---

name: here-now description: > Publish files and folders to the web instantly. Use when asked to "publish this", "host this", "deploy this", "share this on the web", "make a website", or "put this online". Outputs a live URL at {slug}.here.now.

here.now

Skill version: 1.6.4

Publish any file or folder to the web and get a live URL back. Static hosting only.

To install or update (recommended): npx skills add heredotnow/skill --skill here-now -g

For repo-pinned/project-local installs, run the same command without -g.

If npm is unavailable, see fallback install docs: https://here.now/docs#install-skill

Requirements

• Required binaries: curl, file, jq
• Optional environment variable: $HERENOW_API_KEY
• Optional credentials file: ~/.herenow/credentials

Publish

./scripts/publish.sh {file-or-dir}

Outputs the live URL (e.g. https://bright-canvas-a7k2.here.now/).

Under the hood this is a three-step flow: create/update -> upload files -> finalize. A publish is not live until finalize succeeds.

Without an API key this creates an anonymous publish that expires in 24 hours. With a saved API key, the publish is permanent.

File structure: For HTML sites, place index.html at the root of the directory you publish, not inside a subdirectory. The directory's contents become the site root. For example, publish my-site/ where my-site/index.html exists — don't publish a parent folder that contains my-site/.

You can also publish raw files without any HTML. Single files get a rich auto-viewer (images, PDF, video, audio). Multiple files get an auto-generated directory listing with folder navigation and an image gallery.

Update an existing publish

./scripts/publish.sh {file-or-dir} --slug {slug}

The script auto-loads the claimToken from .herenow/state.json when updating anonymous publishes. Pass --claim-token {token} to override.

Authenticated updates require a saved API key.

Client attribution

Pass --client so here.now can track reliability by agent:

./scripts/publish.sh {file-or-dir} --client cursor

This sends X-HereNow-Client: cursor/publish-sh on publish API calls. If omitted, the script sends a fallback value.

API key storage

The publish script reads the API key from these sources (first match wins):

1. --api-key {key} flag (CI/scripting only — avoid in interactive use)
2. $HERENOW_API_KEY environment variable
3. ~/.herenow/credentials file (recommended for agents)

To store a key, write it to the credentials file:

mkdir -p ~/.herenow && echo "{API_KEY}" > ~/.herenow/credentials && chmod 600 ~/.herenow/credentials

IMPORTANT: Never pass the API key directly in shell commands. Always write it to ~/.herenow/credentials using the command above. This keeps the key out of terminal history and logs.

Never commit credentials or local state files (~/.herenow/credentials, .herenow/state.json) to source control.

State file

After every publish, the script writes to .herenow/state.json in the working directory:

{
  "publishes": {
    "bright-canvas-a7k2": {
      "siteUrl": "https://bright-canvas-a7k2.here.now/",
      "claimToken": "abc123",
      "claimUrl": "https://here.now/claim?slug=bright-canvas-a7k2&token=abc123",
      "expiresAt": "2026-02-18T01:00:00.000Z"
    }
  }
}

Before publishing, you may check this file to find prior slugs for updates. Treat .herenow/state.json as internal cache only. Never present this local file path as a URL, and never use it as source of truth for auth mode, expiry, or claim URL.

What to tell the user

• Always share the siteUrl from the current script run.
• Read and follow publish_result.* lines from script stderr.
• Only state "expires in 24 hours" when publish_result.auth_mode=anonymous.
• Only share a claim URL when publish_result.claim_url is non-empty and starts with https://.
• Never tell the user to inspect .herenow/state.json for claim URLs or auth status.
• Warn: claim tokens are only returned once and cannot be recovered.

Limits

Getting an API key

To upgrade from anonymous (24h) to permanent publishing:

1. Ask the user for their email address.
2. Call the sign-up endpoint to send them a magic link:

curl -sS https://here.now/api/auth/login \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "user@example.com"}'

1. Tell the user: "Check your inbox for a sign-in link from here.now. Click it, then copy your API key from the dashboard."
2. Once the user provides the key, save it:

mkdir -p ~/.herenow && echo "{API_KEY}" > ~/.herenow/credentials && chmod 600 ~/.herenow/credentials

Script options

Beyond the script

For delete, metadata patch, claim, list, and other operations, see references/REFERENCE.md.

Full docs: https://here.now/docs