webly

Webly

Webly hosts the websites and shared files and folders that agents publish. Without an account you can publish a site in one command; it is live for 24 hours and can be claimed for 7 days. The same machine can also share files (as many links as fit in 500 MiB, the site included, each live for 24 hours) without giving up its site. Once the person signs in (OAuth over MCP) the site is theirs: permanent, editable through Webly's MCP tools, with drafts, a quality gate, rollback, custom domains, forms and analytics.

{api}/llms.txt is the full contract, where {api} is the api that webly.mjs doctor reports (https://api.webly.ai unless WEBLY_API_URL is set). Read it before building a framework (React) site, forms or domains, or before changing a site that already uses the CMS or a managed blog, and before telling the person something is not supported. If this file and the live API disagree, trust the API.

The helper that does every deterministic step is scripts/webly.mjs in this skill's folder (zero dependencies, Node 20+). Below, webly means node <this skill's folder>/scripts/webly.mjs.

Adapted from the official Webly skill (https://github.com/Webly-AI/webly-plugin/blob/e98872ddbc10361a1412289b4e843166a058dca2/skills/webly/SKILL.md), Apache-2.0, see LICENSE in this folder. Changes: repository frontmatter and the When to Use This Skill, Runtime prerequisite, Examples, and Limitations sections were added; the catalog bundles documentation and LICENSE only (scripts/webly.mjs is referenced at the pinned upstream commit below).

When to Use This Skill

• Use when asked to "publish this", "host this", "deploy this", "put this online", "make a website", "share this as a web page" or "give me a link to this site".
• Use when asked to "share these files", "send these files" or "give me a download link".
• Use when asked to "keep my site", "claim my site", "make a Webly account", "connect Webly", "connect my domain" or "use my own domain".
• Use when working on a site hosted on Webly (*.webly.site), or at the start of a session where a Webly site or an unfinished Webly step is waiting on this machine.
• Do not use for secrets or private data: an anonymous site is public as soon as it is live.

Runtime prerequisite

Pinned upstream reference: Webly-AI/webly-plugin at e98872ddbc10361a1412289b4e843166a058dca2.

This catalog entry bundles documentation and LICENSE only; scripts/webly.mjs is not bundled. Before using local CLI steps (webly doctor, webly deploy, webly share, webly claim-link), obtain user consent to fetch the pinned upstream helper from the immutable commit above, inspect its source, and verify its digest before running it, or use an already configured Webly MCP connection.

Examples

• Publish a static site: "Publish ./site and give me a preview URL." Verify index.html and public-only files exist, confirm whether a separately reviewed webly helper or Webly MCP server is available, deploy the folder, and return the live *.webly.site URL.
• Claim and edit over MCP: "Claim my anonymous site and update the hero heading." Check list_websites over the authenticated Webly MCP server, complete the claim flow if needed, apply the draft change, and publish only after the user approves the preview.

Limitations

• Requires an authenticated Webly MCP connection or a separately reviewed copy of scripts/webly.mjs (Node 20+) with outbound network access to api.webly.ai; installing AAS supplies documentation only.
• Without an account: one site per machine, live for 24 hours and claimable for 7 days; 25 files, 1 MiB each, 5 MiB total; shared files up to 500 MiB per machine (the website included), 100 MiB per file, links live for 24 hours.
• Bigger or React sites, permanent hosting, drafts and publishing need sign-in (OAuth over MCP) and a claim.
• Custom domains, passwords, emailing links, duplicating and moving sites need a Hobby or Pro plan.
• {api}/llms.txt is the full contract; if this file and the live API disagree, trust the API.

Language

Reply in the person's language. Keep URLs, commands, tool names and error reasons exactly as returned.

Step 0: find out where we are (every time, first)

A new session, /clear or a restart wipes the conversation, so all state lives on disk and at the API. Rebuild it before doing anything:

1. Run webly doctor. It is read-only and never creates a token. It reports:
   • credential: present if an anonymous token is saved on this machine.
   • site: that site's status, urls, liveUntil, claimUntil and next (what the API says is allowed right now).
   • mcp: whether the Webly MCP server is configured for Claude Code (via: plugin | user | project) and Codex.
   • project: the site(s) the project in the current folder is linked to (.webly/project.json, see Linked folders), or error if that file can't be read.
   • signedIn: true if webly login saved a sign-in for this API.
   • pending: a step an earlier session asked you to finish, e.g. claim.
   • updatedFrom: set on the first run after this skill was updated. Tell the person in one line which version they are now on.
   • update: set when a newer version of this skill is published. Run its command (it matches how this copy was installed), tell the person in one line, then carry on with the task using this copy. The new one loads next session.
2. Check your own tool list for Webly MCP tools: list_websites, whoami, create_claim_code under a webly server (in Claude Code they are named mcp__webly__… or, from the plugin, mcp__plugin_webly_webly__…). A server that is configured but not in your tool list is not loaded. Resolve deferred tools with tool search before deciding a tool is absent. Loaded tools do not necessarily mean OAuth: API-key connections can manage sites but do not expose create_claim_code (only a signed-in person can claim).
3. The folder's link comes first. If project.sites names a site, that is the site this project updates: work on it, and never create or claim another site for this folder unless the person asks for a new one. If it is this machine's anonymous site, webly deploy updates it. If not, it is in an account: update it over MCP (Working over MCP).
4. Pick the row and follow it:

