# Quickstart

> Publish a site in about a minute with no account, keep it with the claim link, then put it on your own domain.

Source: https://docs.shipstatic.com/quickstart

Get a real, shareable address for your site in about a minute. Free to start, and you don't need an account to begin.

## 1. Publish it

Three ways in, ordered by how much setup each one needs. They all do the same thing.

**Drag it into your browser.** Drop your folder onto [shipstatic.com](https://www.shipstatic.com) — no sign-in, nothing to install.

**Run one command.** Nothing to install here either — `npx` fetches it for you:

```bash
npx -y @shipstatic/ship ./dist
```

**Ask your AI agent.** Drop this URL into any MCP client, then ask it to put your site online:

```
https://mcp.shipstatic.com
```

### Which folder?

The one holding your site's **finished files** — whatever your build produced, usually `dist`, `build` or `out`. If your project needs building, do that first. Already have plain HTML? Then that folder is the answer. A single file works too:

```bash
npx -y @shipstatic/ship ./index.html
```

## 2. What you get back

A live address you can share straight away, and a **claim link**:

```text
✓ Live: https://happy-cat-abc1234.shipstatic.com
  Claim: https://my.shipstatic.com/claim/...
```

It works immediately, HTTPS included, with nothing to configure. If you built a single-page app, its routes work too — the platform spots that and sets up the routing for you.

Published without an account, a site stays up for **3 days**.

## 3. Keep it

Open the claim link and sign in — Google, or a magic link to your email. The site becomes yours and **never expires**.

That is the whole account story: publish first, decide later. You have 3 days to make up your mind, and claiming is one click.

## 4. Put it on your own domain

A domain belongs to an account, so claim your site first. Then either:

**In your browser** — the dashboard walks you through it and shows you the DNS records to add.

**From the terminal** — connect it to your account once:

```bash
npx -y @shipstatic/ship config
```

Paste your [API Key](https://docs.shipstatic.com/api-key) when it asks — it's free, from [my.shipstatic.com/api-key](https://my.shipstatic.com/api-key). After that, publishing and pointing your domain at the result are a single command:

```bash
npx -y @shipstatic/ship ./dist --domain www.example.com
```

Custom domains are the one paid part of the platform; everything above is free. See [Domains](https://docs.shipstatic.com/domains) for the DNS walkthrough, including how to hand the setup to whoever manages it.

## Where to go next

- **[CLI](https://docs.shipstatic.com/cli)** — every flag, and how to script it
- **[MCP](https://docs.shipstatic.com/mcp)** — let an AI agent publish and manage sites for you
- **[Deployments](https://docs.shipstatic.com/deployments)** — versions, rollbacks, passwords, previews that expire on their own
- **[Domains](https://docs.shipstatic.com/domains)** — DNS, verification, sharing the setup

Publishing from CI or your own code? [Action](https://docs.shipstatic.com/action) for GitHub, [SDK](https://docs.shipstatic.com/sdk) for Node and the browser, [API](https://docs.shipstatic.com/api) over HTTP.