AOSSIE-Org / AOSSIE-Org/OrgExplorer

[BUG]: Refreshing on any non-root route (e.g. /settings) returns GitHub Pages 404

Open
#105 5 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
bug
Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
34
Forks
92
Avg merge
8d 7h
Merged PRs (30d)
12

Description

### Bug Description

Navigating to any page other than the home page (e.g. Settings) works fine
when reached by clicking links inside the app. However, refreshing the
browser while on that route, or opening that URL directly/in a new tab,
returns GitHub Pages' native 404 page instead of loading the app -and it
does not redirect back to the home page either.

This is likely because the app uses client-side routing (react-router-dom),
but GitHub Pages has no rewrite rule to fall back to index.html for unknown
paths, so direct requests to non-root routes 404 at the hosting level before
React Router ever gets a chance to handle them.

### Steps to Reproduce

1. Go to https://orgexplorer.aossie.org/
2. Click through to the Settings page (or any non-home page)
3. Refresh the browser (F5), or copy the current URL and open it in a new tab
4. Observe GitHub Pages' 404 "File not found" page instead of the app

### Logs and Screenshots

Image

### Environment Details

- OS: Windows 11
- Browser: Chrome 120
- Node.js: v24.13.0

### Impact

Medium - Feature works but has issues

### Code of Conduct

- [x] I have joined the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/hjUhu33uAn) and will post updates there
- [x] I have searched existing issues to avoid duplicates

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Inspect the deployment configuration and the react-router-dom route entry points; first reproduce the problem by refreshing /settings on the deployed GitHub Pages site. Done means direct visits and browser refreshes on /settings and other non-root routes load the app instead of GitHub Pages' 404 page.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
github, javascript, react
Domain
devops, frontend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
64/100

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