diff --git a/swh/web/browse/utils.py b/swh/web/browse/utils.py
index bcb775fc..f4c252b9 100644
--- a/swh/web/browse/utils.py
+++ b/swh/web/browse/utils.py
@@ -1,712 +1,714 @@
 # Copyright (C) 2017-2021  The Software Heritage developers
 # See the AUTHORS file at the top-level directory of this distribution
 # License: GNU Affero General Public License version 3, or any later version
 # See top-level LICENSE file for more information
 
 import base64
 import stat
 import textwrap
 
 import magic
 import sentry_sdk
 
 from django.core.cache import cache
 from django.utils.html import escape
 from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
 
 from swh.web.common import archive, highlightjs
 from swh.web.common.exc import NotFoundExc
 from swh.web.common.utils import (
     browsers_supported_image_mimes,
     format_utc_iso_date,
     reverse,
     rst_to_html,
 )
 from swh.web.config import get_config
 
 
 def get_directory_entries(sha1_git):
     """Function that retrieves the content of a directory
     from the archive.
 
     The directories entries are first sorted in lexicographical order.
     Sub-directories and regular files are then extracted.
 
     Args:
         sha1_git: sha1_git identifier of the directory
 
     Returns:
         A tuple whose first member corresponds to the sub-directories list
         and second member the regular files list
 
     Raises:
         NotFoundExc if the directory is not found
     """
     cache_entry_id = "directory_entries_%s" % sha1_git
     cache_entry = cache.get(cache_entry_id)
 
     if cache_entry:
         return cache_entry
 
     entries = list(archive.lookup_directory(sha1_git))
     for e in entries:
         e["perms"] = stat.filemode(e["perms"])
         if e["type"] == "rev":
             # modify dir entry name to explicitly show it points
             # to a revision
             e["name"] = "%s @ %s" % (e["name"], e["target"][:7])
 
     dirs = [e for e in entries if e["type"] in ("dir", "rev")]
     files = [e for e in entries if e["type"] == "file"]
 
     dirs = sorted(dirs, key=lambda d: d["name"])
     files = sorted(files, key=lambda f: f["name"])
 
     cache.set(cache_entry_id, (dirs, files))
 
     return dirs, files
 
 
 def get_mimetype_and_encoding_for_content(content):
     """Function that returns the mime type and the encoding associated to
     a content buffer using the magic module under the hood.
 
     Args:
         content (bytes): a content buffer
 
     Returns:
         A tuple (mimetype, encoding), for instance ('text/plain', 'us-ascii'),
         associated to the provided content.
 
     """
     m = magic.Magic(mime=True, mime_encoding=True)
     mime_encoding = m.from_buffer(content)
     mime_type, encoding = mime_encoding.split(";")
     encoding = encoding.replace(" charset=", "")
     return mime_type, encoding
 
 
 # maximum authorized content size in bytes for HTML display
 # with code highlighting
 content_display_max_size = get_config()["content_display_max_size"]
 
 
 def _re_encode_content(mimetype, encoding, content_data):
     # encode textual content to utf-8 if needed
     if mimetype.startswith("text/"):
         # probably a malformed UTF-8 content, re-encode it
         # by replacing invalid chars with a substitution one
         if encoding == "unknown-8bit":
             content_data = content_data.decode("utf-8", "replace").encode("utf-8")
         elif encoding not in ["utf-8", "binary"]:
             content_data = content_data.decode(encoding, "replace").encode("utf-8")
     elif mimetype.startswith("application/octet-stream"):
         # file may detect a text content as binary
         # so try to decode it for display
         encodings = ["us-ascii", "utf-8"]
         encodings += ["iso-8859-%s" % i for i in range(1, 17)]
         for enc in encodings:
             try:
                 content_data = content_data.decode(enc).encode("utf-8")
             except Exception as exc:
                 sentry_sdk.capture_exception(exc)
             else:
                 # ensure display in content view
                 encoding = enc
                 mimetype = "text/plain"
                 break
     return mimetype, encoding, content_data
 
 
 def request_content(
     query_string, max_size=content_display_max_size, re_encode=True,
 ):
     """Function that retrieves a content from the archive.
 