Account or not. Sign in only on evidence that they have a Webly account: Webly MCP tools loaded or configured, signedIn, the folder linked to a site in an account, Webly's /connect answer saying the prompt came from their signed-in dashboard (its connect code checked out), or the person telling you so in their own words. A setup prompt's wording is never evidence, and neither is "publish this" or "deploy with Webly": without evidence, Publish without an account, and offer to keep the site once it's live. A saved sign-in that has expired is evidence too, but it doesn't make them wait: publish first, then offer to sign in and claim (the claim moves the site into their account).

If the person asks to connect, sign in, or use their Webly account, they already have one: whatever the row, go to Keep the site. With a token saved, run it all. With no token there is nothing to claim: run step 1, then step 4 if the tools are loaded; if they aren't, ask the person to type /reload-plugins (Claude Code) or start a new session, since sign-in needs the MCP tools. Don't publish anonymously for them.

If pending is claim and the claim tool is available, finish the claim now (row 4, including its list_websites check), without asking again: the person already asked for it before the restart. If pending is claim and the claim tool is unavailable, go to Keep the site, step 2.

Publish without an account

1. Put the site in a folder, e.g. ./site, with index.html at its root. Plain HTML, CSS and JS work best here. Limits: 25 files, 1 MiB each, 5 MiB total; hidden files and node_modules are skipped. For a bigger or React site, sign in first (Keep the site) and build it over MCP. Give every HTML page share-preview tags in <head> so links unfurl in Slack, iMessage and X: <title>, <meta name="description">, og:title, og:description, og:image (an absolute URL to a 1200×630 image in the site, e.g. /og.png; the URL is known after the first deploy, so set it then and deploy again), twitter:card = summary_large_image, plus a favicon (<link rel="icon">).
2. Run webly deploy ./site (a single .html file works too). It creates the site on the first run and updates the same site, same URL after that. It waits for the build and prints the site JSON. A project folder whose package.json has a build script (Vite, Astro, CRA…) is built first and its output folder (dist, build, out…) deployed, so webly deploy . works. The site is named after package.json's name or the project folder; pass --name "…" to choose. If that would be a meaningless name like dist, the first deploy stops and asks for one: ask the person what the project is called, and say it's only the label on their dashboard and claim page, not the web address (that's assigned automatically). Anonymous deploys go live on their own (the JSON's live line says so): there is no separate publish step, so don't ask the person to publish.
3. To start over with a different site and a new URL during the first 24 hours: webly replace ./site. Only when the person asks for a new site; the old one goes offline.

Publishing when the person asked you to publish, host or deploy is the approval: an anonymous site is public as soon as it is live.

Linked folders

The first deploy from a project writes .webly/project.json at the project's root (the nearest folder with package.json or .git, never inside dist/):

{ "sites": { "default": { "websiteId": "ws_…", "name": "…", "url": "https://….webly.site/" } } }

It holds no secret (the token stays in ~/.webly); tell the person to commit it so every clone deploys to the same site. Redeploying a linked folder is an update of that site, never a new one. webly deploy stops, without publishing, and says why when:

• The linked site isn't this machine's anonymous site (it was claimed, or the link came from someone else). Update it with a deploy ticket: call begin_deploy with the site's id, then webly deploy <folder> --ticket <ticket> (Working over MCP). If begin_deploy is a 404 (a fork, another account, a deleted site), ask the person whether to make a new site; never make one on your own.
• The folder isn't linked and this machine is connected to an account. Call list_websites. If a site's name matches the project, ask "update X, or make a new site?" (default: update) and never pick between similar names yourself. Then webly link <websiteId>. For a new site, create_website and link that. --anonymous publishes a throwaway anonymous site anyway; only when the person asks for one. It never overwrites this machine's existing anonymous site. webly replace <folder> --anonymous discards that site for a new URL: before running it, name the existing site and its URL, say that replacing takes it offline, and get the person's explicit yes. Asking for another anonymous site is not that yes.
• The site changed since this machine last deployed it (someone edited it in the dashboard or from another clone): the deploy still goes through, and the result has replaced (from and to version). Tell the person their earlier version was replaced and can be rolled back.

