blog plugin: .authors.yml - avatar - relative path for local resource

[AmebaBrain]

It looks like for the blog plugin, in .authors.yml file the avatar attribute must be specified as an url to the existing resource. Because when user is displayed in different places - list of posts, filter by category, etc. it's referenced by different dynamically generated urls.

In sources for the blog of the mkdocs-material itself they are also set as an absolute url

mkdocs-material/docs/blog/.authors.yml

Lines 1 to 6 in 09f817d

	authors:
	squidfunk:
	name: Martin Donath
	description: Creator
	avatar: https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/932156
	url: https://github.com/squidfunk

If you try to refer to a local resource, as when you refer to other sibling files from within markdown, you get an error, when the user info is displayed in a different context/view.

WARNING -  [16:26:52] "GET /blog/archive/2022/assets/images/author_thumbnail.jpeg HTTP/1.1" code 404  

This happens because file is actually inside assets/images folder. But because use currently opened one of the Archive index pages, mkdocs-material dynamically preprends the path to the resource with blog/archive/2022/.

[kamilkrzyskow]

Hello @AmebaBrain,
I'm not sure what is your question? This is a duplicate of:

• Linking to an image file for the avatar in authors.yml #5769

Yes, the resource needs to be an URL, not a relative path.

[AmebaBrain]

Yes, thanks for the exact pointer. Question is that to have it displayed correctly - you must refer to some resource available over the http(s). So, you have external dependency, even during local development for mkdocs serve.

Website built with mkdocs acts as a SPA. And any SPA allows to refer to local resource. I'm working on a new website which is not yet deployed. And during development I must specify an url to the image available over the internet..it's not handy.

I see that there was a general agreement to make it resolvable from relative path.

[squidfunk]

In the screenshot you posted I asked for a minimal reproduction in a new, proper, issue. Until now, nobody took the time to create one, so it doesn't seem that this is a big problem for users. If it is, investing a little time to make it easier for us to fix or implement it is a fair ask, from a maintainers perspective ✌️

[AmebaBrain]

@squidfunk , I've created a Feature request #7230 and attached to it reproduction archive. Attaching here as well, just in case.
9.5.25-post-author-display-bug.zip

Many thanks for a great project!