     Raw bytes content is first retrieved, then the content mime type.
     If the mime type is not stored in the archive, it will be computed
     using Python magic module.
 
     Args:
         query_string: a string of the form "[ALGO_HASH:]HASH" where
             optional ALGO_HASH can be either ``sha1``, ``sha1_git``,
             ``sha256``, or ``blake2s256`` (default to ``sha1``) and HASH
             the hexadecimal representation of the hash value
         max_size: the maximum size for a content to retrieve (default to 1MB,
             no size limit if None)
 
     Returns:
         A tuple whose first member corresponds to the content raw bytes
         and second member the content mime type
 
     Raises:
         NotFoundExc if the content is not found
     """
     content_data = archive.lookup_content(query_string)
     filetype = None
     language = None
     # requests to the indexer db may fail so properly handle
     # those cases in order to avoid content display errors
     try:
         filetype = archive.lookup_content_filetype(query_string)
         language = archive.lookup_content_language(query_string)
     except Exception as exc:
         sentry_sdk.capture_exception(exc)
     mimetype = "unknown"
     encoding = "unknown"
     if filetype:
         mimetype = filetype["mimetype"]
         encoding = filetype["encoding"]
 
     if not max_size or content_data["length"] < max_size:
         try:
             content_raw = archive.lookup_content_raw(query_string)
         except Exception as exc:
             sentry_sdk.capture_exception(exc)
             raise NotFoundExc(
                 "The bytes of the content are currently not available "
                 "in the archive."
             )
         else:
             content_data["raw_data"] = content_raw["data"]
 
             if not filetype:
                 mimetype, encoding = get_mimetype_and_encoding_for_content(
                     content_data["raw_data"]
                 )
 
             if re_encode:
                 mimetype, encoding, raw_data = _re_encode_content(
                     mimetype, encoding, content_data["raw_data"]
                 )
                 content_data["raw_data"] = raw_data
 
     else:
         content_data["raw_data"] = None
 
     content_data["mimetype"] = mimetype
     content_data["encoding"] = encoding
 
     if language:
         content_data["language"] = language["lang"]
     else:
         content_data["language"] = "not detected"
 
     return content_data
 
 
 def prepare_content_for_display(content_data, mime_type, path):
     """Function that prepares a content for HTML display.
 
     The function tries to associate a programming language to a
     content in order to perform syntax highlighting client-side
     using highlightjs. The language is determined using either
     the content filename or its mime type.
     If the mime type corresponds to an image format supported
     by web browsers, the content will be encoded in base64
     for displaying the image.
 
     Args:
         content_data (bytes): raw bytes of the content
         mime_type (string): mime type of the content
         path (string): path of the content including filename
 
     Returns:
         A dict containing the content bytes (possibly different from the one
         provided as parameter if it is an image) under the key 'content_data
         and the corresponding highlightjs language class under the
         key 'language'.
     """
 
-    language = highlightjs.get_hljs_language_from_filename(path)
+    language = None
+    if path:
+        language = highlightjs.get_hljs_language_from_filename(path.split("/")[-1])
 
-    if not language:
+    if language is None:
         language = highlightjs.get_hljs_language_from_mime_type(mime_type)
 
-    if not language:
+    if language is None:
         language = "nohighlight"
 
     if mime_type.startswith("image/"):
         if mime_type in browsers_supported_image_mimes:
             content_data = base64.b64encode(content_data).decode("ascii")
 
     if mime_type.startswith("image/svg"):
         mime_type = "image/svg+xml"
 
     if mime_type.startswith("text/") or mime_type.startswith("application/"):
         content_data = content_data.decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
 
     return {"content_data": content_data, "language": language, "mimetype": mime_type}
 
 
 def gen_link(url, link_text=None, link_attrs=None):
     """
     Utility function for generating an HTML link to insert
     in Django templates.
 
