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Publishing and sharing Updated 6 days ago 3 min read

Preview vs live: how publishing works

Your changes are visible to you instantly. They're visible to your users when you publish. Here's the difference.

Every Overskill app has two versions running at once: a preview and a live copy. Knowing which is which keeps you out of trouble.

Preview

This is what you see in the editor. Every change you make shows up in preview within seconds.

  • Address: starts with preview- (something like preview-abc123.overskill.app)
  • Who sees it: you, plus anyone you share the preview link with
  • What changes: everything you do in chat — instantly
  • Cost to update: free (no credits to publish to preview)

Preview is where you try changes before publishing them. Your live app keeps its published design and features, but both versions use the same saved data. Changes to records in preview can affect your live app too.

Live

This is the version your real users see when they visit your app's address.

  • Address: your real address (something like myrecipes.overskill.app or your custom domain if you set one up)
  • Who sees it: everyone — your users, your customers, the public if your app is public
  • What changes: only what you publish, when you publish it
  • Cost to update: free, but stays whatever version you last published

The live version doesn't change automatically when you edit. You decide when to push your work out.

How to publish

In the top right of the editor, hit Publish. A modal opens with:

  • A summary of what's changing (compared to the live version)
  • A Publish site button the first time, or Publish changes after that

Click it. About 5 seconds later, your live version updates. All your existing users see the new version next time they refresh.

Heads up: when the AI in chat says a change is done, connected, or working, that's your preview — it does not mean your live site updated. The AI can't publish for you. You still have to click Publish. See The AI says connected, but my live app has not changed.

Rolling back

Made a release you regret? Open the version history (history icon at the top of the editor). Find the last good version, click Restore, and publish again. Done.

Your users see the rollback within seconds. No drama.

Sharing a preview without publishing

Want a teammate or customer to test something before it goes live?

  1. Hit Share in the top toolbar
  2. Find Preview Link
  3. Copy the link

Anyone with the link sees the preview version and can use it like a real app. Keep in mind that anything they add goes into the same data your live app uses (see the note on data below).

A note on data

Preview and live share the same saved data. Adding, editing, or deleting a record in preview changes the data your live app uses too. There is no setting or chat request that separates them.

Before testing:

  • Export a copy of your tables: open Data, choose a table, then click Export.
  • Use your own contact details for test records.
  • Label test records clearly and remove them before launch. Avoid changing or deleting real customer records while testing.

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Your remix URL and sharing your app

Every app has a remix URL. Share it and anyone can start their own copy of your app to build on. There's no button to hunt for — the link is the whole mechanism.

The Overskill badge on your app

The small badge in the corner of your app — what it is, how to move it, how to hide it, and the one step people forget.

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