admin — General Settings](/guides/admin-general-settings.md) (default — `/admin` redirects here). |
| Challenges  | `/admin/challenges`   | no      | Greyed-out placeholder (`.disabled` class). No route registered.                            |
| Players     | `/admin/players`      | no      | Greyed-out placeholder. No route registered.                                                |
| Blog        | `/admin/blog`         | no      | Greyed-out placeholder. No route registered.                                                |
| System      | `/admin/system`       | no      | Greyed-out placeholder. No route registered.                                                |

Each `<li>` carries `data-testid="admin-nav-{id}"`. Disabled entries
have `cursor: not-allowed` and `opacity: 0.45`. Clicking a disabled
entry is a no-op (`go()` returns early when `!e.enabled`).

The active entry is highlighted by `[class.active]` whenever the
current URL starts with the entry's path. General is the default child
(`/admin` → `/admin/general`).

# Expected behavior

| User role            | Visiting `/admin`                                       |
|----------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Unauthenticated      | Redirected to `/login` by `adminGuard`.                 |
| Authenticated player | Redirected to `/` by `adminGuard`.                      |
| Authenticated admin  | Page renders, defaults to `/admin/general`.             |

* When `BootstrapService.initialized()` is still `false` the guard
  redirects to `/bootstrap` instead of `/login`, so the first admin
  flow is honored.
* The Admin nav link in the shell header is hidden for non-admin users
  — there is no visible UI affordance to reach `/admin` without the
  role.
* All admin HTTP requests use the existing `authInterceptor` +
  `csrfInterceptor`, so no extra plumbing is required.

# Visual elements

| Element                | Selector                                  | Purpose                                                                  |
|------------------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Shell aside            | `[data-testid="admin-aside"]`             | Side-nav container. Heading "Admin area".                               |
| Side-nav list          | `[data-testid="admin-nav"]`               | `<ul>` of all five entries.                                              |
| Side-nav entry         | `[data-testid="admin-nav-{id}"]`         | One `<li>` per entry (General / Challenges / Players / Blog / System).   |
| Shell body             | `[data-testid="admin-body"]`              | Wraps `<router-outlet />` for the active child page.                     |

# Architecture map

| Step | Where                                                       | What happens                                                                                       |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1    | `frontend/src/app/app.routes.ts`                            | `/` is a parent route with `authGuard`; `/admin` child uses `adminGuard` + lazy-loads `AdminShellComponent` with its own child routes. |
| 2    | `frontend/src/app/core/guards/admin.guard.ts`               | `adminGuard` calls `decideAdminGuard(...)` with bootstrap + auth state.                            |
| 3    | `frontend/src/app/core/guards/admin.guard.decision.ts`      | Pure function returning `{kind: 'allow'}` or `{kind: 'redirect', path}`.                            |
| 4    | `frontend/src/app/features/admin/admin-shell.component.ts`  | Renders the aside + body; `ENTRIES` is the static side-nav list.                                   |
| 5    | `frontend/src/app/features/admin/general.component.ts`       | `AdminGeneralComponent` (default `/admin/general`); embeds `AdminCategoriesComponent`.             |
| 6    | `frontend/src/app/features/admin/categories/categories.component.ts` | `AdminCategoriesComponent` (`/admin/categories`); also rendered inside the General page.    |
| 7    | `frontend/src/app/features/home/home.shell.ts`               | `shouldShowAdminNav({isAuthenticated, role})` predicate (exported and unit-tested).                 |
| 8    | `frontend/src/app/features/home/home.component.ts`           | Shell template renders header, conditional nav (`*ngIf="showAdminNav()"`), and `<router-outlet>`.   |
| 9    | `frontend/src/app/core/services/admin.service.ts`           | Typed wrappers for `/api/v1/admin/users`, `/admin/general/*`, `/admin/categories/*`, `/uploads/{logo,category-icon}`. |
| 10   | `backend/src/modules/admin/admin.module.ts`                 | Registers `AdminController`, `AdminGeneralController`, `AdminCategoriesController` + their services. Imports `AuthModule`, `UsersModule`, `SettingsModule`, `CommonModule`, and `TypeOrmModule.forFeature([UserEntity, CategoryEntity, ChallengeEntity])`. |

# Notes

* The shell deliberately keeps `AdminShellComponent` as a thin layout
  owner — child routes (`general`, `categories`) render into its
  `<router-outlet>`. New admin sub-pages can be added by enabling
  entries in `ENTRIES` and registering a child route in `app.routes.ts`.
* The guard decision function (`decideAdminGuard`) is a pure module so
  it is straightforward to unit-test without Angular DI. See
  `tests/frontend/admin-shell.spec.ts` and
  `tests/frontend/admin-navigation.spec.ts`.
* The Categories management page is intentionally embedded inside the
  General settings page (see
  [Admin — General Settings](/guides/admin-general-settings.md)) so an
  admin can adjust platform settings and challenge taxonomy in one
  place.

# See also

- [First-Run Bootstrap](/guides/bootstrap.md)
- [Frontend Structure](/architecture/frontend-structure.md)
- [Authenticated Shell](/guides/authenticated-shell.md) — header / LED / quick tabs / change-password modal / user menu (the surrounding shell this page renders into).
- [Change Password](/guides/change-password.md)
- [Admin — General Settings](/guides/admin-general-settings.md)
- [Admin — Categories](/guides/admin-categories.md)
- [REST API Overview](/api/rest-overview.md)
- [Admin Endpoints](/api/admin.md)