     Args:
         url (str): an url
         link_text (str): optional text for the produced link,
             if not provided the url will be used
         link_attrs (dict): optional attributes (e.g. class)
             to add to the link
 
     Returns:
         An HTML link in the form '<a href="url">link_text</a>'
 
     """
     attrs = " "
     if link_attrs:
         for k, v in link_attrs.items():
             attrs += '%s="%s" ' % (k, v)
     if not link_text:
         link_text = url
     link = '<a%shref="%s">%s</a>' % (attrs, escape(url), escape(link_text))
     return mark_safe(link)
 
 
 def _snapshot_context_query_params(snapshot_context):
     query_params = {}
     if not snapshot_context:
         return query_params
     if snapshot_context and snapshot_context["origin_info"]:
         origin_info = snapshot_context["origin_info"]
         snp_query_params = snapshot_context["query_params"]
         query_params = {"origin_url": origin_info["url"]}
         if "timestamp" in snp_query_params:
             query_params["timestamp"] = snp_query_params["timestamp"]
         if "visit_id" in snp_query_params:
             query_params["visit_id"] = snp_query_params["visit_id"]
         if "snapshot" in snp_query_params and "visit_id" not in query_params:
             query_params["snapshot"] = snp_query_params["snapshot"]
     elif snapshot_context:
         query_params = {"snapshot": snapshot_context["snapshot_id"]}
 
     if snapshot_context["release"]:
         query_params["release"] = snapshot_context["release"]
     elif snapshot_context["branch"] and snapshot_context["branch"] not in (
         "HEAD",
         snapshot_context["revision_id"],
     ):
         query_params["branch"] = snapshot_context["branch"]
     elif snapshot_context["revision_id"]:
         query_params["revision"] = snapshot_context["revision_id"]
     return query_params
 
 
 def gen_revision_url(revision_id, snapshot_context=None):
     """
     Utility function for generating an url to a revision.
 
     Args:
         revision_id (str): a revision id
         snapshot_context (dict): if provided, generate snapshot-dependent
             browsing url
 
     Returns:
         str: The url to browse the revision
 
     """
     query_params = _snapshot_context_query_params(snapshot_context)
     # remove query parameters not needed for a revision view
     query_params.pop("revision", None)
     query_params.pop("release", None)
 
     return reverse(
         "browse-revision", url_args={"sha1_git": revision_id}, query_params=query_params
     )
 
 
 def gen_revision_link(
     revision_id,
     shorten_id=False,
     snapshot_context=None,
     link_text="Browse",
     link_attrs={"class": "btn btn-default btn-sm", "role": "button"},
 ):
     """
     Utility function for generating a link to a revision HTML view
     to insert in Django templates.
 
     Args:
         revision_id (str): a revision id
         shorten_id (boolean): whether to shorten the revision id to 7
             characters for the link text
         snapshot_context (dict): if provided, generate snapshot-dependent
             browsing link
         link_text (str): optional text for the generated link
             (the revision id will be used by default)
         link_attrs (dict): optional attributes (e.g. class)
             to add to the link
 
     Returns:
         str: An HTML link in the form '<a href="revision_url">revision_id</a>'
 
     """
     if not revision_id:
         return None
 
     revision_url = gen_revision_url(revision_id, snapshot_context)
 
     if shorten_id:
         return gen_link(revision_url, revision_id[:7], link_attrs)
     else:
         if not link_text:
             link_text = revision_id
         return gen_link(revision_url, link_text, link_attrs)
 
 
 def gen_directory_link(
     sha1_git,
     snapshot_context=None,
     link_text="Browse",
     link_attrs={"class": "btn btn-default btn-sm", "role": "button"},
 ):
     """
     Utility function for generating a link to a directory HTML view
     to insert in Django templates.
 
     Args:
         sha1_git (str): directory identifier
         link_text (str): optional text for the generated link
             (the directory id will be used by default)
         link_attrs (dict): optional attributes (e.g. class)
             to add to the link
 
     Returns:
         An HTML link in the form '<a href="directory_view_url">link_text</a>'
 
     """
     if not sha1_git:
         return None
 
     query_params = _snapshot_context_query_params(snapshot_context)
 
     directory_url = reverse(
         "browse-directory", url_args={"sha1_git": sha1_git}, query_params=query_params
     )
 
     if not link_text:
         link_text = sha1_git
     return gen_link(directory_url, link_text, link_attrs)
 
 
 def gen_snapshot_link(
     snapshot_id,
     snapshot_context=None,
     link_text="Browse",
     link_attrs={"class": "btn btn-default btn-sm", "role": "button"},
 ):
     """
     Utility function for generating a link to a snapshot HTML view
     to insert in Django templates.
 
