GitHub Pages Deploy

Quick Setup

Run this command from your project root to set up deployment:

# Create workflow directory
mkdir -p .github/workflows

# Create deploy.yml (Node.js 20 required for Docusaurus 3.9+)
# ⚠️ IMPORTANT: Change 'main' to 'master' if your repo uses master branch!
# Check with: git branch --show-current
cat << 'EOF' > .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy to GitHub Pages

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]  # ⚠️ Change to [master] if your repo uses master branch
  workflow_dispatch:

permissions:
  contents: read
  pages: write
  id-token: write

concurrency:
  group: "pages"
  cancel-in-progress: false

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
          cache: npm

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Build website (all locales)
        run: npm run build
        env:
          NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096

      - name: Upload artifact
        uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
        with:
          path: build

  deploy:
    environment:
      name: github-pages
      url: ${{ steps.deployment.outputs.page_url }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: build
    steps:
      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        id: deployment
        uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4
EOF

echo "✅ Created .github/workflows/deploy.yml"

# Create homepage redirect with useBaseUrl (prevents double-slash 404s)
mkdir -p src/pages
cat << 'EOF' > src/pages/index.js
import React from 'react';
import {Redirect} from '@docusaurus/router';
import useBaseUrl from '@docusaurus/useBaseUrl';

export default function Home() {
  return <Redirect to={useBaseUrl('/docs')} />;
}
EOF

echo "✅ Created src/pages/index.js (homepage redirect)"

# Create i18n scaffolding for Urdu locale
mkdir -p i18n/ur/docusaurus-plugin-content-docs/current
mkdir -p i18n/ur/docusaurus-theme-classic

cat << 'EOF' > i18n/ur/docusaurus-theme-classic/navbar.json
{
  "title": {
    "message": "عنوان",
    "description": "The title in the navbar"
  }
}
EOF

cat << 'EOF' > i18n/ur/docusaurus-theme-classic/footer.json
{
  "copyright": {
    "message": "کاپی رائٹ © 2025",
    "description": "The footer copyright"
  }
}
EOF

cat << 'EOF' > i18n/ur/code.json
{
  "theme.docs.paginator.previous": {
    "message": "پچھلا",
    "description": "The label used to navigate to the previous doc"
  },
  "theme.docs.paginator.next": {
    "message": "اگلا",
    "description": "The label used to navigate to the next doc"
  }
}
EOF

cat << 'EOF' > i18n/ur/docusaurus-plugin-content-docs/current/intro.md
---
sidebar_position: 1
---

# خوش آمدید

یہ اردو ترجمہ ہے۔
EOF

echo "✅ Created i18n/ur/ scaffolding (Urdu locale)"
echo ""
echo "📝 Now update docusaurus.config.js with your organization and repository names"
echo "⚠️  CRITICAL: baseUrl MUST have BOTH leading AND trailing slashes: '/<repo>/'"

Bundled Resources

1. GitHub Actions Workflow (with i18n support)

File: .github/workflows/deploy.yml

⚠️ CRITICAL: The branches value MUST match your repository's default branch. Use [main] for repos with main branch, [master] for repos with master branch. Mismatch = workflow never triggers!

name: Deploy to GitHub Pages

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]  # ⚠️ Change to [master] if your repo uses master branch
  workflow_dispatch:

permissions:
  contents: read
  pages: write
  id-token: write

concurrency:
  group: "pages"
  cancel-in-progress: false

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20  # Required: Docusaurus 3.9+ dropped Node 18 support
          cache: npm

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      # Builds all configured locales (en, ur, etc.)
      # Docusaurus automatically builds all locales defined in docusaurus.config.js
      - name: Build website (all locales)
        run: npm run build
        env:
          NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096  # Required for i18n/multi-locale builds

      - name: Upload artifact
        uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
        with:
          path: build

  deploy:
    environment:
      name: github-pages
      url: ${{ steps.deployment.outputs.page_url }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: build
    steps:
      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
        id: deployment
        uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4

i18n Notes:

• Docusaurus builds ALL locales defined in docusaurus.config.js by default
• To build specific locale only: npm run build -- --locale en
• To build multiple: npm run build -- --locale en --locale ur
• NODE_OPTIONS increases memory for multi-locale builds (essential for Urdu/RTL)

2. Docusaurus Configuration Block

File: docusaurus.config.js (merge into existing config)

const config = {
  // ===========================================
  // GitHub Pages Deployment Configuration
  // ===========================================

  // Replace <organization> with your GitHub username or org name
  url: 'https://<organization>.github.io',

  // ⚠️ CRITICAL: baseUrl MUST have BOTH leading AND trailing slashes!
  // ✅ Correct: '/<repository>/'
  // ❌ Wrong:   '<repository>/'   (missing leading slash → 404 errors)
  // ❌ Wrong:   '/<repository>'   (missing trailing slash → 404 errors)
  // ❌ Wrong:   'repository'      (missing both → 404 errors)
  baseUrl: '/<repository>/',