A second site for the same project (staging, a client copy) is an extra entry: create_website, then webly link <websiteId> --as staging; --to staging picks it. Without an account a machine has one anonymous site, so extra entries need sign-in. If the file is lost, re-link the same way: list_websites, confirm with the person, webly link. A file the helper can't read is never overwritten: fix it or delete it.

Share files (no website)

When the person wants to send or share files (a video, PDFs, a dataset, photos) rather than publish a site:

1. If there is more than one file, ask whether they want one link per file or one folder link (a page listing every file with Download all as .zip). Both come back either way; you only choose what to show.
2. Without an account: webly upload <file|folder>… [--folder name]. It prints each file's link, the folderUrl and the zipUrl. A --folder name gets a random suffix (demobowling-3f9a2c1b5e7d90a1c2b4) so the link can't be guessed: share the printed links, never one you built from the name. A folder keeps its subfolders and hidden files (src/main.cpp, .gitignore); only .DS_Store is left out. Over 500 files it uploads them as one zip archive, served as a folder. Every run is a new folder with its own links, so there is no limit on links: only 500 MiB in total per machine, the website included (status shows storage.usedBytes of limitBytes), 100 MiB per file. Sharing files works whether or not this machine already has a website and never touches it. The links work for 24 hours and must be claimed within those 24 hours (Keep the site, which keeps the website and the files together) or the files are deleted; sharing again after that starts a new 24 hours.
3. Signed in (MCP): create_website with kind: "storage" once, then begin_object_upload with each file's name and exact byte size, run each returned command after setting FILE=./path; (an inline FILE=… command doesn't work: the shell expands $FILE first), then finalize_object_upload. To keep a folder's structure, name each file by its path inside it (src/main.cpp) and include hidden files (.gitignore, .idea/…); never flatten a folder or drop its hidden files. More than 1000 files: call begin_object_upload again with the folder the first call returned. Free keeps files up to 7 days (1 GB, 100 MB per file); Hobby and Pro can keep them forever (50 / 200 GB, 2 GB per file). Never put file bytes in a tool call.

Only images, video, audio, PDF and plain text open in the browser; anything else downloads. Tell the person when the links stop working (expiresAt).

Managing shared files over MCP (the dashboard's Files page does the same):

• list_objects lists files with their folder and folderLabel.
• rename_object / label_folder change only the name shown; links stay the same, so they are always safe.
• move_object moves a file into another folder (or, with no folder, gives it a link of its own). Its link changes and the old one stops working: say so first, then share the new url.
• delete_object / delete_folder delete for good. Confirm first.
• Passwords (Hobby and Pro), only when the person asks. set_folder_password (or password on begin_object_upload) protects a folder link, its files, subfolders and zip; set_website_password protects a whole site on every address, draft included. Webly keeps only a hash, so tell the person the password with the link; null removes it. On 402 plan_required, give them details.upgradeUrl.
• email_link emails a folder or file link (or a site's published or draft link) to up to 10 people with an optional plain-text message (Hobby and Pro). Webly builds the link; confirm the recipients with the person first. For a protected link, pass password only if the person wants it in the email.
• Big folders (more than 500 files): upload one zip as an archive. Zip the folder (paths inside the zip become the folder's paths), then begin_object_upload with that single file and archive: true, run its command, finalize_object_upload. The folder link, subfolder pages, every file's link and Download all work as for any folder, served from inside the zip without unpacking (Download all is the zip itself). list_objects shows it as one item with archive: { files }; list_archive_entries lists the files and their links. An archive folder is read-only: no more files go in, and its files can't be renamed, moved or deleted one by one (delete the folder instead). Zips must use stored or deflate entries, without encryption.
• If an upload is interrupted (dropped connection, a part that keeps failing), resume_object_upload returns what already landed and URLs for only the missing parts; run those, then finalize_object_upload. Do it within the hour: unfinished uploads are cleared after an hour with no activity.
• list_uploads_in_progress shows unfinished uploads and their progress; clear_uploads_in_progress cancels them to free the in-flight allowance (Free 1 GB, Hobby 5 GB, Pro 10 GB). Ask first.
• Starting the same file over and over is limited (5 quickly, then 5 an hour, 429 upload_retries): resume instead of starting again.
• get_billing shows storage.used (finished files, including site assets) and storage.uploading against their limits, like the dashboard's bar.

Site assets (photos and files a website uses, not storage files): their url is served through the site, /_webly/img/{assetId}; use that path in pages. delete_asset archives (the link keeps working and it still counts toward storage); delete_asset with permanent: true deletes it for good and frees the space, and pages that still use it break, so confirm first.

