Published links

Granular can put what you make on the web in two ways:

• A published link is a copy of a page or note, put on the web. It stays up when your laptop is off, until you take it down.
• A live link is a temporary window onto something running on your computer, like a site the agent is building. It only works while that session is open, and it ends on its own.

Both need a free Granular account. If you're not signed in, Granular asks you to sign in first, then carries on.

Publish a page or note

1. Open the page or note in the preview.
2. Click Share, then Publish a copy.
3. Granular asks: "Publish a copy of this page? Anyone with the link can see it. You can take it down at any time." Before you confirm, it checks the file (see below).
4. Click Publish.
5. Copy the link and send it to anyone.

You can also just ask the agent: "publish this page."

Publishing sends a copy. The file on your computer is never changed.

What Granular checks before publishing

The dialog shows what it found:

• Passwords and keys. If the file looks like it contains a secret, such as an API key, publishing is blocked. The dialog lists the line and the kind of secret. Take it out of the file (the Vault is the place to keep it), then try again. If it's only an example, click Publish with it hidden: readers see a shortened version, and your own file stays as it was.
• Files that can't come along. If the page uses an image or file that lives elsewhere on your computer, the dialog lists it. You can still publish, but it will be missing for everyone else. The button then reads Publish anyway.
• Size. Each image can be up to 1 MB once shrunk, and the whole page up to 10 MB. If something is too big, the dialog says so. Save images smaller, or use fewer.

Publishing a file with the same name as an older link

If you already have a link with that name, Granular asks: Update that link with this file, or make a new link? Updating keeps the same address, so anyone who has it sees the new version. Click Update that link or Make a new link.

Update or take down a published link

Open the page in the preview and click Share. The panel shows the link, when it was published and its size.

• To update it with your latest changes, click the circular arrow button next to the link (Update this link with your latest changes). You keep the same link with the new contents, and Granular says Updated. Same link, new contents.
• To take it down, click the … button (More options), then Take it down, then Confirm take-down. The link stops working for everyone you sent it to. Your file is untouched.

Share something running on your computer (live links)

When the agent is building a site or app that runs on your computer (you'll see an address like localhost:3000 in the preview), you can let someone else see it for a while:

1. With it open in the preview, click Share, then Share live.
2. Granular checks whether anything is answering at that address. If nothing is, it says Nothing is answering on port … right now. Start your app first, or the first visitor sees an error. You can share anyway.
3. Under Ends after, choose 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour or 4 hours.
4. Under Password, type a password or click Random code. Leave it empty and anyone with the link can open it. With a password, visitors see a password page first. Send them the password separately from the link.
5. Click Share live, then copy the link and send it.

Only that one address is shared. Nothing else on your computer can be reached.

A live link ends when the time runs out, when you close the session, or when you click Stop sharing.

Once it's live, Granular checks that your app works the same through the link. If it needs a small change, Granular tells you and can hand the fix to the agent.

Visitors use the app as me

If you're signed in to your app in the preview, the Visitors switch, Visitors use the app as me, is on by default. Visitors are then signed in as you and can do anything you can in that app until the link ends. This works for apps that keep you signed in with cookies, which most do.

While it's on:

• a password is required, and Granular fills in a random code for you
• the link ends after 30 minutes unless you pick another time

Turn the switch off and visitors arrive signed out, seeing whatever your app shows a stranger. If you aren't signed in to the app in the preview, the switch is off and greyed out.

See all your links: Settings → Links

Open Settings → Links to see everything you've shared, in one place.

Published links shows every page and note you've put on the web, with the project and computer it came from (for example, "Published from My Brand · MacBook Pro"). For each one you can:

• Copy link
• View it in the preview (when the original file is on this computer)
• open the folder where the original file lives, with the folder icon
• Download the published copy (it's saved to your Downloads folder)
• Take it down

Live link shows anything you're sharing live right now: password required or anyone with the link, visitors act as you when that's on, how long it has left, and how many visitors it has had. You can Copy link or Stop sharing from here.

Because published links belong to your account, you see the same list on every computer you sign in on. Links you published before accounts existed are added to your account when that computer signs in.

Limits

When all your free published links are in use, the Share panel says so. Take one down in Settings → Links to free a slot. See Plans and pricing.

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