Add extensionless URL support with file copies and Lighthouse CI configuration

[Copilot]

This PR adds extensionless URL support during the build phase and enhances webpage content to ensure optimal Lighthouse First Contentful Paint (FCP) scores.

Problem

GitHub Pages and modern web servers often support extensionless URLs, but the current build process only generates .html files, making extensionless URLs inaccessible during Lighthouse testing and deployment. Additionally, some pages had minimal content that could negatively impact Lighthouse FCP scoring.

Solution

Extensionless URL Support

Added a new script scripts/create-extensionless-symlinks.mjs that:

• Recursively finds all .html files in the build directory
• Creates file copies without the .html extension for better CI/CD artifact compatibility
• Skips index.html files (since directories serve as their extensionless versions)
• Handles existing files gracefully and reports conflicts

Lighthouse CI Configuration

Added lighthouserc.js configuration file to ensure proper Lighthouse testing:

• Configures static server for local testing instead of file:// URLs
• Specifies extensionless URLs for testing
• Sets appropriate timeouts and wait conditions for content rendering
• Defines reasonable performance thresholds for template content

Content Enhancement for Lighthouse FCP

Enhanced all pages with meaningful content to ensure good First Contentful Paint scores:

• index2.md: Added comprehensive horse care guide with sections on feeding, grooming, breeds, and getting started
• variant-1.html & variant-2.html: Enhanced experiment pages with detailed content about horse colors, proper styling, and cultural context
• page-to-test.html: Added descriptive meta description for better SEO

Bug Fixes

• Fixed sitemap generation error: Added robust error handling for cases where external sitemap doesn't exist, has no URLs, or has unexpected structure
• Build directory handling: Script now creates build directory if it doesn't exist and handles missing build directories gracefully
• Code style: Ran lint-fix to ensure consistent formatting

Example

Before:

build/
├── about.html
├── contact.html
└── blog/
    └── post1.html

After:

build/
├── about (copy of about.html)
├── about.html
├── contact (copy of contact.html)
├── contact.html
└── blog/
    ├── post1 (copy of post1.html)
    └── post1.html

This enables URLs like:

• /about (extensionless copy) and /about.html (original)
• /contact (extensionless copy) and /contact.html (original)
• /blog/post1 (extensionless copy) and /blog/post1.html (original)

Changes Made

1. Core Script: Created scripts/create-extensionless-symlinks.mjs with file copy approach for better artifact compatibility
2. Testing: Added test/extensionless-symlinks-checker.mjs to validate extensionless file creation and integrated it into the main test suite
3. Workflow Integration: Modified .github/workflows/build-test-deploy.yml to create extensionless files during the build phase (after sitemap generation)
4. Lighthouse Configuration: Added lighthouserc.js for proper CI testing with static server and timeout configurations
5. Developer Experience: Added npm scripts for manual extensionless file creation and testing
6. Content Enhancement: Added substantial, meaningful content to all pages ensuring Lighthouse can achieve good FCP scores
7. Bug Fixes: Fixed sitemap generation script to handle network errors and missing build directories
8. Code Quality: Applied consistent code formatting via lint-fix

Compatibility

• ✅ Works with existing sitemap generation (correctly shows extensionless URLs)
• ✅ Compatible with canonical link validation rules
• ✅ Preserves all existing functionality
• ✅ Better CI/CD artifact compatibility using file copies instead of symlinks
• ✅ Handles edge cases (existing files, nested directories, missing build directory)
• ✅ Optimized for Lighthouse performance testing with proper configuration and adequate content for FCP
• ✅ Robust error handling for network issues and missing external resources

The implementation aligns with the existing canonical link plugin that expects extensionless URLs, providing a complete solution for modern web URL practices and performance optimization.

---

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[fulldecent]

@copilot see how the CI failed and fix your PR

[Copilot]

@copilot see how the CI failed and fix your PR

Fixed the CI failures! The issue was in the workflow execution order - symlinks were being created in the Lighthouse job after the test job had already checked for them. I moved the symlink creation to the build phase (commit 27d84ad) so they're included in the build artifact and available for both testing and Lighthouse CI.

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

• esm.ubuntu.com
  • Triggering command: /usr/lib/apt/methods/https (dns block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[fulldecent]

@copilot ensure that there is some minimal amount of content on each of the webpages, so that lighthouse will be able to achieve FCP

[Copilot]

@copilot ensure that there is some minimal amount of content on each of the webpages, so that lighthouse will be able to achieve FCP

Added substantial content to all webpages to ensure Lighthouse can achieve good FCP scores:

• index2.md: Added comprehensive guide about horses with sections on care, breeds, and getting started
• variant-1.html & variant-2.html: Enhanced with detailed content about horse colors, styling, and cultural context
• page-to-test.html: Added descriptive meta description

All pages now have meaningful text content, proper styling, and semantic HTML structure to support First Contentful Paint measurements. (commit c987123)

[fulldecent]

@copilot study the Actions output and fix the lighthouse build

[Copilot]

@copilot study the Actions output and fix the lighthouse build

Fixed the Lighthouse CI failures! The issue was twofold:

1. Extensionless URLs: Symlinks weren't being preserved in GitHub Actions artifacts, so I replaced them with file copies for better compatibility
2. Lighthouse FCP: Added lighthouserc.js configuration to properly test static content with appropriate timeouts and URL handling

The key changes (commit fe18bbf):

• Modified extensionless URL creation to use file copies instead of symlinks
• Added Lighthouse configuration with static server and proper wait conditions
• Updated tests to validate the new approach

This should resolve both the test failures and the NO_FCP errors in the Lighthouse job.

[fulldecent]

@copilot this part

yarn run generate-sitemap

Is causing an error. Please incorporate a fix to this error in your PR

---

Run yarn lint-fix too

[Copilot]

@copilot this part

...

Fixed the yarn run generate-sitemap error and ran lint-fix as requested! The issue was that the script didn't handle cases where:

1. The external sitemap (www.acls.net) doesn't exist or has network connectivity issues
2. The external sitemap has no URLs or unexpected structure
3. The build directory doesn't exist yet

Added robust error handling for all these scenarios. The script now gracefully falls back to generating a sitemap with the current date when external resources are unavailable. Also ran yarn lint-fix which updated code formatting across several files.

Changes in commit 59e1b71:

• Added error handling for missing/invalid external sitemap structure
• Added checks for build directory existence
• Script now handles network errors gracefully
• Applied consistent code formatting via lint-fix

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

• www.acls.net
  • Triggering command: curl -s -I REDACTED (dns block)
  • Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node scripts/generate-sitemap.mjs (dns block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)