Help button in the header

[arbrandes]

[brian-smith-tcril]

For learner dash this should be very straightforward, the MFE version has https://github.com/openedx/frontend-app-learner-dashboard/blob/8f0c78e5085dfafb746836d6ea5b048414f0fe29/src/containers/LearnerDashboardHeader/LearnerDashboardMenu.jsx#L35-L41

  secondaryMenu: [
    ...(getConfig().SUPPORT_URL ? [{
      type: 'item',
      href: `${getConfig().SUPPORT_URL}`,
      content: formatMessage(messages.help),
    }] : []),
  ],

so the link is just coming from SUPPORT_URL.

---

for instructor dash it's less clear, the legacy page has

https://github.com/openedx/openedx-platform/blob/fd89102e94caa4a896e0a83f8d34ccfa2ce173e2/lms/templates/header/navbar-authenticated.html#L19-L26

  doc_link = get_online_help_info(online_help_token)['doc_url']

  if online_help_token == "instructor":
    help_link = doc_link
  elif support_link:
    help_link = support_link
  else:
    help_link = doc_link

but I can't figure out where get_online_help_info is coming from.

https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Aopenedx%2Fopenedx-platform%20get_online_help_info&type=code

On master.openedx.io the link goes to https://docs.openedx.org/en/latest/educators/index.html

I think it might make the most sense to just use SUPPORT_URL here too and set it per-app in the template site config, but we'd probably want to set up a legacy config -> mfe config -> app config thing on the backend to handle that, and it would need to be a little complex because (at least on the learner dash side) the help button hides if SUPPORT_URL is falsy

[brian-smith-tcril]

More context:

https://github.com/openedx/help-tokens/blob/7038028131209d078d01bed60ad37e6cda47e823/help_tokens/context_processor.py#L8

Fallback in the same way that all other legacy fallback for MFE config falls back, if someone wants to remove the help button they'll just need to clear it all the way back to legacy or remove the button from the slot.

[brian-smith-tcril]

frontend side:

• help button is layout with option that is the url, if url not there just don't render
• option set by slot operation
• slot operation configured in each app
• apps have access to appconfig when configuring slot operation?

if commonAppConfig (mfe_config, not mfe_config_overrides) has a value for it, but mfe_config_overrides doesn't for the MFE we're looking at, fall back to legacy value instead of falling back to common

[brian-smith-tcril]

Backend plan for SUPPORT_URL in frontend site config API (Claude)

Learner dashboard already works — SUPPORT_URL in MFE_CONFIG / MFE_CONFIG_OVERRIDES flows through the existing translation layer (openedx/openedx-platform#38061) into commonAppConfig or per-app config. No backend changes needed.

Instructor dashboard needs a legacy fallback. There's no MFE today, so no MFE_CONFIG_OVERRIDES entry exists. The legacy template gets its help URL from the help-tokens package (get_online_help_info("instructor")). The plan adds a get_legacy_config_overrides() function that resolves this value and injects it as SUPPORT_URL into the instructor-dashboard's per-app config, at lower precedence than explicit MFE_CONFIG_OVERRIDES.

Precedence (for instructor-dashboard): explicit MFE_CONFIG_OVERRIDES > help-tokens legacy fallback > common MFE_CONFIG

#	MFE_CONFIG SUPPORT_URL	MFE_CONFIG_OVERRIDES instructor-dashboard SUPPORT_URL	help-tokens resolves	Expected SUPPORT_URL
1	not set	not set	https://help.example.com/fallback	https://help.example.com/fallback
2	https://help.example.com	not set	https://help.example.com/fallback	https://help.example.com/fallback
3	not set	https://help.example.com/instructor	https://help.example.com/fallback	https://help.example.com/instructor
4	https://help.example.com	https://help.example.com/instructor	https://help.example.com/fallback	https://help.example.com/instructor
5	not set	not set	fails	absent
6	https://help.example.com	not set	fails	https://help.example.com (from common)

Full Plan

Context

frontend-base#245 — the frontend-base header needs a help button. Two apps need it:

• learner-dashboard: Already has SUPPORT_URL in MFE_CONFIG / MFE_CONFIG_OVERRIDES, which flows through the existing translation logic into commonAppConfig or per-app config. No backend work needed.
• instructor-dashboard: No MFE exists today, going straight to frontend-base. The legacy help URL comes from the help-tokens package (get_online_help_info("instructor") -> https://docs.openedx.org/en/latest/educators/index.html). This needs a legacy fallback.

