---
id: b83b91fd-f161-4b1f-af8c-a735351379a9
title: '404: emit branded 404.html and serve it on unknown paths'
state: closed
labels:
- ui
assignees: []
milestone: null
created: 2026-10-27T17:24:52.418458801Z
updated: 2026-10-27T17:45:41.701471997Z
---
## What

`dist/` has no `404.html`, and `serve` falls back to a bare stub (`src/serve.rs:418`) that differs from built pages:

- no footer/brand links
- stale nav (shows `tasks` even when the built nav hides it)
- only `not found` / `Nothing here.`

On Cloudflare Pages and nginx, unknown paths show the host's default 404 instead of the site.

## Reproduced

```
ls /tmp/rev/404.html          # missing
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:39320/nope   # stub page
```

## Impact

Breaks the "one shape" requirement and looks broken at the most visible failure state.

## Fix

- Emit a branded `404.html` through the normal layout (nav/footer/provenance; empty-ish body).
- `serve`: for unknown paths, serve `404.html` with status 404 if present; keep the stub only as a fallback.
- Ensure `GET /` and real files still 200; add tests for status + footer + nav consistency.