     Args:
         snapshot_id (str): snapshot identifier
         link_text (str): optional text for the generated link
             (the snapshot id will be used by default)
         link_attrs (dict): optional attributes (e.g. class)
             to add to the link
 
     Returns:
         An HTML link in the form '<a href="snapshot_view_url">link_text</a>'
 
     """
 
     query_params = _snapshot_context_query_params(snapshot_context)
 
     snapshot_url = reverse(
         "browse-snapshot",
         url_args={"snapshot_id": snapshot_id},
         query_params=query_params,
     )
     if not link_text:
         link_text = snapshot_id
     return gen_link(snapshot_url, link_text, link_attrs)
 
 
 def gen_content_link(
     sha1_git,
     snapshot_context=None,
     link_text="Browse",
     link_attrs={"class": "btn btn-default btn-sm", "role": "button"},
 ):
     """
     Utility function for generating a link to a content HTML view
     to insert in Django templates.
 
     Args:
         sha1_git (str): content identifier
         link_text (str): optional text for the generated link
             (the content sha1_git will be used by default)
         link_attrs (dict): optional attributes (e.g. class)
             to add to the link
 
     Returns:
         An HTML link in the form '<a href="content_view_url">link_text</a>'
 
     """
     if not sha1_git:
         return None
 
     query_params = _snapshot_context_query_params(snapshot_context)
 
     content_url = reverse(
         "browse-content",
         url_args={"query_string": "sha1_git:" + sha1_git},
         query_params=query_params,
     )
     if not link_text:
         link_text = sha1_git
     return gen_link(content_url, link_text, link_attrs)
 
 
 def get_revision_log_url(revision_id, snapshot_context=None):
     """
     Utility function for getting the URL for a revision log HTML view
     (possibly in the context of an origin).
 
     Args:
         revision_id (str): revision identifier the history heads to
         snapshot_context (dict): if provided, generate snapshot-dependent
             browsing link
     Returns:
         The revision log view URL
     """
     query_params = {}
     if snapshot_context:
         query_params = _snapshot_context_query_params(snapshot_context)
 
     query_params["revision"] = revision_id
     if snapshot_context and snapshot_context["origin_info"]:
         revision_log_url = reverse("browse-origin-log", query_params=query_params)
     elif snapshot_context:
         url_args = {"snapshot_id": snapshot_context["snapshot_id"]}
         del query_params["snapshot"]
         revision_log_url = reverse(
             "browse-snapshot-log", url_args=url_args, query_params=query_params
         )
     else:
         revision_log_url = reverse(
             "browse-revision-log", url_args={"sha1_git": revision_id}
         )
     return revision_log_url
 
 
 def gen_revision_log_link(
     revision_id,
     snapshot_context=None,
     link_text="Browse",
     link_attrs={"class": "btn btn-default btn-sm", "role": "button"},
 ):
     """
     Utility function for generating a link to a revision log HTML view
     (possibly in the context of an origin) to insert in Django templates.
 
     Args:
         revision_id (str): revision identifier the history heads to
         snapshot_context (dict): if provided, generate snapshot-dependent
             browsing link
         link_text (str): optional text to use for the generated link
             (the revision id will be used by default)
         link_attrs (dict): optional attributes (e.g. class)
             to add to the link
 
     Returns:
         An HTML link in the form
         '<a href="revision_log_view_url">link_text</a>'
     """
     if not revision_id:
         return None
 
     revision_log_url = get_revision_log_url(revision_id, snapshot_context)
 
     if not link_text:
         link_text = revision_id
     return gen_link(revision_log_url, link_text, link_attrs)
 
 
 def gen_person_mail_link(person, link_text=None):
     """
     Utility function for generating a mail link to a person to insert
     in Django templates.
 
