Fix a recurring gotcha where scp'd static file changes to the Hugo site
weren't being picked up by the live URL. The interactive HTML artifact
at eric-turner.com/memex/signal-and-noise.html reverted to a stale
version TWICE because Hugo's `--poll 1s` file watcher doesn't reliably
detect changes to files in new static/ subdirectories — the file on
disk updates, but Hugo's in-memory cache stays stuck.
Root cause: Hugo runs as `hugo server --poll 1s` with a Docker bind
mount on the showcase directory. The file watcher catches top-level
changes but misses subsequent updates to subdirectories that weren't
present when Hugo first scanned static/. Result: first scp works
(Hugo discovers the new subdir), later scp updates are silently
ignored.
The durable fix: touch hugo.yaml after any scp. Hugo's config-file
watcher is separate from the static/ poll watcher and is reliable —
touching hugo.yaml triggers a full rebuild which invalidates the
stale static cache.
This script wraps scp + touch + an optional --verify that fetches the
live URL and compares the title and tab-count against the local file.
Use this instead of raw scp for any future deployments of the
interactive artifact.
The lesson is also recorded in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md under "Deploying
to eric-turner.com (Hugo + Strapi site)" so future sessions don't
repeat the same mistake.
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