frold, a non-coder with basic PHP knowledge, seeks to edit Discourse files to experiment with custom tweaks. Confused about locating .rb files on their live server, they wonder if a development box is required. mikechristopher directs them to a beginner’s guide, and pfaffman clarifies that editing files requires a dev environment since production caches changes. frold attempts to navigate the file structure via SSH but struggles to locate files. After setting up a dev environment on macOS following a guide, frold tries to edit amazon_onebox.rb from the onebox gem but can’t find it. techAPJ explains that cloning Discourse core doesn’t include the onebox gem — it must be cloned separately. frold realizes their misunderstanding and feels overwhelmed, questioning the difference between a dev box and live site. mikechristopher explains Discourse relies on modular components, including external gems like onebox. frold now understands but remains confused about which specific files render Amazon data, as the output is identical on their dev box — indicating they’re still targeting the wrong file. The thread reflects the steep learning curve for newcomers trying to modify Discourse’s modular Ruby-based architecture.
I would like to play with the files in discourse - Im not a coder, but I have some tweeks I would like to see if Im able to add. The best way to learn is when you have something you will achieve 
I have a little knowledge from php. There you can change a file and see the result of the changes immedealy.
In my discourse server Im not able to finde the .rb files I would like to find. Is that because I need a dev box?
This ruby universe seems to have a steep learning curve… :S
Best place to start is here
I will look at it, thanks
You need to set up a development environment to edit files and see changes. In production, lots of stuff is cached, so changes don’t show up.
If you want to see the files
cd /var/discourse
. /launcher enter app
cd src
ls
I was now able to follow this guide:
I would like to edit and see if I was able to add some changes to: https://github.com/discourse/onebox/blob/master/lib/onebox/engine/amazon_onebox.rb
But Im not able to find the file on my mac?
Damn it have a steep learning curve this thing…
Wish me back to the old apache days… 
To edit onebox files, you need to clone source code for onebox gem.
Didnt I do so in this step in the tutorial?
git clone GitHub - discourse/discourse: A platform for community discussion. Free, open, simple. · GitHub ~/discourse
That was for cloning discourse core repo. If you want to hack on onebox gem, you will need to clone the source code for that gem as well.
Okay, then I dont know anything…
What is the difference of a dev box and a running site then?
I thought setting up a dev box I would be able to edit files…
Seems now I need to follow another tutorial…?
This is only for very technical users, like in very - 
I give up
You have the core files and then you have various modules that discourse rely on - some developed by discourse and some not. Onebox is one of those modules.
ahh, now I understand.
But what I need to edit is the file that renders the amazon data like this:
Its give me the same output at my dev box on my mac. I thought it was the file mention above…
What files is it then… :S
