The Ranchers Guide

Unofficial fan-made guide site for The Ranchers (Early Access: July 30, 2026). Static site, deployed via Cloudflare Pages.

Structure

• Root .html files: top-level pages.
• guides/: long-form guide articles.
• database/: searchable data pages.
• tools/: interactive static tools.
• assets/: shared CSS, JS, images, icons, and social preview art.
• zh/: Simplified Chinese core pages with their own canonical URLs and search index.

Search Indexes

Search is prebuilt for both locales. After changing searchable English or Chinese content, run:

node scripts/build-search-index.cjs
node scripts/build-search-index.cjs --check

The generator writes search-index.json for English and zh/search-index.json for Simplified Chinese. The --check mode rebuilds both indexes in memory and fails if either committed file has drifted.

Map Data

data/locations.json is the source of truth for the 29-place English directory and the 13 markers shared by both map pages. After changing a location, run:

node scripts/build-locations.cjs
node scripts/build-search-index.cjs
node scripts/check-map.cjs

Do not edit generated marker blocks in map.html or zh/map.html, or the generated English directory block in map.html, directly. Keep uncertain coordinates approximate and preserve locale-specific marker targets where the Chinese page links to a translated answer instead of the English directory.

Building Requirements

Native-build crafting references live in data/build-recipes.json. They contain selected interpreted recipe ingredients, workshop requirements and original item names, not raw game files or runtime availability claims. node scripts/build-crafting-reference.cjs regenerates the bilingual crafting/building reference blocks; --check verifies synchronization. Historical observations remain separate from configuration records.

data/building-checklists.json is the source for the bilingual construction-guide and ranch-checklist requirement tables. Each building tier gets a separate row; historical quantities stay labeled. Optional material tracking retains browser-local progress.

Run node scripts/build-building-requirements.cjs after changing the data or table renderer, then node scripts/build-search-index.cjs and node scripts/check-ranch-checklist.cjs. Use --check on the requirements generator to check generated blocks without writing them.

Shop References

data/build-shops.json contains selected vendor listings, seasonal sections and shop material requirements. Run node scripts/build-shop-reference.cjs, node scripts/build-crafting-reference.cjs and node scripts/build-database.cjs, then rebuild search. Store conditions are separate from recipes and do not establish stock, prices or unlock timing. Unmatched vehicle references remain labeled rather than guessed.

Equipment References

data/build-equipment.json supplies seasonal water/electricity configuration to the existing utility guides. Run node scripts/build-equipment-reference.cjs, rebuild shop references and database navigation, then rebuild search. Its values have no verified unit or settlement interval and must not be converted into daily output or bills.

Consumable References

data/build-consumables.json supplies exact bilingual names, energy/health fields and explicit drink flags to the existing resources guides. Run node scripts/build-consumable-reference.cjs, rebuild shop references, then rebuild search. Missing flags remain unknown; configured restore values do not establish actual eating effects, availability or animal yields.

Farm Equipment

data/build-farm-equipment.json contains source-linked farm-tool names and nullable seasonal configuration. node scripts/build-farm-equipment.cjs combines these with data/build-recipes.json into the existing bilingual farming guides. Regenerate crafting references, database navigation and search afterward. Grid parameters do not establish tile coverage; absent water/power fields are not zero. Keep recipe and equipment search answers deduplicated while retaining old anchors.

Fertilizer References

The three fertilizer inputs in data/crops.json retain source-linked names, intended-use descriptions, energy and held/stacking settings. Regenerate crop pages, shop references, database navigation, knowledge and search indexes after editing them. node scripts/check-fertilizer-reference.cjs verifies profile links and exact-name search. File descriptions are not tested effects; empty localization descriptions remain unknown, historical prices remain separate, and the official fertilizer warning stays linked.

Resource References

data/build-resources.json stores eight exact bilingual resource definitions, inventory configuration and nullable Energy/Health fields. Run node scripts/build-resource-reference.cjs, node scripts/build-materials.cjs, node scripts/build-shop-reference.cjs, node scripts/build-database.cjs, node scripts/build-knowledge-index.cjs and node scripts/build-search-index.cjs. Material profiles join every matching recipe ID/quantity from data/build-recipes.json; water, energy and fuel use the existing resources guide. Internal prices remain private; flags do not establish runtime selling, and missing stats are not zero. Verify with node scripts/check-resource-reference.cjs.

Local Preview Server

Use the repository preview server so canonical extensionless routes behave like Cloudflare Pages:

node scripts/serve-local.cjs

Open http://127.0.0.1:4176/. Do not use python -m http.server; it returns 404 for valid routes such as /guides/beginners-guide because the source file is named beginners-guide.html.

Pre-Launch Rule

Do not publish unverified game numbers as final data. Use pending/TBD copy until values are confirmed from the release build or an official source.