fix(academy): hide academy pages until content is ready

[waleedlatif1]

Summary

• Hide all /academy/* routes by adding an ACADEMY_ENABLED flag in the root academy layout that calls notFound() when disabled
• Comment out Academy link in footer and both "Start Sim Academy" CTAs on the partners page
• All changes are marked with TODO comments for easy re-enabling

Test plan

• Visit /academy — should show 404
• Visit /academy/sim-foundations — should show 404
• Check footer — no Academy link visible
• Check /partners page — no "Start Sim Academy" buttons visible

[vercel]

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
docs	Ready	Preview, Comment	Mar 30, 2026 5:12am

[cursor]

PR Summary

Low Risk
Low risk: changes are limited to marketing/navigation and a simple route gate that intentionally forces /academy/* to 404 until re-enabled.

Overview
Disables public access to Sim Academy by gating the /academy layout behind an ACADEMY_ENABLED flag that calls notFound() when disabled, making all /academy/* routes return 404.

Removes user entry points by commenting out the Academy footer link and both "Start Sim Academy" CTAs on the /partners landing page, with TODOs to re-enable later.

^{Written by Cursor Bugbot for commit 1a55f6e. Configure here.}

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR hides all /academy/* routes by calling notFound() in the root academy layout and removes academy-referencing CTAs from the partners page and footer until content is ready for public launch.

• academy/layout.tsx: Adds ACADEMY_ENABLED = false constant with a notFound() guard — a correct and clean Next.js App Router approach; TODO comment makes re-enabling straightforward
• (landing)/partners/page.tsx: Comments out two "Start Sim Academy" <Link> components; however the bottom "Ready to get started?" section still fully renders with Academy-referencing text and no button, leaving a dead-end section visible to visitors
• (home)/components/footer/footer.tsx: Academy link correctly commented out from the Resources column
• All changes are marked with TODO: Uncomment when academy is public comments for easy discovery

Confidence Score: 5/5

Safe to merge — the 404 guard is correctly implemented and all remaining findings are P2 quality/UX suggestions.

Both findings are P2: the dead-end CTA section is a minor UX concern that won't cause errors, and the hardcoded flag vs env var is a developer convenience suggestion. Neither blocks merge.

apps/sim/app/(landing)/partners/page.tsx — the bottom CTA section still renders Academy text without a button.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
apps/sim/app/academy/layout.tsx	Adds ACADEMY_ENABLED=false guard that calls notFound() — correct Next.js App Router approach, but uses a hardcoded constant instead of an environment variable.
apps/sim/app/(landing)/partners/page.tsx	Comments out two Academy CTAs, but the bottom "Ready to get started?" section still renders with Academy-referencing text and no actionable button, leaving a dead-end UX.
apps/sim/app/(home)/components/footer/footer.tsx	Academy link correctly commented out from the Resources footer list with no side-effects.

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A[User visits /academy/*] --> B{ACADEMY_ENABLED?}
    B -- false --> C[notFound called]
    C --> D[Next.js 404 page]
    B -- true --> E[AcademyLayout renders children]
    E --> F[Academy page content]

    G[User visits /partners] --> H[PartnersPage renders]
    H --> I[Hero section]
    I -- Start Sim Academy button commented out --> J[Only Learn more anchor shown]
    H --> K[Bottom CTA section]
    K -- button commented out --> L[Section renders Academy text but no button]

    M[Footer Resources column] --> N[Academy link commented out]
    N --> O[Link not rendered]

Loading

Comments Outside Diff (1)

1. apps/sim/app/(landing)/partners/page.tsx, line 269-287 (link)

   Dead-end CTA section with no actionable path

   The bottom "Ready to get started?" section still renders with the Academy-referencing description text — "Complete Sim Academy to earn your first certification and unlock partner benefits. It's free to start — no credit card required." — but the only action button is now commented out. This leaves visitors with a heading and a call-to-action paragraph but no button to click, which looks broken.

   Consider either:

   1. Commenting out or replacing the entire <section> content (heading + description + button) until Academy is ready, or
   2. Replacing the button with a different CTA (e.g. linking to /partners sign-up or a contact form) so the section still has a purpose.

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "fix(academy): hide academy pages until c..." | Re-trigger Greptile}