OpenArtifacts publishes rendered HTML at a stable public link and preserves every update as an immutable version. Publishers use an authenticated HTTP API; readers open the result without an account. The Worker stores document bytes in Cloudflare R2 and ownership, version, and deletion metadata in D1.
It is a small API-first publishing service. Reader accounts, permissions, and comments do not exist yet.
- Publish rendered HTML. Send a complete HTML document and get a public link.
- Keep one stable link. Every push creates a new version. The shared link
shows the latest version, while pinned
/v2-style links keep showing the version they name. - Read without signing in. Publishing needs a bearer key. Reading needs nothing.
- Keep pages out of search results. Serving responses carry
noindexdirectives. - Run interactive documents. Scripts, charts, and simulations work. Pages cannot submit forms or be embedded by another site.
- List and unshare documents. Deleting destroys the stored files and leaves
a
410 Gonetombstone. Copies already in a reader's browser cache cannot be recalled. - Bound abuse. The current limits are 10 MB per document, 100 pushes per UTC day, and 500 live documents per owner.
OpenArtifacts is an agent-first medium for publishing and reading webpages and other artifacts. It is designed for groups of humans and agents to iterate on the same page and converge on a shared result.
| Goal | Status |
|---|---|
| Agent-first publishing and reading | Available today |
| Immutable versions and pinned version links | Available today |
| Public sharing | Available today |
| Self-hosting | Available today |
| Private sharing | Roadmap |
| Inline comments and replies | Roadmap |
| Version-history browser, visual diffs, and rollback UI | Roadmap |
Requires Node.js 20 or newer. Local development uses the real Workers runtime with local R2 and D1 data, but needs no Cloudflare account.
npm install
npm run typecheck
npm test
# Create the local schema and one local publisher.
npx wrangler d1 migrations apply DB --local
KEY=local-development-key
HASH=$(printf '%s' "$KEY" | shasum -a 256 | cut -d' ' -f1)
npx wrangler d1 execute DB --local --command \
"INSERT OR REPLACE INTO publishers (key_hash, owner, plan, validated_at)
VALUES ('$HASH', 'local-owner', 'plus', $(($(date +%s) * 1000)))"
npm run devIn another terminal, exercise the whole publish, read, list, and delete path:
OPENARTIFACTS_LICENSE_KEY=local-development-key \
scripts/smoke.sh http://127.0.0.1:8787local-development-key is deliberately easy to copy and is only for local
development. Use a generated high-entropy key for any internet-facing
deployment.
You need a Cloudflare account with Workers, R2, and D1, plus two domains added to that account:
- an API hostname on your brand domain; and
- a separate registrable domain for untrusted document HTML.
The separation is important. A document that is reported as phishing should not take down your API or brand domain. Serving domain explains the boundary.
Sign in to Cloudflare and create the storage resources. The names below are
examples; any names work when these commands and wrangler.jsonc agree.
npx wrangler login
SELF_HOST_DB=openartifacts
SELF_HOST_BUCKET=openartifacts-docs
npx wrangler d1 create "$SELF_HOST_DB"
npx wrangler r2 bucket create "$SELF_HOST_BUCKET"The D1 command prints a database_id. Update wrangler.jsonc for your account:
- Set the Worker
name. - Set
bucket_nameto your R2 bucket name. - Set
database_nameanddatabase_idto your D1 values. - Replace
routeswith exactly twocustom_domainentries: your document host and your API host. - Keep only
SERVING_HOSTandAPI_HOSTundervars, using those same hosts. - Keep
workers_devset tofalse.
Apply the schema, create a publisher key, deploy, and run the smoke test:
npx wrangler d1 migrations apply "$SELF_HOST_DB" --remote
SELF_HOST_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
SELF_HOST_HASH=$(printf '%s' "$SELF_HOST_KEY" | shasum -a 256 | cut -d' ' -f1)
SELF_HOST_NOW_MS=$(($(date +%s) * 1000))
npx wrangler d1 execute "$SELF_HOST_DB" --remote --command \
"INSERT INTO publishers (key_hash, owner, plan, validated_at)
VALUES ('$SELF_HOST_HASH', 'self-hosted-owner', 'plus', $SELF_HOST_NOW_MS)"
npx wrangler deploy
OPENARTIFACTS_LICENSE_KEY="$SELF_HOST_KEY" \
scripts/smoke.sh https://api.example.comReplace api.example.com with your API host. Save SELF_HOST_KEY in a password
manager before closing the terminal. The raw key can publish, list, update, and
delete every document owned by self-hosted-owner; only its SHA-256 hash is
stored in D1.
Leave LICENSE_API_URL and LICENSE_API_KEY unset for this pre-seeded-key
setup. Unknown keys then fail closed. Because workers_dev is disabled, the
Worker becomes reachable only after Cloudflare attaches both custom domains.
| Document | Contents |
|---|---|
| HTTP API | Publish, read, list, version, and delete endpoints. |
| Hosting | How Workers, R2, and D1 fit together. |
| Serving domain | Why uploaded HTML uses a separate registrable domain. |
| Identity | Why documents belong to an owner rather than a credential, and how an account is created. |
| Private sharing | Designed reader-identity phases. Not built. |
| Comments | Design sketch for the next product step. Not built. |
OpenArtifacts is available under the MIT License.