Deployment Fix Summary

Problem Identified

The deployment was failing with this error:

Error: Failed to create deployment (status: 404)
Ensure GitHub Pages has been enabled

Root Cause

GitHub Pages is not enabled in the repository settings. The GitHub Actions workflow can build the site, but cannot deploy it because the Pages feature hasn’t been activated.

Fixes Applied

1. Updated GitHub Actions Workflow

  • File: .github/workflows/publish.yml
  • Change: Added step to create .nojekyll file
  • Why: The .nojekyll file tells GitHub Pages not to process the site with Jekyll, which is important for Quarto sites

2. Created Setup Instructions

  • File: SETUP_GITHUB_PAGES.md
  • Purpose: Clear, prominent instructions for enabling GitHub Pages

3. Updated Documentation

  • File: DEPLOYMENT.md
  • Change: Added prominent warning at the top about required setup
  • Why: Makes it immediately clear what needs to be done

What You Need to Do

Enable GitHub Pages (Required)

  1. Go to: https://github.com/AHuffmyer/website/settings/pages
  2. Under “Source”, select “GitHub Actions”
  3. Click Save

That’s it! Once you do this, the deployment will work automatically.

How to Verify the Fix

After enabling GitHub Pages:

  1. Go to: https://github.com/AHuffmyer/website/actions
  2. The workflow should automatically run (or you can manually trigger it)
  3. It should now complete successfully
  4. Your site will be live at: https://ahuffmyer.github.io/website/

Technical Details

What the Workflow Does Now

  1. Checks out the code
  2. Installs Quarto (v1.4.549)
  3. Renders all .qmd files to HTML
  4. Creates .nojekyll file (NEW)
  5. Uploads the docs/ folder as an artifact
  6. Deploys to GitHub Pages

Why .nojekyll is Important

GitHub Pages uses Jekyll by default to process sites. The .nojekyll file tells GitHub to skip Jekyll processing, which is necessary because: - Quarto already generates complete HTML - Jekyll might interfere with Quarto’s output - It’s a best practice for static site generators

Testing

The fix has been tested locally: - ✅ Quarto renders successfully - ✅ All pages generate correctly - ✅ .nojekyll file is created properly - ✅ Build completes without errors

Next Steps

  1. Enable GitHub Pages (see instructions above)
  2. Wait for workflow to run (or trigger manually from Actions tab)
  3. Check deployment success in Actions tab
  4. Visit your site at https://ahuffmyer.github.io/website/

If you have any issues after enabling GitHub Pages, check the Actions tab for detailed error logs.