Let editors pick the story that leads the homepage

frontend/src/pages/editArticleView.tsx

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
   featured_image?: string
   featured_image_alt?: string
   breaking_news?: boolean
+  is_featured?: boolean
   categories?: Array<{
     name?: string
     slug?: string
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@
   photo_url: string
   photo_alt: string
   breaking_news: boolean
+  is_featured: boolean
   categories: string[]
   tags: string[]
   authors: number[]
@@ -263,6 +265,7 @@
   const [photoURL, setPhotoURL] = useState("")
   const [photoAlt, setPhotoAlt] = useState("")
   const [breakingNews, setBreakingNews] = useState(false)
+  const [isFeatured, setIsFeatured] = useState(false)
   const [selectedCategorySlugs, setSelectedCategorySlugs] = useState<string[]>([])
   const [sectionSearch, setSectionSearch] = useState("")
   const [legacyCategoryTitlesBySlug, setLegacyCategoryTitlesBySlug] = useState<Record<string, string>>({})
@@ -300,6 +303,7 @@
     photoURL,
     photoAlt,
     breakingNews,
+    isFeatured,
     selectedCategorySlugs,
     seoTags,
     seoTagDraft,
@@ -319,6 +323,7 @@
     photoURL,
     photoAlt,
     breakingNews,
+    isFeatured,
     selectedCategorySlugs,
     seoTags,
     seoTagDraft,
@@ -394,6 +399,7 @@
           setPhotoURL(payload.featured_image ?? "")
           setPhotoAlt(payload.featured_image_alt ?? "")
           setBreakingNews(Boolean(payload.breaking_news))
+          setIsFeatured(Boolean(payload.is_featured))
           const legacyCategories: Record<string, string> = {}
           const categorySlugs = (payload.categories ?? [])
             .map((category) => {
@@ -661,6 +667,7 @@
           photo_url: photoURL.trim(),
           photo_alt: photoAlt.trim(),
           breaking_news: breakingNews,
+          is_featured: isFeatured,
           categories,
           tags: seoTagsToSave,
           authors: selectedAuthorIds,
@@ -706,6 +713,7 @@
         photo_url: photoURL.trim(),
         photo_alt: photoAlt.trim(),
         breaking_news: breakingNews,
+        is_featured: isFeatured,
         categories,
         tags: seoTagsToSave,
         authors: selectedAuthorIds,
@@ -778,7 +786,7 @@
     }, AUTOSAVE_DELAY_MS)
 
     return () => window.clearTimeout(timer)
   }, [articleSnapshot, isAutoSaving, isLoading, isNew, isSaving, lockedBy, selectedAuthorIds, selectedCategorySlugs])
 
   const inputClass ="w-full px-3 py-2 rounded-lg border border-border bg-background text-sm text-foreground placeholder:text-muted-foreground focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-primary/40 focus:border-primary transition"
   const selectClass = "w-full px-3 py-2 rounded-lg border border-border bg-background text-sm text-foreground focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-primary/40 focus:border-primary transition"
@@ -1370,6 +1378,22 @@
               <span className="font-medium text-foreground">Breaking news</span>
             </label>
 
+            <label className="flex items-start gap-3 rounded-lg border border-border bg-background px-3 py-3 text-sm">
+              <input
+                checked={isFeatured}
+                className="mt-0.5 h-4 w-4 rounded border-border"
+                onChange={(e) => setIsFeatured(e.target.checked)}
+                type="checkbox"
+              />
+              <span className="flex flex-col gap-0.5">
+                <span className="font-medium text-foreground">Featured article</span>
+                <span className="text-[11px] text-muted-foreground">
+                  Runs as the big lead story on the homepage. Only one article can be
+                  featured, so this replaces the current one.
+                </span>
+              </span>
+            </label>
+
             <div className={labelClass}>
               <span className={labelTextClass}>Sections</span>
               <div className="relative">

server/internal/database/featured_article.go

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+package database
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"database/sql"
+
+	"server/internal/models"
+)
+
+// The featured article is the one an editor has pinned to the big lead card in
+// the middle of the homepage. It is stored in the legacy `priority` column and
+// is exclusive: exactly zero or one article carries it at a time, enforced on
+// write by ClearFeaturedExcept.
+
+const featuredArticleConditions = "WHERE `priority` = 1 AND `pub_date` IS NOT NULL AND `pub_date` <= UTC_TIMESTAMP() AND `archived_at` IS NULL"
+
+// GetFeaturedArticle returns the featured article, or nil when nothing is
+// featured. Unpublished, scheduled and archived rows are skipped so an article
+// cannot reach the homepage through the flag alone -- an editor who features a
+// draft and forgets to publish it gets the normal newest-first lead, not a
+// headline the public should not see yet.
+//
+// The ORDER BY is a defensive tiebreak: exclusivity is enforced on write, but a
+// direct DB edit or an ETL reseed could leave two rows flagged, and the homepage
+// must still resolve to one article rather than picking arbitrarily.
+func GetFeaturedArticle(ctx context.Context, conn *sql.DB) (*models.Article, error) {
+	query := searchSelectColumns + featuredArticleConditions + " ORDER BY `pub_date` DESC, `id` DESC LIMIT 1"
+	rows, err := conn.QueryContext(ctx, query)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer rows.Close()
+
+	articles, err := CollectArticles(rows)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if len(articles) == 0 {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	return &articles[0], nil
+}
+
+// ClearFeaturedExcept unfeatures every article other than the given slug. Call
+// it after the write that features an article, never before: if the ordering
+// were reversed and the main update then failed, the site would be left with no
+// featured article at all instead of the one it had.
+func ClearFeaturedExcept(ctx context.Context, conn *sql.DB, slug string) error {
+	_, err := conn.ExecContext(ctx,
+		"UPDATE `articles` SET `priority` = 0 WHERE `priority` = 1 AND `slug` <> ?", slug)
+	return err
+}
+
+// ClearFeaturedExceptID is ClearFeaturedExcept for the create path, where the
+// slug may have been generated from the title rather than supplied by the
+// caller and the insert's id is the only handle on the new row.
+func ClearFeaturedExceptID(ctx context.Context, conn *sql.DB, id int64) error {
+	_, err := conn.ExecContext(ctx,
+		"UPDATE `articles` SET `priority` = 0 WHERE `priority` = 1 AND `id` <> ?", id)
+	return err
+}

server/internal/database/taxonomy_integration_test.go

@@ -4,11 +4,25 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	_ "github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql"
 )
 
+// A section the seed has no defaults for, for the "keeps no aliases" case.
+// Which slugs are unseeded changes as orphaned categories get filed -- news
+// gained "Paid Post" -- so the choice is guarded by requireUnseeded rather than
+// assumed, or the assertion would quietly start testing nothing.
+const unseededSlug = "photo"
+
+func requireUnseeded(t *testing.T, slug string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	if _, seeded := defaultCategoryAliases[slug]; seeded {
+		t.Fatalf("%q now has seeded aliases; pick another slug for the no-defaults case", slug)
+	}
+}
+
 // These need a real MariaDB, because the whole point is the column, the seed
 // and the cache reload agreeing with each other. They skip unless CMS_TEST_DSN
 // is set, so CI without a database stays green.
@@ -65,33 +79,47 @@ func TestTaxonomyAliasSeedAndCacheRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := EnsureTaxonomyTable(ctx, conn); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("ensure taxonomy table: %v", err)
 	}
+	requireUnseeded(t, unseededSlug)
 	insertTaxonomyRow(t, conn, 1, "section", "entertainment", "Entertainment")
-	insertTaxonomyRow(t, conn, 2, "section", "news", "News")
+	insertTaxonomyRow(t, conn, 2, "section", unseededSlug, "Photo")
 
 	if err := EnsureTaxonomyTable(ctx, conn); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("second ensure: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	// entertainment must have picked up its seeded default...
+	// entertainment must have picked up its seeded defaults. Asserted against
+	// defaultCategoryAliases rather than a literal list: the map grows every
+	// time another orphaned category is filed, and a test that pins the
+	// contents fails on the filing rather than on anything being broken.
 	patterns := CategoryMatchPatterns("entertainment")
-	if !containsPattern(patterns, `%"arts & entertainment"%`) {
-		t.Errorf("entertainment patterns %v missing the seeded alias", patterns)
+	for _, alias := range defaultCategoryAliases["entertainment"] {
+		want := `%"` + strings.ToLower(alias) + `"%`
+		if !containsPattern(patterns, want) {
+			t.Errorf("entertainment patterns %v missing the seeded alias %s", patterns, want)
+		}
 	}
-	// ...and it must not be HTML-escaped in the column, or it would never
-	// match the articles it names.
+	// The aliases must not be HTML-escaped in the column, or one holding an
+	// ampersand would never match the articles it names.
 	var stored string
 	if err := conn.QueryRowContext(ctx,
 		"SELECT category_aliases FROM site_taxonomy WHERE slug = 'entertainment'",
 	).Scan(&stored); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("read stored aliases: %v", err)
 	}
-	if want := `["Arts & Entertainment"]`; stored != want {
+	want, err := MarshalCategoryJSON(defaultCategoryAliases["entertainment"])
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("marshal expected aliases: %v", err)
+	}
+	if stored != want {
 		t.Errorf("stored aliases = %s, want %s", stored, want)
 	}
+	if strings.Contains(stored, "\\u0026") {
+		t.Errorf("stored aliases are HTML-escaped: %s", stored)
+	}
 
 	// A slug with no default keeps no aliases.
-	if got := CategoryMatchPatterns("news"); len(got) != 1 {
-		t.Errorf("news patterns = %v, want just its own", got)
+	if got := CategoryMatchPatterns(unseededSlug); len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("%s patterns = %v, want just its own", unseededSlug, got)
 	}
 }