Verify live GitHub Pages deployment end to end

[johnnygreco]

Objective

Configure and verify the repository's live GitHub Pages deployment after the GitHub Actions workflow has merged to main, proving that the published Zensical docs page is fully functional.

Context

• Tracker: GitHub goal delivery: convert repo from GitLab to GitHub #2
• Self-contained context: GitHub Pages was not configured at tracker creation time (GET /repos/NVIDIA/OpenShell-Research/pages returned 404). The repository has admin access available through gh, Actions are enabled, and official GitHub Pages actions are allowed. The docs site is Zensical-generated from docs/ into site/. Backward compatibility is not required.
• Supporting links: GitHub goal delivery: convert repo from GitLab to GitHub #2 and the merged PRs for Add GitHub Actions CI and Pages deployment #3 and Update repository docs for GitHub-native workflow #4.

Scope

• In scope: ensure repo Pages settings use GitHub Actions as the build/deployment source; inspect the main deployment workflow run; smoke-test the live Pages URL and important pages/assets; update the tracker with final evidence.
• Non-goals: broad content rewrites or workflow redesign unless verification exposes a defect.
• Backward compatibility: do not support GitLab Pages.
• Dependencies: Add GitHub Actions CI and Pages deployment #3 and Update repository docs for GitHub-native workflow #4 must merge first.
• Sequencing: final implementation/verification issue before closing the tracker.

Implementation Notes

Use the GitHub API/CLI to inspect or configure Pages. Use Actions run logs/status to verify the deploy job. Smoke-test at least the homepage, Dev Notes listing, one Dev Note post, research runtime page, favicon/brand assets, and generated Dev Notes cards/bylines. If the live site fails because of repo/organization policy, record the exact API response and run evidence in #2.

Acceptance Criteria

• GitHub Pages is configured for the repository with GitHub Actions deployment.
• The latest main Pages workflow completes successfully.
• The live Pages URL returns HTTP 200 for the homepage and selected internal pages/assets.
• Smoke checks verify generated Dev Notes cards/bylines and site navigation/search assets are present in published output.
• Tracker GitHub goal delivery: convert repo from GitLab to GitHub #2 has final status, validation evidence, and any known residual risks.

Required Validation

• Inspect Pages API settings and latest Actions run status.
• Run live HTTP smoke checks against the Pages URL for key pages/assets.
• Run scripts/build-docs.sh locally if a verification defect requires a code/config fix.

PR Expectations

If verification requires code/config changes, open a focused PR with validation evidence. If no code changes are required, close the issue with a verification comment and update tracker #2 directly.

[johnnygreco]

Starting final verification after PR #6 and PR #7 have merged. Current Pages configuration is build_type=workflow with URL https://psychic-adventure-4zpjp44.pages.github.io/. I will wait for the latest main Docs workflow to complete, inspect Pages settings/deployment evidence, smoke-test live pages/assets/generated content, and update tracker #2 with final evidence.

[johnnygreco]

Final verification complete.

Evidence:

• GitHub Pages API: url=https://psychic-adventure-4zpjp44.pages.github.io/, build_type=workflow, source=main /, public=false.
• Latest main Docs run: 28121432309 for f95d973 completed successfully.
• Latest Pages deployment: 5185802408 is success with environment_url=https://psychic-adventure-4zpjp44.pages.github.io/.
• Live endpoint behavior: unauthenticated requests to the homepage and brand asset return 302 to GitHub Pages auth with x-pages-private: 1, which matches the private Pages configuration.
• Deployed artifact verification: downloaded the exact github-pages artifact from run 28121432309, extracted it, served it locally, and got HTTP 200 for /, /dev-notes/, /dev-notes/posts/2026-06-05-making-dev-notes-repeatable/, /research/runtime/, /assets/brand/favicon.svg, and /search.json.
• Artifact content verification: found OpenShell Research homepage content, Dev Notes listing cards, Dev Note post byline, search index content, and brand asset references/files.
• Repository checks: no stale GitLab references found in README.md docs zensical.toml scripts .github; final main diff is limited to adding .github/workflows/docs.yml, deleting .gitlab-ci.yml, and updating README.md.
• Final holistic reviewers returned clean for CI/deployment integration and documentation-site functionality.

No code/config changes were required for this verification issue.