GitHub Pages Cache Refresh

Problem

After merging the neural glow theme, GitHub Pages appeared to be “hours out of date” despite the automatic deployment working correctly. This was due to CDN/browser caching preventing users from seeing the updated theme.

Root Cause

  • GitHub Pages workflow was functioning correctly
  • Latest neural glow theme was deployed at 12:04:12Z
  • CDN and browser caching was serving old versions of CSS files

Solution Implemented

1. Cache Busting

Added timestamp-based cache busting to CSS files using Jekyll’s site.time variable:

/* Cache bust: 20250906111750 */

2. Manual Deployment Trigger

Enhanced the GitHub Pages workflow with a manual dispatch option:

  • Go to Actions > Deploy GitHub Pages
  • Click “Run workflow”
  • Optionally check “Force deployment to refresh cache”

3. Build Timestamping

Added build timestamps to help track deployment times and ensure cache refresh.

How to Force Cache Refresh

  1. Manual Workflow Dispatch: Navigate to GitHub Actions and manually trigger the “Deploy GitHub Pages” workflow
  2. Make a Small Change: Edit any file in the docs/ directory to trigger automatic deployment
  3. Browser Cache: Use Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R to hard refresh your browser

Prevention

The implemented cache-busting mechanism should prevent this issue in the future by ensuring each deployment generates CSS with unique timestamps.