Administrator Guide

Overview

BlueMoxon provides a full-featured admin interface for managing your rare book collection. Authenticated users can add, edit, and delete books, upload images, write analysis documents, and manage reference data like authors and publishers.

Authentication

BlueMoxon uses AWS Cognito for authentication. Users must sign in to access admin features like adding or editing books.

Signing In

1. Click the Sign In button in the navigation bar
2. Enter your email address and password
3. If you have MFA enabled, enter your verification code
4. Upon successful login, you'll see admin controls appear throughout the interface

Session Management

JWT tokens are stored securely and automatically refreshed. Sessions typically last 1 hour, with automatic refresh for up to 30 days of continuous use.

Adding Books

New books can be added through the web interface or via the REST API. The web form provides guided input with dropdowns for reference data and validation for required fields.

The Add Book form with basic information fields

Required Fields

Optional Fields

• Volumes: Number of volumes (default: 1)
• Binding Type: Morocco, calf, vellum, cloth, etc.
• Binder: Known binder (Rivière, Zaehnsdorf, etc.)
• Inventory Type: PRIMARY, EXTENDED, or FLAGGED
• Value Range: Low, mid, and high estimates in USD
• Purchase Price: Actual acquisition cost
• Purchase Date: When acquired
• Order Number: eBay/Etsy order reference
• Place of Purchase: eBay, Etsy, AbeBooks, etc.
• Notes: Free-form notes

Binding, condition, and valuation fields

Editing Books

Existing books can be edited by clicking the Edit button on any book detail page. All fields are editable, and changes are saved immediately when you click Save.

The Edit Book form with pre-populated fields

Edit Actions

• Edit Metadata: Modify any book field
• Update Status: Change delivery status (IN_TRANSIT, ON_HAND)
• Edit Analysis: Open the markdown editor for analysis documents
• Manage Images: Add, remove, or reorder images

Deleting Books

Books can be permanently deleted from the book detail page. This action requires confirmation and cannot be undone.

1. Navigate to the book detail page
2. Click the Delete button (red, typically in the action bar)
3. Confirm the deletion in the modal dialog
4. The book and all associated data will be permanently removed

Status Tracking

Books can have different delivery statuses to track acquisitions from purchase to arrival.

Updating Status via API

curl -X PATCH "https://api.bluemoxon.com/api/v1/books/{id}/status?status=ON_HAND" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $BMX_API_KEY"

Uploading Images

Each book can have multiple images. The first image (or designated primary) appears as the thumbnail in collection views.

1. Navigate to the book detail page
2. Click Add Images in the image section
3. Select one or more image files (JPG, PNG supported)
4. Images are uploaded to S3 and served via CloudFront CDN
5. The page refreshes to show newly uploaded images

Reordering Images

Image order can be changed using drag-and-drop or the Reorder button. The first image becomes the primary thumbnail.

Book detail page showing Edit, Delete, Add Images, and Reorder buttons

Image Actions

• Reorder: Drag images to change their display order
• Set Primary: Click to make an image the main thumbnail
• Delete: Remove individual images
• View Full Size: Click to open in lightbox gallery

Image Gallery

Clicking any image opens a full-screen lightbox with navigation controls. Supports keyboard navigation (arrow keys) and swipe gestures on mobile.

Full-screen image gallery with thumbnail navigation

Analysis Editor

Each book can have a detailed analysis document written in Markdown. The editor provides live preview and supports the full Napoleon Framework for rare book evaluation.

Rendered analysis document with professional valuation report format

Analysis Sections

• Executive Summary: Brief overview and significance
• Provenance: History and previous ownership
• Physical Description: Binding, paper, condition details
• Valuation: Market analysis and comparable sales
• Recommendation: BUY / PASS / CONDITIONAL BUY

Markdown Formatting

The analysis editor supports GitHub-flavored Markdown with tables, code blocks, and more.

# Book Title

## Executive Summary
Brief overview of the book's significance...

## Physical Description
| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| Binding | Full morocco |
| Condition | Very good |

## Valuation
- **Low estimate:** $200
- **Mid estimate:** $275
- **High estimate:** $350

Authors

Authors are managed as reference data and can be selected when adding or editing books. New authors are created automatically when entering a new name.

Author Fields

• Name: Full name (e.g., "Charles Dickens")
• Birth Year: Optional birth year
• Death Year: Optional death year
• Notes: Additional biographical information

Publishers

Publishers include both the company name and location. Common formats include "Chapman and Hall, London" or "Scribner's, New York".

Binders

For books with identified bindings by known binderies. Common examples include Rivière, Zaehnsdorf, Sangorski & Sutcliffe, and Root & Son.

Dashboard Statistics

The dashboard provides real-time statistics about your collection.

Dashboard with collection statistics and quick actions

Available Statistics

• Total Books: Count of all books in collection
• Total Images: Number of uploaded images
• Total Value: Sum of mid-range valuations
• By Inventory Type: Primary, Extended, Flagged breakdown
• By Status: On Hand vs. In Transit
• Recent Additions: Latest books added

Filtering & Search

The collection browser supports multiple filter criteria and full-text search.

Collection browser with filters, search, and sort controls

Filter Options

• Search: Full-text search across title, author, notes
• Author: Filter by specific author
• Publisher: Filter by publisher
• Binding Type: Morocco, calf, vellum, cloth, etc.
• Inventory Type: PRIMARY, EXTENDED, FLAGGED
• Status: ON_HAND, IN_TRANSIT, SOLD
• Date Range: Filter by publication date

Sort Options

• Title (A-Z, Z-A)
• Author (A-Z, Z-A)
• Publication Date (oldest first, newest first)
• Date Added (oldest first, newest first)
• Value (low to high, high to low)

User Roles

BlueMoxon supports different user roles through Cognito groups. Roles determine what actions users can perform.

Cognito Administration

User accounts are managed through AWS Cognito. Admin users can manage other users via the AWS Console or Cognito APIs.

Managing Users in AWS Console

1. Navigate to the AWS Console and open Cognito
2. Select the BlueMoxon User Pool
3. Click on "Users and groups" in the left sidebar
4. Create, edit, or disable user accounts as needed
5. Assign users to groups (Admin, Editor, Viewer) to set permissions

Adding Users to Groups

1. In Cognito User Pool, select the "Groups" tab
2. Click on the desired group (e.g., "Admin")
3. Click "Add users to group"
4. Select the user(s) to add
5. The user's role takes effect on their next sign-in

Common User Management Tasks

• Reset Password: Use "Reset password" action to send reset email
• Disable Account: Toggle user status to disable login
• Enable MFA: Configure MFA settings in User Pool settings
• View Sign-in History: Check user attributes and last login

# List users in the pool
aws cognito-idp list-users --user-pool-id us-west-2_XXXXX

# Add user to admin group
aws cognito-idp admin-add-user-to-group \
  --user-pool-id us-west-2_XXXXX \
  --username user@example.com \
  --group-name Admin