---
name: ARC build pipeline — make rebuild required after SCSS partial edits
description: Hakyll only tracks scss/main.scss, not its @import-ed partials. After editing any _*.scss partial, make build runs but SCSS doesn't recompile — site goes out with stale CSS. Use make rebuild after partial edits.
type: feedback
originSessionId: a156edbb-0c3d-4285-b3ed-f5a45b8dda66
---
# `make rebuild` — required after editing any SCSS partial

**Date observed:** 2026-05-05 (chamber-page polish session)

## The rule

After editing any `scss/AldineXXI/_*.scss` partial in ARC, run **`make rebuild`** rather than `make build`. Otherwise the site deploys with stale CSS (the SCSS won't be recompiled, only the markdown content pipeline will run).

## Why

`site.hs` rule for SCSS:

```haskell
match "scss/main.scss" $ do
    route $ gsubRoute "scss/main" (const "assets/css/style") ...
    compile $ getResourceString
        >>= withItemBody (unixFilter "sass" ["--stdin", "--style=compressed", "--load-path=scss"])
```

Hakyll's incremental build only re-runs the `compile` for files matched in `match`. The `match "scss/main.scss"` matches **only `scss/main.scss`**, not any of the partials it imports (`_compass.scss`, `_layout.scss`, `_sidenotes.scss`, etc.).

When a partial changes, `main.scss` itself hasn't changed, so Hakyll skips SCSS recompilation entirely. The deploy proceeds with the previously-compiled `_site/assets/css/style.css`, and the new SCSS rules are silently absent from production.

## How to apply

| Edited file | Right command |
|---|---|
| `content/**/*.md` only | `make build` |
| `templates/*.html` only | `make build` |
| `site.hs` | `make rebuild` (already documented) |
| `scss/main.scss` | `make build` (Hakyll detects it) |
| **Any `scss/AldineXXI/_*.scss` partial** | **`make rebuild`** |
| Mixed (markdown + partial) | `make rebuild` |

When in doubt, `make rebuild`. The cost (a few extra seconds) is much lower than the cost of a silent stale-CSS deploy.

## Diagnostic

If a recent SCSS rule appears absent from the deployed site, check `_site/assets/css/style.css` mtime and content:

```bash
ls -la _site/assets/css/style.css                           # mtime should be recent
grep -c '<some new selector you added>' _site/assets/css/style.css   # should be ≥ 1
```

If mtime is from before the partial edit OR the new selector isn't present, the rebuild was skipped. Run `make rebuild`.

## Possible upstream fix (deferred)

The cleanest long-term solution: change `site.hs` so Hakyll tracks SCSS partials as dependencies of `main.scss`. Hakyll has `makePatternDependency` and `match "scss/AldineXXI/*"` patterns that could express this. Out of scope for the moment — workaround (`make rebuild`) is sufficient. Worth flagging if the project CLAUDE.md gets a build-pipeline cleanup pass.

## Surface to CLAUDE.md

The project CLAUDE.md (`~/_Dev/animal-davidglidden-eu/CLAUDE.md`) currently says:

> ```
> make build               # Standard build, auto-deploys to CloudFlare + GitHub mirror
> make rebuild             # Clean rebuild, auto-deploys (use after site.hs changes)
> ```

The "use after site.hs changes" hint should extend to "use after `site.hs` or any SCSS partial changes." Steward to authorize the CLAUDE.md edit when convenient; until then this memory carries the rule.