Help option for Valentine extension does not open documentation

[Nina-1210]

Describe the bug
In the Flee My Valentine tutorial under Tutorials, when clicking the Help option from the context menu of blocks in the Valentine extension, no help page or documentation is displayed.

More Info: A similar issue (#4648) was previously resolved on 2022-02-18.

Steps to reproduce the behavior:
1.Navigate to Microsoft MakeCode Arcade.
2.Open Flee My Valentine tutorial under Tutorials section.
3.Click Help under Valentine extension and observe.

Actual behavior
Help option for Valentine extension does not open documentation.

Expected behavior
Clicking Help should open the corresponding help documentation page for the selected Valentine extension block in a new tab or window.

Screenshots

Additional context
1.OS: Windows 11 & Mac mini M2, Sequoia 15.7.2
2.Browser: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari
3.Arcade version : 2.1.20
4.Microsoft MakeCode version: 12.2.9

[github-actions]

Triage Summary

Issue Type: bug

Status: info-complete

Label(s): documentation, extension, tutorial

Duplicate Issue(s): #4648 (previously resolved for same tutorial/extension in 2022)

Likely Related: #7202 (Smurfy extension missing help), #7152 (Bundles extension missing help), #7110 (Encoders extension missing help), #7105 (Custom extension missing help), #7104 (Lines extension missing help), #6235 (Adventure category blocks missing help), #6234 (Carnival category blocks missing help)

Suggested Priority: p2

Complexity: low

Copilot Agent Ready: ✅ Yes

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Analysis

This is a bug in the Valentine extension (from arcade-tutorial-extensions/valentine) where the //% help annotations reference GitHub documentation paths (github:docs/send-valentine-with-arrows, github:docs/check-win-loss, github:docs/set-win-loss-width) but these help links are not resolving correctly when users click the Help option in the block context menu. The issue is that this is an external extension from microsoft/arcade-tutorial-extensions, not part of the core pxt-arcade repository. This is a regression of issue #4648 which was previously fixed in February 2022. The pattern suggests there may be a broader issue with help documentation for tutorial-specific extensions, as evidenced by multiple similar reports for other extensions (Smurfy, Bundles, Encoders, Custom, Lines).

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Duplicate & Related Issues

Duplicates:

• No help for "send valentine with 3 arrows" #4648 (exact duplicate from 2022, was previously fixed - this is a regression)

Related Issues:

• [Tutorials | Stack'em Smurfs] Missing help option for Smurfy extension #7202 (Smurfy extension missing help - same pattern)
• [Multiplayer Tutorials | Arrow Battle] Missing help icons for Bundles extension #7152 (Bundles extension missing help - assigned to jwunderl, p2)
• [Community Games | Space Rocks Revenge] Missing help icons for Encoders extension #7110 (Encoders extension missing help)
• [Community Games | Sophie's Castle Adventure] Missing Help Icons for Custom Extension Blocks #7105 (Custom extension missing help)
• [Advanced Livestream | Giraf-flight] Missing help icons for Lines extension #7104 (Lines extension missing help)
• There is no response when click help of blocks under Adventure Category #6235 (Adventure category blocks - no help response)
• There is no response when click help of blocks in Carnival Category #6234 (Carnival category blocks - no help response)

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Location Hints

This issue is in an external repository, not pxt-arcade itself:

• https://github.com/microsoft/arcade-tutorial-extensions/valentine/main.ts - Valentine extension source with //% help=github:docs/... annotations
• https://github.com/microsoft/arcade-tutorial-extensions/valentine/docs/ - Contains the help markdown files (send-valentine-with-arrows.md, check-win-loss.md, set-win-loss-width.md)

The Valentine extension is referenced in:

• /home/runner/work/pxt-arcade/pxt-arcade/docs/tutorials/valentine.md - Tutorial that uses the extension

The help path format github:docs/... in the extension's TypeScript annotations may need to be updated to the correct GitHub URL format for resolving help documentation from external extension repositories.

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Next Steps

Copilot Coding Agent Assessment

Can assign to Copilot Coding Agent: ⚠️ Yes, after clarification

Reasoning: The issue is in the external microsoft/arcade-tutorial-extensions repository, not pxt-arcade. The fix likely requires updating the help URL format in the Valentine extension's TypeScript annotations to properly reference the GitHub-hosted documentation. However, since this affects multiple tutorial extensions (7+ similar issues), a human should first determine if there's a systematic root cause in how pxt-core resolves help URLs for external extensions, or if each extension needs individual fixes. If it's the latter, a Copilot agent could fix the Valentine extension after understanding the correct help URL format.

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Recommended Actions:

1. Investigate if this is a regression caused by a change in how pxt-core resolves github:docs/... help URLs for external extensions
2. If this affects all tutorial extensions, consider a systematic fix in pxt-core
3. If individual extension fixes are needed, update the arcade-tutorial-extensions repository with correct help URL formats
4. Consider adding CI/CD checks to validate help URL resolution for extensions

🏴‍☠️ Ahoy! This treasure was crafted by pxt-arcade Issue Triage Assistant fer issue #7201 🗺️