Preview Import

adobe/skills/plugins/aem/edge-delivery-services/skills/preview-import

by adobe940b8795c0dfApache-2.0197 starsListed Oct 9, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026Repository updated today

Use this when you need to preview and verify content you imported into a local AEM Edge Delivery Services (EDS, Franklin, Helix) dev server on localhost. Starts the dev server against the imported HTML, checks block rendering, inspects DOM structure, compares against the original page, and troubleshoots broken references and 404s.

Instructions onlySoftware Development
AI-generated overview

Verifies imported HTML content in a local AEM Edge Delivery Services dev server by previewing and comparing it to the original page.

What it does
This skill guides the agent through starting a local AEM Edge Delivery Services (Franklin/Helix) development server against imported HTML, using the aem up command with an --html-folder flag. It covers navigating to the preview URL, checking block rendering, DOM structure, images, metadata, and section styling, and comparing the result against a screenshot of the original page. It also provides troubleshooting steps for broken references, missing images, raw HTML, and 404 errors.
When to use it
Use it after HTML has been generated from an imported page and you are ready to preview and verify rendering in a browser. It is intended for comparing the local preview with the original page structure and for diagnosing rendering or 404 problems in the local dev server.
Requirements
Requires the AEM CLI (aem up) and a local AEM Edge Delivery Services project, plus an imported HTML file, an images folder, a screenshot.png from the scraping step, and metadata.json with path information. It ships no scripts; it is instructions only.

Preview Import

Open and verify imported content in local development server.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

  • You have generated HTML file (from generate-import-html)
  • Ready to preview in browser and verify rendering
  • Need to compare with original page structure

Invoked by: page-import skill (Step 5)

Prerequisites

From previous skills, you need:

  • ✅ HTML file at correct path (from generate-import-html)
  • ✅ Images folder in same directory
  • ✅ screenshot.png from scrape-webpage (for comparison)
  • ✅ documentPath from metadata.json (for URL construction)

Related Skills

  • page-import - Orchestrator that invokes this skill
  • generate-import-html - Provides HTML file to preview
  • scrape-webpage - Provides screenshot for comparison

Preview Workflow

Step 1: Start Development Server with HTML Folder Flag

Determine the folder from metadata.json:

  • Look at paths.dirPath from metadata.json (e.g., /us)
  • This is the root folder containing your imported HTML file

Command:

bash
aem up --html-folder {dirPath}

Examples based on imported content location:

HTML File LocationCommandPreview URL
us/en.plain.htmlaem up --html-folder ushttp://localhost:3000/us/en
products/widget.plain.htmlaem up --html-folder productshttp://localhost:3000/products/widget
blog/2024/post.plain.htmlaem up --html-folder bloghttp://localhost:3000/blog/2024/post

Why this is required:

  • Without --html-folder, AEM CLI proxies requests to the remote server
  • The remote server doesn't have your locally imported content
  • Result: 404 "Page not found" errors

Step 2: Navigate in Browser

For most files, use the document path directly:

http://localhost:3000${documentPath}

Example:

  • HTML file: us/en/about.plain.html
  • URL: http://localhost:3000/us/en/about

IMPORTANT: For index files, use / instead of /index:

If file is: index.plain.htmlPreview at: http://localhost:3000/NOT: http://localhost:3000/index

Note: If you used --html-folder flag (e.g., aem up --html-folder drafts), prepend that folder to the URL:

File: drafts/test.plain.htmlURL: http://localhost:3000/drafts/test

Use paths.documentPath from metadata.json, but for index files ensure the path is / not /index


Step 3: Verify Rendering

Check the following:

  • ✅ Blocks render with correct styling
  • ✅ Layout matches original page structure (compare to screenshot.png)
  • ✅ Images load (or show appropriate placeholders)
  • ✅ No raw HTML visible
  • ✅ Metadata appears in page source (view source, check <meta> tags)
  • ✅ Section styling applied correctly

Step 4: Compare with Original

Side-by-side comparison:

  1. Open ./import-work/screenshot.png alongside browser preview
  2. Check that content structure matches
  3. Verify blocks decorated correctly
  4. Confirm section boundaries align
  5. Validate styling consistency

Troubleshooting

Blocks don't render correctly:

  • Check HTML structure matches expected format
  • Verify block names match exactly (case-sensitive)
  • Review ../content-driven-development/references/html-structure.md for format guidance

Images not loading:

  • Verify images folder is in same directory as HTML file
  • Check image paths are ./images/... format
  • Ensure images were copied correctly from ./import-work/images/

Raw HTML visible:

  • Block name might not match existing block in project
  • Check browser console for JavaScript errors
  • Verify block exists in blocks/ directory

Metadata not in page source:

  • Check metadata block is at end of HTML file
  • View page source and search for <meta> tags in <head>
  • Verify metadata properties match expected format

Dev server not running:

  • Start server with aem up
  • Check for port conflicts (default 3000)
  • Verify you're in correct project directory

Page not found (404):

  • Most common cause: Missing --html-folder flag - restart server with aem up --html-folder {dirPath}
  • Verify HTML file exists at expected path
  • Check documentPath from metadata.json matches URL
  • For index files, use / not /index
  • Check terminal output confirms "Serving HTML files from folder: {folder}"

Output

This skill provides:

  • ✅ Verified preview that matches original page structure
  • ✅ Visual confirmation of correct rendering
  • ✅ Validated block decoration
  • ✅ Confirmed metadata presence

Import complete when all verification points pass.

Source and attribution

Source:adobe/skillsinplugins/aem/edge-delivery-services/skills/preview-importat commit940b879

License: Apache-2.0

Content belongs to its original authors. SourceWeft indexes it from a public repository.

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