HTML Directory Index Pages

Pulp Maven pre-generates HTML directory index pages when a repository version is finalized. Clients browsing a Maven repository at a directory URL (e.g. /pulp/maven/<base_path>/com/example/mylib/) receive a pre-built listing page served directly from storage, avoiding the more expensive on-demand query for large repositories.

How It Works

When finalize_new_version runs after content is added or removed, Pulp Maven generates an index.html ContentArtifact at every ancestor directory path touched by the change. The pulpcore content handler serves the pre-generated page when it finds an index.html entry at the requested path; directories unaffected by the version change continue to serve their existing pages.

Each page includes the name, size, and last-modified date of each direct child entry (files and subdirectories), matching the information produced by the on-demand fallback.

Content Type

The generated pages are stored as MavenIndexPage content units (type maven.index-page). They are visible through the standard Pulp content API and are deduplication-keyed on (path, sha256) so identical pages are reused across repository versions.