These stages answer different questions. Treating one as evidence for another is a common way to ship an uninspected page.
| Stage | Command or action | What it proves | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local acceptance | arc blocklet run . and a browser | The selected local blocklet can be served and inspected on this machine | That it is formally published or available to a DID Space user |
| Build | arc blocklet build . | ARC can assemble a distributable artifact from the current directory | That readers saw the intended page or that a production deployment succeeded |
| Formal publish | Follow the project’s approved release path | A separately authorized production delivery occurred | That local direct-run testing was unnecessary |
Run locally first
arc blocklet run <path> validates the target directory, reuses or starts a local daemon, registers the blocklet’s parent directory for this process, and prints both a subdomain URL and a universal query URL. Use the printed URL for your browser; the host and port are machine-specific. To keep the source on a named instance across restarts, use arc service start --instance <name> --blocklet <path>.
This is the normal Web Device acceptance path. It is not a DID Space deployment. Open the page at a wide and narrow viewport, follow at least one internal link, and reload after an edit if the local result looks stale.
Build deliberately
arc blocklet build [dir] creates the packaged build material under <dir>/dist, including the AFS manifest and blocklet distribution metadata. The build command manages that output directory, so do not put hand-maintained source there or commit it unless your repository’s release process explicitly requires the generated artifact.
Static pre-rendering is normally enabled when the blocklet exposes a Web route. Its page cache/output behavior is separate from packaging dist; do not use a successful package build as a substitute for opening the rendered page.
Publish only as a separate, authorized path
Production publishing has its own identity, authorization, and release concerns. It may be appropriate after local acceptance and artifact verification, but it must not be used merely to discover whether a local layout works. For everyday documentation and site work, direct local run is the first test.
The local watcher can invalidate cache for registered parent directories and normally ignores generated/build directories. If a watcher cannot start, it can degrade without automatic refresh. A stale preview therefore calls for an explicit reload and source/path check, not an automatic deployment.
Use Run, check, and inspect for the first local chain, In-page review mode when the gates are green but the rendered page still needs human feedback, and Diagnose a site when the stages disagree.