Shortcode Processing Pipelines: Pipeline A and Pipeline B

Site Store Pro processes shortcodes through two independent pipelines that run on every public page request. Understanding which pipeline handles which shortcodes — and in what order — is essential when embedding shortcodes in custom content fields or debugging unexpected rendering behavior.

Two Pipelines

Pipeline	Mechanism	Scope
Pipeline A	`ProcessShortcodes` HTTP middleware	Runs after full page render on all public HTML responses
Pipeline B	`ContentParserService::parse()`	Called explicitly per field before content is inserted into the page template

Pipeline A — `ProcessShortcodes` Middleware

Pipeline A runs as HTTP middleware on all public frontend HTML responses. It fires after the full page has been rendered to a string, scanning the complete output for shortcode tags.

Shortcodes Handled by Pipeline A

[list:N] — list menu embedding
[page:N] — CMS page links
[product:N] — product page links
[category:N] — category page links
[brand:N] — brand page links

Processing Order

[list:N] Expansion

Scans the final rendered HTML for [list:N] patterns and renders each matched list menu as a structured <ul>/<li> HTML block.

Internal Item Compilation

Resolves each list item’s content into <a> tags wrapped in <ul>/<li> HTML structure.

Embedded Plugin/Download in List Items

[download:N] and [plugin:slug] shortcodes embedded inside list menu items are also resolved at this stage, within Pipeline A.

Post-Expansion Resolve

A second pass resolves any standalone [page:N], [product:N], [category:N], and [brand:N] tags remaining in the page content or footer layouts.

Pipeline B — `ContentParserService::parse()`

Pipeline B is called explicitly on individual content fields — before the content is inserted into the page template. It processes Blade directives and the richer embedded-content shortcodes.

Shortcodes Handled by Pipeline B

[cms-form id=N]
[code-embed:N]
[download:N]
[plugin:slug]
Blade directives (@auth, {{ }}, {!! !!}, etc.)

Processing Order (Four Sequential Passes)

Pass	Handler	Processes
Pass 0	`processForms()`	`[cms-form id=N]` shortcodes
Pass 1a	`processCodeEmbeds()`	`[code-embed:N]` shortcodes
Pass 1b	`processDownloads()`	`[download:N]` shortcodes
Pass 2	`processPlugins()`	`[plugin:slug]` shortcodes
Final	`Blade::render()`	Compiles `@auth`, `{{ }}`, `{!! !!}`, and all other Blade syntax

Passes are sequential and non-overlapping. This means a [plugin:slug] shortcode inside a [download:N]-rendered block will not be processed, because downloads are resolved before plugins.

Shortcode Support Matrix

The table below shows which shortcodes are supported in each content context, and which pipeline resolves them.

Content Field	list / page / product / category / brand	download	plugin	code-embed	Blade @auth
CMS Page main body	✅ A	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B
CMS Page left sidebar	✅ A	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B
CMS Page right sidebar	✅ A	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B
Product short description	✅ A	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B
Product long description	✅ A	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B	✅ B
List menu items	✅ A	✅ A¹	✅ A¹	—	❌
Site footer / header layouts	✅ A	❌	❌	❌	❌

¹ [download:N] and [plugin:slug] inside list menu items are resolved automatically during list menu rendering, which runs within Pipeline A.

Model Accessors That Enable Pipeline B

Pipeline B is invoked through Eloquent model accessors. When your Blade template uses the parsed accessor instead of the raw column, ContentParserService::parse() is automatically called.

Model	Parsed Accessor	Raw Column
`CmsPage`	`$page->parsed_content`	`content`
`CmsPage`	`$page->parsed_left_col`	`left_col`
`CmsPage`	`$page->parsed_right_col`	`right_col`
`Product`	`$product->parsed_short_description`	`short_description`
`Product`	`$product->parsed_long_description`	`long_description`

Always use the parsed_* accessor (with {!! !!} unescaped output) in your Blade templates. Using the raw column directly will bypass Pipeline B entirely and shortcodes will appear as literal text.

Example:

{{-- ✅ Correct — passes through Pipeline B --}}
{!! $page->parsed_content !!}

{{-- ❌ Wrong — shortcodes render as raw text --}}
{!! $page->content !!}

Adding Pipeline B to a New Content Field

To enable full shortcode and Blade directive processing on a custom model field, add a parsed accessor and call ContentParserService::parse():

// In your Model:
public function getParsedMyFieldAttribute(): string
{
    return app(\App\Services\ContentParserService::class)->parse($this->my_field);
}

Then reference the accessor in your Blade template:

{!! $model->parsed_my_field !!}

This gives the new field the complete Pipeline B treatment — CMS forms, code embeds, downloads, plugins, and Blade directives all resolve automatically.

Pipeline A still runs on the final HTML output regardless of which accessor you use, so [list:N], [page:N], [product:N], [category:N], and [brand:N] shortcodes will always resolve as long as the content is included in the rendered page HTML.

Routes Reference

Shortcode Reference

Shortcode Processing Pipelines: Pipeline A and Pipeline B

Two Pipelines

Pipeline A — `ProcessShortcodes` Middleware

Shortcodes Handled by Pipeline A

Processing Order

Pipeline B — `ContentParserService::parse()`

Shortcodes Handled by Pipeline B

Processing Order (Four Sequential Passes)

Shortcode Support Matrix

Model Accessors That Enable Pipeline B

Adding Pipeline B to a New Content Field

​Two Pipelines

​Pipeline A — ProcessShortcodes Middleware

​Shortcodes Handled by Pipeline A

​Processing Order

​Pipeline B — ContentParserService::parse()

​Shortcodes Handled by Pipeline B

​Processing Order (Four Sequential Passes)

​Shortcode Support Matrix

​Model Accessors That Enable Pipeline B

​Adding Pipeline B to a New Content Field

Two Pipelines

Pipeline A — `ProcessShortcodes` Middleware

Shortcodes Handled by Pipeline A

Processing Order

Pipeline B — `ContentParserService::parse()`

Shortcodes Handled by Pipeline B

Processing Order (Four Sequential Passes)

Shortcode Support Matrix

Model Accessors That Enable Pipeline B

Adding Pipeline B to a New Content Field