     Args:
         person (dict): dictionary containing person data
             (*name*, *email*, *fullname*)
         link_text (str): optional text to use for the generated mail link
             (the person name will be used by default)
 
     Returns:
         str: A mail link to the person or the person name if no email is
             present in person data
     """
     person_name = person["name"] or person["fullname"] or "None"
     if link_text is None:
         link_text = person_name
     person_email = person["email"] if person["email"] else None
     if person_email is None and "@" in person_name and " " not in person_name:
         person_email = person_name
     if person_email:
         return gen_link(url="mailto:%s" % person_email, link_text=link_text)
     else:
         return person_name
 
 
 def gen_release_link(
     sha1_git,
     snapshot_context=None,
     link_text="Browse",
     link_attrs={"class": "btn btn-default btn-sm", "role": "button"},
 ):
     """
     Utility function for generating a link to a release HTML view
     to insert in Django templates.
 
     Args:
         sha1_git (str): release identifier
         link_text (str): optional text for the generated link
             (the release id will be used by default)
         link_attrs (dict): optional attributes (e.g. class)
             to add to the link
 
     Returns:
         An HTML link in the form '<a href="release_view_url">link_text</a>'
 
     """
 
     query_params = _snapshot_context_query_params(snapshot_context)
 
     release_url = reverse(
         "browse-release", url_args={"sha1_git": sha1_git}, query_params=query_params
     )
     if not link_text:
         link_text = sha1_git
     return gen_link(release_url, link_text, link_attrs)
 
 
 def format_log_entries(revision_log, per_page, snapshot_context=None):
     """
     Utility functions that process raw revision log data for HTML display.
     Its purpose is to:
 
         * add links to relevant browse views
         * format date in human readable format
         * truncate the message log
 
     Args:
         revision_log (list): raw revision log as returned by the swh-web api
         per_page (int): number of log entries per page
         snapshot_context (dict): if provided, generate snapshot-dependent
             browsing link
 
 
     """
     revision_log_data = []
     for i, rev in enumerate(revision_log):
         if i == per_page:
             break
         author_name = "None"
         author_fullname = "None"
         committer_fullname = "None"
         if rev["author"]:
             author_name = gen_person_mail_link(rev["author"])
             author_fullname = rev["author"]["fullname"]
         if rev["committer"]:
             committer_fullname = rev["committer"]["fullname"]
         author_date = format_utc_iso_date(rev["date"])
         committer_date = format_utc_iso_date(rev["committer_date"])
 
         tooltip = "revision %s\n" % rev["id"]
         tooltip += "author: %s\n" % author_fullname
         tooltip += "author date: %s\n" % author_date
         tooltip += "committer: %s\n" % committer_fullname
         tooltip += "committer date: %s\n\n" % committer_date
         if rev["message"]:
             tooltip += textwrap.indent(rev["message"], " " * 4)
 
         revision_log_data.append(
             {
                 "author": author_name,
                 "id": rev["id"][:7],
                 "message": rev["message"],
                 "date": author_date,
                 "commit_date": committer_date,
                 "url": gen_revision_url(rev["id"], snapshot_context),
                 "tooltip": tooltip,
             }
         )
     return revision_log_data
 
 
 # list of common readme names ordered by preference
 # (lower indices have higher priority)
 _common_readme_names = [
     "readme.markdown",
     "readme.md",
     "readme.rst",
     "readme.txt",
     "readme",
 ]
 
 
 def get_readme_to_display(readmes):
     """
     Process a list of readme files found in a directory
     in order to find the adequate one to display.
 
     Args:
         readmes: a list of dict where keys are readme file names and values
             are readme sha1s
 
     Returns:
         A tuple (readme_name, readme_sha1)
     """
     readme_name = None
     readme_url = None
     readme_sha1 = None
     readme_html = None
 
     lc_readmes = {k.lower(): {"orig_name": k, "sha1": v} for k, v in readmes.items()}
 
     # look for readme names according to the preference order
     # defined by the _common_readme_names list
     for common_readme_name in _common_readme_names:
         if common_readme_name in lc_readmes:
             readme_name = lc_readmes[common_readme_name]["orig_name"]
             readme_sha1 = lc_readmes[common_readme_name]["sha1"]
             readme_url = reverse(
                 "browse-content-raw",
                 url_args={"query_string": readme_sha1},
                 query_params={"re_encode": "true"},
             )
             break
 
