sher — deploy to a live preview URL
sher is a CLI that builds your frontend project, uploads it, and returns a live preview URL. One command. No accounts. No config.
Use it after you've built or scaffolded a frontend project and the user wants to see it live.
Install
Global (recommended for agents):
npm i -g shershOr one-off with npx:
npx shersh linkDeploy
From the project root:
sher linkThat's it. sher auto-detects the framework, runs the build, uploads the output, and returns a URL.
Options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--dir <path> | Upload a specific directory (skips framework detection) |
--ttl <hours> | Set link expiry in hours (default: 24) |
--no-build | Skip the build step (use if already built) |
--pass [password] | Password-protect the preview (Pro only) |
Examples
# Standard deploy
sher link
# Deploy a pre-built project
sher link --no-build
# Deploy a specific output directory
sher link --dir ./dist
# Short-lived link (2 hours)
sher link --ttl 2Parsing the output
The CLI prints the live URL to stdout in this format:
https://a8xk2m1p.sher.sh (copied)
expires 2/19/2026, 11:00 AMThe URL always matches the pattern https://[a-z0-9]{8}.sher.sh. Extract it with:
https://[a-z0-9]{8}\.sher\.shThe URL is also automatically copied to the clipboard.
After deploying
Present the URL to the user:
Your preview is live at https://a8xk2m1p.sher.sh
If you set a --ttl, mention when it expires. If using --pass, share the password too.
Supported frameworks
sher auto-detects and builds:
- Vite — outputs to
dist/ - Next.js — auto-configures static export, outputs to
out/ - Astro — outputs to
dist/ - Create React App — outputs to
build/ - Any project with a build script that produces
dist/,build/, orout/ - Static HTML — no build needed, use
--dir.to upload directly
Agent-friendly by default
- No browser opens after deploy
- No interactive prompts
- No account required for basic usage (1 deploy, 10MB max, 6h TTL)
- Authenticated users get 25 deploys, 50MB, 24h TTL
- Exit code 0 on success, non-zero on failure
Troubleshooting
If sher link fails:
- No build script — the project needs a
buildscript inpackage.json, or use--dirto point to pre-built output - Build error — fix the build error first, then retry
- Size limit — the upload is too large (10MB anonymous, 50MB authenticated, 100MB Pro)
- No output directory — ensure the build produces
dist/,build/, orout/, or specify--dir