edx.org theme on by default for devstack

[dianakhuang]

This will be blocked by the migration of devstack configuration work. https://github.com/edx/edx-arch-experiments/issues/588

We would like the edx.org theme to be on by default for edx-platform and for MFEs when starting/provisioning a new devstack.

Instructions for edx-platform

For MFEs, this probably requires the installation of the edx-branded header and footer.

Acceptance Criteria:

• [ ] a newly provisioned devstack shows the edx theme when viewing pages.

[mfarhan943]

To automate edx.org theming for MFEs, we can use one of these approaches:

1. Install the npm package alias @edx/brand@npm:@edx/brand-edx.org (and specific packages like footer/header if needed). This updates the local package.json and package-lock.json, allowing the theme to work with Docker or by running npm start.
2. Install with the --no-save flag to prevent changes to package.json and package-lock.json. This approach allows the theme to work only when running npm start, not with Docker.
3. Using module.config.js to utilize the cloned theme’s repository locally enables the theme to work with npm start, but it will not work when using Docker.

[adamstankiewicz]

[inform] FYI, if it helps, another possible approach to add to the mix is also using the Paragon CLI command install-theme that performs the @edx/brand NPM aliasing with --no-save), e.g.: https://github.com/openedx/frontend-template-application/blob/e97ab533571b39159691bcf7ea6d7f435a46b2bf/package.json#L19 (largely does approach 2 behind the scenes)

{
  "scripts": {
    "start:with-theme": "paragon install-theme && npm start && npm install"
  }
}

README: https://github.com/openedx/paragon?tab=readme-ov-file#available-commands Command source: https://github.com/openedx/paragon/blob/38a3e8383087cc15eeeac7a9e0deeaf39e5ded78/lib/install-theme.js

You may also supply the desired theme in the command itself (versus relying on the manual input prompt), e.g.:

paragon install-theme @edx/brand-edx.org@2

Perhaps the Paragon CLI install-theme command could be integrated with Docker for MFEs (e.g., perhaps devstack's microfrontend.yml file that MFEs extend via docker-compose.yml could execute paragon install-theme based on an optional environment variable like PARAGON_BRAND_PACKAGE set per MFE). Food for thought.

Note: this approach with the install-theme CLI command requires Paragon at least v21.2.0+ to be installed.