feat(blog): add rss feed issue article

content/blog/hugo/rss-git-and-ci.md

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+---
+title: Hugo RSS feed generation issue when running in CI
+description: Normal services resume after disruption
+date: 2025-04-28
+tags:
+- Forgejo
+- Hugo
+---
+
+## Introduction
+
+I just fixed an RSS feed generation that first started a month ago after
+migrating the CI job that builds my blog from a git hook in Gitolite to a
+workflow in Forgejo actions.
+
+## The issue
+
+I only realized this issue after not seeing yesterday's article pop in my
+[miniflux](https://miniflux.app/). It puzzled me when I realized that the [XML
+index file](https://www.adyxax.org/index.xml) was empty of any articles on the
+hosting server. I immediately checked the Forgejo actions workflow logs, but
+they did not show any error nor warning. Whatever was failing just failed
+silently.
+
+## Solving the issue
+
+I worked around the issue quickly by building the website locally on my
+workstation and seeing the XML index file properly populated. I redeployed this
+version of the website and refreshed my miniflux feed: it worked.
+
+I first theorized that I might be missing a build dependency on my Forgejo
+runners. It was disproved when connecting over SSH to the runner that ran the
+last build: cloning and building the website there produced a valid XML index
+file once again.
+
+I then added a `sleep` statement before the deployment step in the workflow file
+and pushed a commit so that I could inspect a CI run in progress. I manged to
+SSH on the runner, find my way to the temporary build directory and reproduce
+the issue there: whatever was happening was not intermittent.
+
+I therefore squinted my eyes a bit at the workflow and saw the
+`actions/checkout` step that innocuously starts all GitHub or Forgejo actions
+workflow. Having been bitten by this in the past, I knew it performed a shallow
+git clone by default so I followed my instinct to try a deep clone instead: this
+fixed the issue.
+
+With this information, I checked Hugo's documentation and figured I had to set
+`enableGitInfo = false` in my `config.toml` file. When enabled, Hugo uses git to
+figure out the last modification date of a file and this breaks the RSS feeds.
+
+Though I did not use git information anywhere in my templates, this still
+affected the logic that filters which articles show up in the feed. This
+particular configuration flag was a remnant from before [I wrote my own Hugo
+theme]({{< ref "ditching-the-heavy-hugo-theme.md" >}}): The theme I used once
+upon a time required this flag.
+
+## Conclusion
+
+I was disappointed that Hugo could fail silently on such trivial thing, but alas
+it was easy to solve.