  // GitHub Pages deployment settings
  organizationName: '<organization>', // GitHub org/user name
  projectName: '<repository>',        // Repository name
  trailingSlash: false,

  // Recommended: Fail build on broken links
  onBrokenLinks: 'throw',

  // Markdown configuration (Docusaurus v3.9+)
  // ⚠️ Use markdown.hooks, NOT root-level onBrokenMarkdownLinks
  markdown: {
    hooks: {
      onBrokenMarkdownLinks: 'warn',
    },
  },

  // ===========================================
  // i18n Configuration (for multi-locale builds)
  // ===========================================
  i18n: {
    defaultLocale: 'en',
    locales: ['en', 'ur'],
    localeConfigs: {
      en: {
        label: 'English',
        direction: 'ltr',
        htmlLang: 'en-US',
      },
      ur: {
        label: 'اردو',
        direction: 'rtl',
        htmlLang: 'ur-PK',
      },
    },
  },

  // ... rest of your config
};

module.exports = config;

3. Homepage Redirect

File: src/pages/index.js

import React from 'react';
import {Redirect} from '@docusaurus/router';
import useBaseUrl from '@docusaurus/useBaseUrl';

export default function Home() {
  return <Redirect to={useBaseUrl('/docs')} />;
}

⚠️ Important: Always use useBaseUrl() for redirects to prevent double-slash issues with baseUrl.

4. RTL Support CSS

File: src/css/custom.css (add to existing)

/* RTL Support for Urdu */
[dir='rtl'] {
  text-align: right;
}

[dir='rtl'] .navbar__items {
  flex-direction: row-reverse;
}

[dir='rtl'] .pagination-nav {
  flex-direction: row-reverse;
}

/* Code blocks stay LTR */
[dir='rtl'] pre,
[dir='rtl'] code {
  direction: ltr;
  text-align: left;
}

5. Input Variables

Usage Instructions

Step 1: Run Quick Setup

# Option A: Run the quick setup script above
# Option B: Manually create files from Bundled Resources section

Step 2: Update Docusaurus Config

Replace placeholders in docusaurus.config.js:

// Before
url: 'https://<organization>.github.io',
baseUrl: '/<repository>/',
organizationName: '<organization>',
projectName: '<repository>',

// After (example)
url: 'https://my-org.github.io',
baseUrl: '/physical-ai-book/',  // ⚠️ MUST have both slashes!
organizationName: 'my-org',
projectName: 'physical-ai-book',

Step 3: Enable GitHub Pages

1. Go to repository Settings → Pages
2. Under "Build and deployment", select Source: GitHub Actions
3. Save changes

Step 4: Push and Deploy

git add .
git commit -m "feat: add GitHub Pages deployment with i18n support"
git push origin main

The workflow will automatically build all locales and deploy.

Verification Checklist

• .github/workflows/deploy.yml exists with node-version: 20
• .github/workflows/deploy.yml branches: matches your default branch (main OR master)
• .github/workflows/deploy.yml has NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096
• docusaurus.config.js has correct url, baseUrl, organizationName, projectName
• baseUrl has BOTH leading AND trailing slashes: '/<repo>/'
• src/pages/index.js uses useBaseUrl() for redirect (not hardcoded path)
• markdown.hooks.onBrokenMarkdownLinks (not root-level config)
• docusaurus.config.js has i18n config with all locales
• i18n/ur/ directory exists with translated content
• GitHub Pages is enabled in repository settings
• Source is set to "GitHub Actions"
• First deployment completed successfully
• English site accessible at https://<org>.github.io/<repo>/
• Urdu site accessible at https://<org>.github.io/<repo>/ur/

Troubleshooting

Build Fails

# Test build locally first
npm run build

# If memory error, increase heap size
NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096 npm run build

i18n Build Issues

# Build specific locale only (for debugging)
npm run build -- --locale en

# Check locale directory exists
ls -la i18n/ur/

Urdu/RTL Not Rendering

• Verify direction: 'rtl' in locale config
• Check font imports in src/css/custom.css
• Ensure i18n/ur/ directory has translated content

Requirements

• Node.js 20+ (required - Docusaurus 3.9+ dropped Node 18 support)
• Docusaurus 3.9+
• GitHub repository with Pages enabled

Environment Variables

The workflow includes essential environment variables:

env:
  NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096  # Required for i18n/Urdu builds

This is critical for multi-locale builds which consume significantly more memory during compilation.

Related

• Docusaurus Deployment Docs
• Docusaurus i18n Docs
• GitHub Pages Documentation
• ADR-001: Deployment Infrastructure Stack
• ADR-003: Translation & Internationalization Approach