Preview Import

Open and verify imported content in local development server.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

You have generated HTML file (from generate-import-html)
Ready to preview in browser and verify rendering
Need to compare with original page structure

Invoked by: page-import skill (Step 5)

Prerequisites

From previous skills, you need:

✅ HTML file at correct path (from generate-import-html)
✅ Images folder in same directory
✅ screenshot.png from scrape-webpage (for comparison)
✅ documentPath from metadata.json (for URL construction)

Related Skills

page-import - Orchestrator that invokes this skill
generate-import-html - Provides HTML file to preview
scrape-webpage - Provides screenshot for comparison

Preview Workflow

Step 1: Start Development Server with HTML Folder Flag

Determine the folder from metadata.json:

Look at paths.dirPath from metadata.json (e.g., /us)
This is the root folder containing your imported HTML file

Command:

aem up --html-folder {dirPath}

Examples based on imported content location:

HTML File Location	Command	Preview URL
`us/en.plain.html`	`aem up --html-folder us`	`http://localhost:3000/us/en`
`products/widget.plain.html`	`aem up --html-folder products`	`http://localhost:3000/products/widget`
`blog/2024/post.plain.html`	`aem up --html-folder blog`	`http://localhost:3000/blog/2024/post`

Why this is required:

Without --html-folder, AEM CLI proxies requests to the remote server
The remote server doesn't have your locally imported content
Result: 404 "Page not found" errors

Step 2: Navigate in Browser

For most files, use the document path directly:

http://localhost:3000${documentPath}

Example:

HTML file: us/en/about.plain.html
URL: http://localhost:3000/us/en/about

IMPORTANT: For index files, use / instead of /index:

If file is: index.plain.html
Preview at: http://localhost:3000/
NOT: http://localhost:3000/index

Note: If you used --html-folder flag (e.g., aem up --html-folder drafts), prepend that folder to the URL:

File: drafts/test.plain.html
URL: http://localhost:3000/drafts/test

Use paths.documentPath from metadata.json, but for index files ensure the path is / not /index

Step 3: Verify Rendering

Check the following:

✅ Blocks render with correct styling
✅ Layout matches original page structure (compare to screenshot.png)
✅ Images load (or show appropriate placeholders)
✅ No raw HTML visible
✅ Metadata appears in page source (view source, check <meta> tags)
✅ Section styling applied correctly

Step 4: Compare with Original

Side-by-side comparison:

Open ./import-work/screenshot.png alongside browser preview
Check that content structure matches
Verify blocks decorated correctly
Confirm section boundaries align
Validate styling consistency

Troubleshooting

Blocks don't render correctly:

Check HTML structure matches expected format
Verify block names match exactly (case-sensitive)
Review ../content-driven-development/references/html-structure.md for format guidance

Images not loading:

Verify images folder is in same directory as HTML file
Check image paths are ./images/... format
Ensure images were copied correctly from ./import-work/images/

Raw HTML visible:

Block name might not match existing block in project
Check browser console for JavaScript errors
Verify block exists in blocks/ directory

Metadata not in page source:

Check metadata block is at end of HTML file
View page source and search for <meta> tags in <head>
Verify metadata properties match expected format

Dev server not running:

Start server with aem up
Check for port conflicts (default 3000)
Verify you're in correct project directory

Page not found (404):

Most common cause: Missing --html-folder flag - restart server with aem up --html-folder {dirPath}
Verify HTML file exists at expected path
Check documentPath from metadata.json matches URL
For index files, use / not /index
Check terminal output confirms "Serving HTML files from folder: {folder}"

Output

This skill provides:

✅ Verified preview that matches original page structure
✅ Visual confirmation of correct rendering
✅ Validated block decoration
✅ Confirmed metadata presence

Import complete when all verification points pass.

preview-import