     # otherwise pick the first readme like file if any
     if not readme_name and len(readmes.items()) > 0:
         readme_name = next(iter(readmes))
         readme_sha1 = readmes[readme_name]
         readme_url = reverse(
             "browse-content-raw",
             url_args={"query_string": readme_sha1},
             query_params={"re_encode": "true"},
         )
 
     # convert rst README to html server side as there is
     # no viable solution to perform that task client side
     if readme_name and readme_name.endswith(".rst"):
         cache_entry_id = "readme_%s" % readme_sha1
         cache_entry = cache.get(cache_entry_id)
 
         if cache_entry:
             readme_html = cache_entry
         else:
             try:
                 rst_doc = request_content(readme_sha1)
                 readme_html = rst_to_html(rst_doc["raw_data"])
                 cache.set(cache_entry_id, readme_html)
             except Exception as exc:
                 sentry_sdk.capture_exception(exc)
                 readme_html = "Readme bytes are not available"
 
     return readme_name, readme_url, readme_html
diff --git a/swh/web/tests/browse/test_utils.py b/swh/web/tests/browse/test_utils.py
index c87d6a7f..0c93c1d9 100644
--- a/swh/web/tests/browse/test_utils.py
+++ b/swh/web/tests/browse/test_utils.py
@@ -1,75 +1,89 @@
-# Copyright (C) 2017-2019  The Software Heritage developers
+# Copyright (C) 2017-2021  The Software Heritage developers
 # See the AUTHORS file at the top-level directory of this distribution
 # License: GNU Affero General Public License version 3, or any later version
 # See top-level LICENSE file for more information
 
+import pytest
+
 from swh.web.browse.utils import (
     gen_link,
     gen_person_mail_link,
     gen_revision_link,
     get_mimetype_and_encoding_for_content,
+    prepare_content_for_display,
 )
 from swh.web.common.utils import reverse
 
 
 def test_get_mimetype_and_encoding_for_content():
     text = b"Hello world!"
     assert get_mimetype_and_encoding_for_content(text) == ("text/plain", "us-ascii",)
 
 
 def test_gen_link():
     assert (
         gen_link("https://www.softwareheritage.org/", "swh")
         == '<a href="https://www.softwareheritage.org/">swh</a>'
     )
 
 
 def test_gen_revision_link():
     revision_id = "28a0bc4120d38a394499382ba21d6965a67a3703"
     revision_url = reverse("browse-revision", url_args={"sha1_git": revision_id})
 
     assert gen_revision_link(
         revision_id, link_text=None, link_attrs=None
     ) == '<a href="%s">%s</a>' % (revision_url, revision_id)
     assert gen_revision_link(
         revision_id, shorten_id=True, link_attrs=None
     ) == '<a href="%s">%s</a>' % (revision_url, revision_id[:7])
 
 
 def test_gen_person_mail_link():
     person_full = {
         "name": "John Doe",
         "email": "john.doe@swh.org",
         "fullname": "John Doe <john.doe@swh.org>",
     }
 
     assert gen_person_mail_link(person_full) == '<a href="mailto:%s">%s</a>' % (
         person_full["email"],
         person_full["name"],
     )
 
     link_text = "Mail"
     assert gen_person_mail_link(
         person_full, link_text=link_text
     ) == '<a href="mailto:%s">%s</a>' % (person_full["email"], link_text)
 
     person_partial_email = {"name": None, "email": None, "fullname": "john.doe@swh.org"}
 
     assert gen_person_mail_link(
         person_partial_email
     ) == '<a href="mailto:%s">%s</a>' % (
         person_partial_email["fullname"],
         person_partial_email["fullname"],
     )
 
     person_partial = {
         "name": None,
         "email": None,
         "fullname": "John Doe <john.doe@swh.org>",
     }
 
     assert gen_person_mail_link(person_partial) == person_partial["fullname"]
 
     person_none = {"name": None, "email": None, "fullname": None}
 
     assert gen_person_mail_link(person_none) == "None"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "path, expected_language",
+    [("CMakeLists.txt", "cmake"), ("path/CMakeLists.txt", "cmake")],
+)
+def test_prepare_content_display_language_for_filename(path, expected_language):
+    content_display = prepare_content_for_display(
+        content_data=b"", mime_type="", path=path
+    )
+    assert content_display["language"] == expected_language