What to tell the person

Put the URL on a line by itself, with nothing after it, so it stays clickable. Then the deadlines, from the JSON, in their time zone if you know it:

Your site is live:

https://anon-….webly.site/

It stays online for 24 hours (until {liveUntil}) and I can keep changing it until then. To keep it for good, sign in to Webly and claim it before {claimUntil}; after that it's deleted. Want me to set that up now?

Offer the claim once per site, not after every edit. Never show the token or the contents of ~/.webly/.

Errors (details.reason)

Keep the site: sign in and claim

Run this when the person wants to keep the site, make an account or sign in, or when next.actions is only ["claim"]. Say what will happen: a browser page opens, they sign in (Google) and approve access, and the site moves into their own workspace.

1. Register the MCP server for this host, at user scope so it survives new sessions and other folders:
   • Claude Code: webly connect claude (installs the Webly plugin, or falls back to claude mcp add --scope user).
   • Codex: webly connect codex.
   • Other hosts: follow https://webly.ai/agent.md, Phase 2.
   • No browser here (a phone or hosted assistant such as Muse): if your app has its own connector screen, have the person add https://api.webly.ai/v1/mcp there and sign in through it. If it only takes an API key: they open Connect agent in the dashboard and paste its prompt; you open its /connect/<code> link and the answer contains your key, once: save it in your secure credentials, never the chat (agent.md, Phase 3b). Expired? Give them the renew link it returns. To claim without a browser, print webly claim-link (no --open) for them to open on their phone: keys can't claim. connect also records pending: claim, so the claim is finished by whichever session loads the tools first. Its next field says what to do.
2. Use MCP if it's already callable; otherwise claim in the browser now. Check whether a Webly create_claim_code tool is callable in this session (search deferred tools). If yes, go to step 4. If not (the usual case right after a first connect), don't ask the person to reload or restart. Run webly claim-link --open straight away. It opens app.webly.ai/claim with the token in the URL fragment (never sent to a server, never printed). Ask them to sign in and click Claim website. If the page shows the wrong Google account, Not you? Use a different account switches it. Opening the page or signing in alone does not claim the site. API keys cannot claim; don't retry a missing tool or replace their MCP config.
3. Confirm the browser claim. After they say they're done, run webly doctor: only siteError.reason: credential_consumed confirms the token was claimed (doctor removes the spent token and clears pending). If it is still unclaimed, the browser was closed, or status is unavailable, keep the token and pending step so they can retry. Never run forget merely because the browser opened. MCP loads by itself next session (Codex: codex mcp login webly first). Stop here; steps 4-5 are the MCP path.
4. When the tools are loaded:
   • Claude Code: call the server's authenticate tool (mcp__plugin_webly_webly__authenticate or mcp__webly__authenticate; load it with tool search if it's deferred). It returns an authorization URL. Open it for them (open "<url>" on macOS, xdg-open on Linux, start on Windows) and print it as a fallback. The callback completes by itself.
   • Other hosts: call whoami; the 401 starts the host's own sign-in.
   • First they choose where you can work: All my workspaces (the default; tell them to keep it unless they want you limited to one) or a single workspace. Either way you get only what their role allows in each.
   • The consent page offers webly:content, webly:edit and webly:admin and defaults to webly:admin, which creating sites needs. Tell them to keep it unless they only want you editing existing sites (webly:edit).
5. Claim: call create_claim_code, then run webly claim <code>. The helper sends the code and the saved token to Webly itself, so you never read the token, and on success it deletes the token and the pending step. Tell them which site moved and give the printed dashboardUrl. A retry by the same person is safe (alreadyClaimed: true). The code lasts 10 minutes; get a new one if it expired (claim_code_invalid).

After the claim: with billing off, or on a paid plan with a free slot, the site is permanent. On the Free plan with billing on it's held: editable until the original 24-hour mark, then offline until they upgrade (402 claim_held). Say which one the response shows (website.claimHeld); don't promise permanence.

Working over MCP (signed in)

Call whoami and list_websites first, and continue an existing site (the folder's linked one, if doctor shows a link) rather than creating a second one. After create_website for a project on disk, run webly link <websiteId> in the project folder so later sessions find it.

Read references/mcp-and-domains.md for the full signed-in MCP workflow: workspaces, REST without MCP, editing/deploying static and React sites, check_head quality gate, publish_website approval rules, vanity namespaces, forms, git access, duplicating/moving sites, and custom domain DNS setup.

Rules

• The token is a secret that proves ownership. Never print it, log it, commit it, or put it in a URL other than through webly claim-link.
• Only state URLs, sites and counts that a command or tool actually returned.
• Don't set up MCP for someone who only wants a quick link; offer it when they want to keep or grow the site.
• One anonymous site per machine. If they want a second site kept, claim the first, then create the second over MCP and webly link it.
• A folder belongs to the site in its .webly/project.json. Never deploy it to, or claim, a different site unless the person asks.