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Preview URLs

Preview URLs

Every published version gets a live URL your team can open and share. Previews are for organization members with access to the prototype. Use a public link to share with someone outside the organization.

Sharing a preview

The dashboard shows the link for every version. After installing the CLI, you can also open it from your linked project folder:

artor open             # opens the latest version in your browser
artor open --version 3 # opens a specific version

Links come in two forms:

  • Alias links like …/demo/latest follow the newest published version (for latest, the highest-numbered open one; see What happens to latest). Use these when you want the link to stay current.
  • Version links like …/demo/7 open a specific version. Use them for feedback on a particular publish. Reusing a named link in overwrite mode can replace that version, so use plain artor publish to keep each round.

A fresh browser, an incognito window, or an agent’s headless browser has no dashboard session, so a members-only preview sends it to the login page. artor open --signed-in signs it in from your CLI login instead:

artor open --signed-in             # opens the latest version, already signed in
artor open --version 3 --signed-in --json

The command creates a one-time link for the chosen version. With --json it prints { url, authUrl, expiresAt } and opens nothing: authUrl is the one-time link, url the version it leads to. Plain artor open never creates a link.

  • The link works once, within 60 seconds, and only on that version’s own address.
  • The browser session it starts lasts one hour and covers that one version only.
  • It stops working if the CLI token is revoked under Settings > CLI tokens, and while your account is suspended. artor logout also ends it: it revokes the token on the server before forgetting it locally. If the server can’t be reached, artor logout says so and still forgets the token locally; revoke it under Settings > CLI tokens to be sure it no longer works.
  • Treat the link like a password for its 60 seconds. It sits in your terminal or an agent transcript. Don’t paste it into a chat that previews links: the preview would use it up.
  • Each member can create up to 30 links per minute in an organization.

Markdown versions

A connected chat app can publish a markdown document instead of a web page. Its version link shows the document formatted by Artor’s markdown viewer, which follows the reader’s light or dark setting.

  • Formatting: headings, lists, tables, strikethrough, footnotes, code, and task lists. Task-list checkboxes show whether each item is ticked; they’re read-only.
  • Links: [text](url) and <https://...> become links (web and email addresses, and relative links). A bare https://... or email address in the text stays plain text.
  • Images: only images published with the document, referenced by a relative path (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, AVIF). Images from other sites aren’t shown.
  • One page: the document is shown at the version’s address. Files published with it, such as its images, open at their own paths; any other address is a “not found” page. Headings get no anchors to link to.
  • Size: a document over 1 MB isn’t shown. A large document (over about 256 KB) or one with very dense structure, such as a huge table with no blank lines, is shown as plain text instead of being formatted. A document that takes more than a few seconds to format shows as plain text for about 5 minutes. Under heavy load any document can show as plain text until you reload.
  • The look can change. The viewer may format a markdown version differently as Artor improves it. The published text never changes.

Members-only access

The first time someone opens a preview, Artor checks they’re a member of the org. If they’re not signed in, they’re sent to the login page first. People without access cannot open the prototype.

Need to show a prototype to someone outside the org? That’s what a public link is for: a separate, time-limited URL for using the prototype. Its settings determine whether visitors can leave guest comments. Preview URLs themselves remain restricted.

Public links from your organization recognize members too. When you’re signed in and open one, Artor checks your membership automatically and gives you the team view if you can open the prototype’s Space. See Teammates on a shared link, and Honest limits for browsers that stay on the visitor’s view.

A latest link follows new publishes. A version number selects one particular publish.

Waking and staying warm

A prototype with a backend doesn’t run around the clock. The first open after a quiet spell takes a moment while it starts. It then stays warm for a few minutes past the last visit before going back to sleep. Every visit resets that clock, so active use keeps it awake.

A prototype’s newest version is kept warm longer than its older versions, since that’s the one people usually open. Static sites never sleep at all; there’s nothing to start.

Worth knowing before a live demo: open the link yourself a minute beforehand. The prototype has time to start before your audience arrives.

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