The backend work provides the SUPPORT_URL value to the frontend site config API for instructor-dashboard, using the existing help-tokens system as a legacy fallback.

Reference: openedx/openedx-platform#38061 (merged) — the frontend site config API.

Changes

1. Add instructor-dashboard to MFE_NAME_TO_APP_ID

File: lms/djangoapps/mfe_config_api/views.py

Add entry:

"instructor-dashboard": "org.openedx.frontend.app.instructorDashboard",

2. Add get_legacy_config_overrides() function

File: lms/djangoapps/mfe_config_api/views.py

New function following the pattern of get_legacy_config(). Returns a dict keyed by MFE name (same shape as get_mfe_config_overrides()). For now, only populates instructor-dashboard with SUPPORT_URL from help-tokens:

from help_tokens.core import HelpUrlExpert

def get_legacy_config_overrides() -> dict:
    """Return per-app legacy configuration overrides.

    Same shape as get_mfe_config_overrides(): a dict keyed by MFE name,
    where each value is a dict of config values.

    This is a compatibility layer for per-app values that historically
    came from legacy systems (e.g., help-tokens).
    """
    return {
        "instructor-dashboard": {
            "SUPPORT_URL": HelpUrlExpert.the_one().url_for_token("instructor"),
        },
    }

get_legacy_config_overrides() must catch exceptions from help-tokens (e.g., KeyError if HELP_TOKENS_BOOKS is empty) and return an empty dict for that app, so the fallback chain degrades gracefully.

3. Wire get_legacy_config_overrides() into MFEConfigView

File: lms/djangoapps/mfe_config_api/views.py, MFEConfigView.get()

Change from:

if mfe_name:
    merged_config |= get_mfe_config_overrides().get(mfe_name, {})

To:

if mfe_name:
    overrides = (
        get_legacy_config_overrides().get(mfe_name, {})
        | get_mfe_config_overrides().get(mfe_name, {})
    )
    merged_config |= overrides

Precedence: common legacy < common MFE_CONFIG < per-app legacy < per-app explicit overrides.

4. Wire get_legacy_config_overrides() into translate_legacy_mfe_config()

File: lms/djangoapps/mfe_config_api/views.py, translate_legacy_mfe_config()

Change from:

mfe_config_overrides = get_mfe_config_overrides()

To:

legacy_overrides = get_legacy_config_overrides()
explicit_overrides = get_mfe_config_overrides()
all_mfe_names = set(legacy_overrides) | set(explicit_overrides)
mfe_config_overrides = {
    name: legacy_overrides.get(name, {}) | explicit_overrides.get(name, {})
    for name in all_mfe_names
}

Rest of the function unchanged — the merged overrides flow through the existing loop.

5. Tests

File: lms/djangoapps/mfe_config_api/tests/test_views.py

• MfeNameToAppIdTests: test that mfe_name_to_app_id("instructor-dashboard") returns "org.openedx.frontend.app.instructorDashboard"
• FrontendSiteConfigTestCase: test that when MFE_CONFIG_OVERRIDES has no instructor-dashboard entry, the API response includes an app for org.openedx.frontend.app.instructorDashboard with SUPPORT_URL from help-tokens
• FrontendSiteConfigTestCase: test that an explicit SUPPORT_URL in MFE_CONFIG_OVERRIDES["instructor-dashboard"] wins over the help-tokens fallback
• MFEConfigViewTest: test that GET /api/mfe_config/v1?mfe=instructor-dashboard includes the help-tokens SUPPORT_URL when no explicit override is set
• MFEConfigViewTest: test that an explicit override wins over the legacy fallback in the old API too

Verification

Automated

1. Run the existing test suite: python -m pytest lms/djangoapps/mfe_config_api/tests/test_views.py -v
2. Verify all new and existing tests pass
3. Verify no import issues with help_tokens.core in the LMS context

Manual

• Hit /api/frontend_site_config/v1/ on a running LMS and verify the instructor-dashboard app appears with a SUPPORT_URL
• Hit /api/mfe_config/v1?mfe=instructor-dashboard and verify SUPPORT_URL is present in the response
• The resolved URL depends on HELP_TOKENS_BOOKS in Django settings (not site configuration) — details TBD