Fix root path redirect to /en for Safari caching issue

[Copilot]

📌 Fixes

Resolves issue where Safari redirects kubestellar.io to /docs instead of /en due to cached 301 redirects.

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📝 Summary of Changes

Safari aggressively caches 301 permanent redirects. Users with cached redirects from a previous configuration continue redirecting to /docs instead of the correct /en landing page.

Added explicit root path handling in middleware to override cached redirects using HTTP 307 (temporary redirect).

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Changes Made

• Added explicit root path check in src/middleware.ts before i18n middleware
• Changed redirect status from implicit 301 to explicit 307 to prevent browser caching
• Verified TypeScript compilation and linting

Technical change:

// Explicitly handle root path to ensure consistent redirect to /en
if (request.nextUrl.pathname === "/") {
  const url = request.nextUrl.clone();
  url.pathname = `/${defaultLocale}`;
  return NextResponse.redirect(url, 307); // Prevents aggressive caching
}

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Checklist

• I have reviewed the project's contribution guidelines.
• I have written unit tests for the changes (if applicable).
• I have updated the documentation (if applicable).
• I have tested the changes locally and ensured they work as expected.
• My code follows the project's coding standards.

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Screenshots or Logs (if applicable)

N/A - Middleware redirect behavior change

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👀 Reviewer Notes

Using 307 instead of 301/302 ensures browsers don't cache the redirect. This allows users with stale Safari caches to receive the correct redirect after deployment. The check runs before intlMiddleware to ensure precedence.

Expected behavior post-deployment:

• kubestellar.io → kubestellar.io/en ✓
• kubestellar.io/docs → unchanged ✓
• docs.kubestellar.io → kubestellar.io/docs ✓

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

• fonts.googleapis.com
  • Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node node /home/REDACTED/work/docs/docs/node_modules/.bin/next build (dns block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>bug: When I go to kubestellar.io in safari, i get redirected to kubestellar.io/docs. When i go to kubestellar.io in chrome, i go to kubestellar.io/en. Chrome is behaving correctly, safari is not</issue_title>
<issue_description>### Describe the bug

When I go to kubestellar.io in safari, i get redirected to kubestellar.io/docs. When i go to kubestellar.io in chrome, i go to kubestellar.io/en. Chrome is behaving correctly, safari is not

Output from KubeStellar-Snapshot.sh

No response

Steps To Reproduce

open safari and go to kubestellar.io - observe redirect to kubestellar.io/docs - this is wrong

open chrome and go to kubestellar.io - observe redirect to kubestellar.io/en - this is right

open either browser and go to kubestellar.io/docs - both redirect to kubestellar.io/docs - this is correct.

Expected Behavior

go to kubestellar.io and redirect to kubestellar.io/en landing page

go to kubestellar.io/docs and get kubestellar.io/docs page

Want to contribute?

• I would like to work on this issue.

Additional Context

No response</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes bug: When I go to kubestellar.io in safari, i get redirected to kubestellar.io/docs. When i go to kubestellar.io in chrome, i go to kubestellar.io/en. Chrome is behaving correctly, safari is not #414

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[clubanderson]

@naman9271 @btwshivam ptal - this fixes one of the issues that came from adding the docs redirect last week

[clubanderson]

the preview lgtm, I did not hear any feedback from @btwshivam or @naman9271 so I will assume this fix is acceptable.

[github-actions]

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