Platform Guide

Complete how-to documentation for managing your platform, auctions, artists, and events.

Platform Overview

The platform consists of two public websites backed by a single shared API (Cloudflare Worker + D1 database):

Both websites pull from the same Worker API. Data you manage in the Cockpit immediately appears on both sites.

Hub public pages

Accessing the Cockpit

1. Go to kokishin-arts.com/cockpit
2. Sign in with your admin credentials:
   • Master admin: leave the email field blank, enter the master password
   • Named admin users: enter their email and password
3. The Cockpit opens to the Dashboard

Hub Public Pages

The hub website at kokishin-arts.com is fully dynamic — all content comes from the API. You manage everything through the Cockpit; there's no HTML to edit for day-to-day operations.

Home page

The "What's On" section automatically shows the next 3 upcoming events and the most recent live or upcoming auction. The artist spotlight loads the first 3 active artists from the database. The newsletter signup stores emails in the newsletter_subscribers table.

Events page (/events)

Shows all events from the Events section of the Cockpit, merged with upcoming auctions. Visitors can filter by event type. The filter tabs are built dynamically from the event types you've actually used — no configuration needed.

Artists page (/artists)

Shows all active artists from the Artists section of the Cockpit. Displays avatar (or initials if no photo), name, discipline, bio excerpt, and website link. An "Apply" CTA at the bottom sends applications to the Cockpit's Applications section.

Auctions page (/auctions)

Lists all auctions with Live / Upcoming / Past filter tabs. Each card shows status, description, venue, date, and lot count. The "Place a Bid" button links to the Members portal.

Members Portal (/members)

The Members portal is where registered bidders log in to bid. It supports two login methods:

• Email + password — traditional login for bidders with passwords set
• SMS code — sends a one-time code to the bidder's phone; no password needed

After login, bidders see their registered auctions, can browse lots with photos and current bids, and can place bids or buy-now purchases. The session is remembered for the browser tab.

Dashboard

The Dashboard is the first screen after login. It shows a live snapshot of the platform:

• Recent Events — the last few events created, with a link to the Events section
• Recent Auctions — the last few auctions, with a link to the Auctions section
• Quick actions — one-click buttons to create a new event, auction, or add an artist

Events

The Events section manages all non-auction events (gallery openings, artist talks, venue shows, etc.) that appear on the hub's /events page and home page.

Creating an event

1. Click + New event
2. Fill in: Title, Type, Venue, Date & Time, Description
3. Optionally set a Ticket URL and Hero image
4. Set Status to Published to make it visible on the website
5. Click Create event

Event types

The "Type" field drives the filter tabs on the /events page. Use consistent type names (e.g., "Gallery Opening", "Artist Talk", "Auction", "Workshop") so the filters group correctly.

Hero images

After saving an event, an upload button appears on the hero image field. Click it to upload a photo from your computer — it's stored in Cloudflare R2 and the URL is saved automatically. Recommended: landscape images at 16:9 ratio.

Auctions

The Auctions section is where you create and configure all auctions. Each auction has its own lots, timing, and settings.

Creating an auction

1. Click + New auction
2. Fill in the Basics tab: Name, Status, Venue, Description, Beneficiary
3. Set the Timing tab: online opens date/time, live event date/time, close date/time, close rule
4. Set the Rules & Pricing tab: buyer's premium %, default bid increment, Buy Now policies
5. Click Create auction
6. The dialog switches to the Lots tab — add lots now or close and come back later

Auction statuses

Lots

Lots are managed inside each auction. Open an auction by clicking its edit (pencil) icon, then go to the Lots tab.

Adding a lot

1. Click + Add lot
2. Assign a lot number (or leave blank to auto-number)
3. Optionally link to an artwork from the artist database — this pre-fills title and artist
4. Or enter a custom description for lots not in the gallery
5. Set estimates, minimum bid, reserve price, and Buy Now price
6. Click Add lot to save

Lot statuses

Live Monitor

The Live Monitor gives you a real-time view of any auction's lots — current bids, statuses, and quick controls — without leaving the Cockpit. This is the view to keep open during a live event.

Using the monitor

1. Click Live Monitor in the sidebar
2. Select the auction from the dropdown — it auto-selects the first Live or Pre-live auction
3. The lot grid shows all lots with: photo, lot number, title, artist, current bid, and status
4. The stats bar shows: total lots, open/active count, sold count, and total hammer value
5. The view auto-refreshes every 30 seconds. Click Refresh now at any time

Changing lot status from the monitor

Each open lot card has a status dropdown. Use it to:

• Set a lot to Active when the auctioneer calls it (it gets a gold border)
• Set it to Sold when the hammer falls
• Set it to Passed if it didn't reach reserve

Artists

The Artists section manages the roster of artists that appear on the /artists hub page and throughout the platform.

Adding an artist

1. Click + Add artist
2. Fill in: Name, Level (emerging/established/featured), Type/Discipline, Bio, Website, Instagram, City
3. Set Active to Yes to show them on the public artists page
4. Click Create artist
5. After saving, click the avatar upload button to add a profile photo

Artist artworks

Each artist has their own artwork library. Select an artist from the left panel, then use the artwork section on the right to add, edit, or remove works. Artworks can be linked to auction lots — select the artist's artwork when creating a lot to pull in the title and artist automatically.

Artwork images

Each artwork can have multiple images. Use the upload button in the artwork edit modal to add photos. The first image uploaded becomes the primary/cover image. Click a thumbnail to set a different image as primary. Images are stored in Cloudflare R2.

Registrations

The Registrations section shows all bidder accounts (clients) who have registered through the Members portal. You can:

• View registrant details: name, email, phone, auction(s) registered for, paddle number
• Search by name or email
• Filter by auction
• Manually add a bidder by clicking + Add registration
• Edit a registration to update contact info or paddle number

Applications

The Applications section receives submissions from the "Apply" forms on the hub website — artist applications, venue inquiries, and sponsor requests.

Processing an application

1. Click any application to open it and read the full submission
2. Update the status: New → Reviewing → Accepted / Declined / Waitlist
3. Add internal notes if needed
4. Click Save

Accepted artist applicants can then be formally added as an Artist record in the Artists section.

Communications

The Communications section lets you send email and SMS notifications to registered bidders (clients).

Sending to an individual

1. Select the bidder from the dropdown
2. Choose a message type and compose your message
3. Click Send Email or Send SMS

Sending to all bidders

Use the "Send to All" buttons to email or SMS all registered bidders for the selected auction — useful for pre-event reminders.

Admin Users

Additional admin users can log into the Cockpit with their own email and password.

Adding an admin

1. Go to Admin Users in the sidebar
2. Click + Add admin user
3. Enter name, email, and a password for them
4. Click Add

Master admin vs. named admins

• Master admin — uses the ADMIN_PASSWORD secret, no email required. Cannot be changed from the Cockpit UI — must update the secret directly (see Secrets below).
• Named admin users — email + password. Can change their own password in Settings after logging in. Can be removed from the Admin Users section at any time.

Settings

The Settings section lets the currently logged-in admin change their display name, email address, and password.

Artist Site — thewaterandoilartist.com

The artist site is Brad's personal portfolio site. It shares the same API as the hub — artwork, auction, and lot data is the same. Key pages:

Auction Section on Artist Site

The auction section on the main page of thewaterandoilartist.com auto-loads from the API:

• Featured lot — photo of the lot set as featured in the auction settings
• Current bid + status — live data from the API
• Upcoming auctions — lists Live, Pre-live, and Draft auctions with dates

To update what appears: change the auction's featured lot in the Cockpit (Auctions → edit auction → Basics tab → Featured Lot field — this field appears once lots exist).

Deployment & Updates

Deploy the hub website (kokishin-arts.com)

cd C:\Users\artis\OneDrive\Desktop\gavels-deploy
npx wrangler pages deploy . --project-name=gavels-art-and-entertainment

Deploy the artist site (thewaterandoilartist.com)

cd C:\Users\artis\OneDrive\Desktop\Downloads\thewaterandoilartist-site
npx wrangler pages deploy . --project-name thewaterandoilartist-site

Deploy the API Worker

cd C:\Users\artis\gavels-worker\gavels-worker
npx wrangler deploy

File Locations

Managing Secrets

cd C:\Users\artis\gavels-worker\gavels-worker
npx wrangler secret put SECRET_NAME

Current secrets in use:

Frequently Asked Questions