HTMLinks

Share an HTML file as a link

Publish a self-contained HTML report with HTMLinks, share its URL, and update it without changing the link. Includes a sample and troubleshooting.

By Michael Elkabetz · HTMLinks maintainer

Start with a self-contained file

HTMLinks turns a local HTML file into a page people can open in their browser. It does not generate the document: your agent or editor creates it first. Inline CSS, scripts, and embedded images can stay interactive.

Use Node.js 22.22+ for the publishing helper. To try a maintained sample, download the idea document:

curl -fL 'https://www.htmlinks.com/examples/idea' -o report.html

To publish your own report, save it as UTF-8 HTML. Embed its assets; external scripts and network requests are blocked. See supported HTML for the full constraints and agent setup to install the skill.

Publish and share

After installation, ask your agent: “Use HTMLinks to publish ./report.html. Anyone with the link can read it.” On first use, choose managed hosting or give it your self-hosted server URL. The agent saves your choice and returns a sharing URL.

For a project-local Codex installation, you can also run the helper yourself from the project root:

node .agents/skills/htmlinks/scripts/htmlinks.mjs config --hosting managed --url https://www.htmlinks.com
node .agents/skills/htmlinks/scripts/htmlinks.mjs upload ./report.html

For your own server, use config --hosting self-hosted --url https://www.htmlinks.com. The command above explicitly selects the public managed service. The result includes a document ID and sharing URL; the helper saves the editing key locally without printing it. Share the URL with recipients, who only need a browser.

Update the file and keep the URL

Edit the local HTML and ask: “Update the HTMLinks document I published with ./report.html. Keep the same link.” Use the same computer and saved key, or restore your private key backup first. Content updates preserve the sharing URL and access settings.

The CLI uses update DOCUMENT_ID ./report.html; replace DOCUMENT_ID with the ID returned on upload. Use revisions DOCUMENT_ID to inspect revision history and rollback DOCUMENT_ID --revision REVISION_ID to republish a previous revision.

If the agent cannot find the skill, reload its skills and confirm you installed into this project or used the installer’s global option. If upload fails, check config for the saved origin, file size, and server availability. A lost management key cannot be recovered from the sharing URL.

Need restricted access? Follow the password-protected HTML guide.

Install the skill