Who can open a link

Three choices

A random link is hard to guess, but anyone who has it can open it. For client work, use a password or an invite list. The guide Password-protect a staging site walks through choosing one.

Anyone with the link

The default on every plan. On Free, visitors see a short notice from ouicu before your page, once a week in each browser.

A password (Hobby and Pro)

For one share or one upload:

ouicu share 3000 --passwordouicu deploy ./dist --password

You type it at the prompt, or set OUICU_PASSWORD. It holds for that share, or for that site until its next upload: give each upload --password to keep it.

For everything under a reserved name: on the Shares page, open “Change who can open it” by the name and set a password there.

Visitors see a page asking for the password. Once they type it, that browser stays in for 7 days. Change the password and everyone is asked again. Passwords are 8 to 200 characters, ouicu keeps only a hash of them, and wrong tries are slowed down so a password can't be guessed by trying many.

Only invited people (Pro)

List the people who may open a link, instead of a password:

ouicu share 3000 --allow [email protected],[email protected]

@acme.com lets in everyone with an address at that domain. A list holds up to 50 entries, and your own address can always open your links.

For everything under a reserved name, put the list on the Shares page under “Change who can open it”. Saving a list takes off the name's password.

What your visitor does

1. They open the link, and ouicu asks for their email address.
2. If the address is on your list, ouicu emails them a link. The page says the same either way, so it tells a stranger nothing.
3. The link in the email works for 24 hours. It opens the preview in the browser they click it in, for 7 days.

They need no account. Your visitor emails name them, so you know who opened it.

Removing someone

On a reserved name, take them off the list on the Shares page. Everyone is asked for their address again, so the person you removed is out straight away. Adding someone keeps everyone else in.

For a list given with --allow, stop the share and start it again with the new list. Any change to the list asks everyone again.

Which one wins

A share's or an upload's own password or list wins over the name's. Without one of its own, the name's applies. You can't use --password and --allow together.