[Bug]: Accidental archiving of about:blank breaks date order and prevents showing new archiving. #314
Description
ArchiveWeb.page Version
v0.15.3
What did you expect to happen? What happened instead?
When starting an archiving session via the "go" button on index.html or starting an archive on about:blank, I expect the archive to start cleanly and for new URLs to be correctly ordered by date.
However, sometimes about:blank gets inadvertently included in the archive with a timestamp (ts) of 0. While usually about:blank is not part of the archive and the first URL is, this occasional inclusion breaks date ordering and causes new URLs added afterward to seemingly not appear.
How can I tell it’s happened?
Querying the collection data via:
chrome-extension://fpeoodllldobpkbkabpblcfaogecpndd/w/api/c/${collectionId}?all=1
reveals an entry like:
{
"url": "about:blank",
"ts": 0,
...
}Additionally, the console throws this error:
Uncaught (in promise) RangeError: Invalid time value
at Date.toISOString ()
at mt (ui.js:136:2457)
...
Pointing to the following method:
function mt(e) {
try {
t = new Date(e.ts || [e.date]);
} catch (e) {}
const i = t && t instanceof Date ? bt(t.toISOString()) : "";
return {
date: t,
timestamp: i
}
}Step-by-step reproduction instructions
This issue appears rarely and intermittently. It seems related to starting archiving from about:blank rather than a direct URL.
Here is a rough visual explanation of a typical navigation sequence that can lead to the issue:
1. Start recording on about:blank
(This blank start allows capturing URLs that perform redirects)
↓
2. Navigate to https://www.example.com/
(The main site loads and is archived)
↓
3. Navigate back to about:blank
(User returns to a blank page before entering a new URL)
↓
4. Paste a URL in the address bar, e.g. https://www.example.com/redirect
(This URL redirects to a final destination)
↓
5. The redirect leads to https://www.example.com/home
(The redirected page is loaded and archived)
Why start from about:blank?
- Beginning on about:blank lets you capture intermediate and redirected URLs cleanly.
- It ensures all navigation steps—including redirects—are included in the archive.
- This approach is useful for complex sites where the final destination is not immediately loaded.
Other than that, no consistent repro steps. The presence of the about:blank URL with a timestamp of 0 appears to be the root cause.
Additional details
I "fixed" my archive by injecting code in console to identify the corrupted about:blank page with ts=0 and deleting it manually (though this did not update resources tab, also unsure if this will tamper or affect export logic):
(async () => {
try {
// Extract collection ID
const urlObj = new URL(window.location.href);
const sourceParam = urlObj.searchParams.get('source');
const collectionId = sourceParam ? sourceParam.replace('local://', '') : null;
if (!collectionId) throw new Error('Collection ID not found in URL');
// Fetch collection pages data
const fetchUrl = `chrome-extension://fpeoodllldobpkbkabpblcfaogecpndd/w/api/c/${collectionId}?all=1`;
const response = await fetch(fetchUrl);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Failed fetching collection. Status: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
if (!data.pages || !Array.isArray(data.pages)) throw new Error('Pages array missing in collection data');
// Create or get floating UI container
let container = document.getElementById('page-delete-ui');
if (!container) {
container = document.createElement('div');
container.id = 'page-delete-ui';
container.style.position = 'fixed';
container.style.bottom = '10px';
container.style.right = '10px';
container.style.width = '400px';
container.style.maxHeight = '500px';
container.style.overflowY = 'auto';
container.style.backgroundColor = 'rgba(255,255,255,0.95)';
container.style.border = '1px solid #ccc';
container.style.padding = '10px';
container.style.fontFamily = 'Arial, sans-serif';
container.style.fontSize = '13px';
container.style.zIndex = '1000000';
container.style.borderRadius = '6px';
container.style.boxShadow = '0 2px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.2)';
document.body.appendChild(container);
}
// Clear previous contents
container.innerHTML = `<h3 style="margin-top:0;">Pages in Collection: ${collectionId}</h3>`;
// Helper to format timestamp to readable string
const formatTs = ts => {
try {
return new Date(ts).toLocaleString();
} catch {
return 'Invalid Date';
}
};
// Render each page's info and delete button
data.pages.forEach(page => {
const pageDiv = document.createElement('div');
pageDiv.style.marginBottom = '10px';
pageDiv.style.paddingBottom = '6px';
pageDiv.style.borderBottom = '1px solid #ddd';
pageDiv.id = `page-${page.id}`;
pageDiv.innerHTML = `
<div><strong>Title:</strong> ${page.title || '(No title)'}</div>
<div><strong>URL:</strong> <a href="${page.url}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">${page.url}</a></div>
<div><strong>Timestamp:</strong> ${formatTs(page.ts)}</div>
`;
// Create delete button
const delBtn = document.createElement('button');
delBtn.textContent = 'Delete';
delBtn.style.marginTop = '6px';
delBtn.style.padding = '4px 8px';
delBtn.style.backgroundColor = '#e74c3c';
delBtn.style.color = 'white';
delBtn.style.border = 'none';
delBtn.style.borderRadius = '3px';
delBtn.style.cursor = 'pointer';
delBtn.onclick = async () => {
const confirmed = window.confirm(`Confirm deletion of page:\n\n${page.title}\n${page.url}`);
if (!confirmed) return;
try {
delBtn.disabled = true;
delBtn.textContent = 'Deleting...';
const deleteUrl = `chrome-extension://fpeoodllldobpkbkabpblcfaogecpndd/w/api/c/${collectionId}/page/${page.id}`;
const delResp = await fetch(deleteUrl, { method: 'DELETE' });
if (delResp.ok) {
container.removeChild(pageDiv);
alert('Page deleted successfully.');
} else {
alert(`Failed to delete page. Status: ${delResp.status}`);
delBtn.disabled = false;
delBtn.textContent = 'Delete';
}
} catch (err) {
alert('Error deleting page: ' + err.message);
delBtn.disabled = false;
delBtn.textContent = 'Delete';
}
};
pageDiv.appendChild(delBtn);
container.appendChild(pageDiv);
});
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error loading or deleting pages:', error);
alert('Error: ' + error.message);
}
})();Since this bug disrupts/breaks the chronological order in the archive UI and effectively blocks new URLs from showing after about:blank is inserted due to the invalid timestamp. These may be related issues: