THE GITHTML FIELD GUIDE
Why an HTML file works locally but fails after sharing
Your local preview may supply assets, routes, APIs, and development scripts that are absent from the shared file. Inspect the generated HTML and its dependency paths, then test the artifact away from the original project directory. Package essential content deliberately instead of assuming that a successful preview proves portability.
List what the preview provides
A development server can make a sparse HTML shell appear complete. It may serve generated styles, resolve route requests, inject scripts, or proxy an API. The browser's local state can also supply cached resources or a signed-in session. When another reader opens only the HTML, those supporting conditions may not exist.
Write down the exact preview command, output directory, and file being shared. Confirm that you are not committing a template instead of the built artifact. Check whether the generator writes assets into a sibling folder that was omitted from the handoff. A filename ending in .html says little about how much of the document it actually contains.
Remove environmental assumptions
Search for localhost URLs, absolute filesystem paths, root-relative asset paths, and runtime data requests. Each is a clue that the file expects a surrounding environment. Do not fix a local API request by replacing it with a public endpoint unless publishing that data is authorized and remote access is genuinely part of the intended design.
For a reading artifact, export the data and narrative into static HTML during authoring. Inline the essential CSS, use local fonts, and handle important visuals explicitly. A website can remain a multi-file application while also offering a separate portable report. The two outputs serve different purposes and do not need identical implementation details.
Test the delivered package
Inspect the exact committed artifact in its intended reading environment, with optional scripts and remote resources off for the baseline. Moving a copy away from the original project directory can reveal accidental nearby-file dependencies during local review. This is a diagnostic check, not proof that every app will resolve files identically.
- Confirm the shared file contains the actual report text.
- Inventory every stylesheet, image, script, frame, and data request.
- Remove localhost and machine-specific filesystem references.
- Check the output rather than the development template.
- Verify the main conclusion without remote resources.
- Record remaining dependencies and avoid claiming whole-site caching or automatic asset mirroring by gitHtml.
Sources and further reading
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