Sites: from a folder to a public address

What happens when you publish

There are three ways: ask the agent in Uno Work, use Sites in the console, or call POST /api/v1/deploy. All three send a folder of files or one zip of the build and get back the address. Publish under the same name again and the site updates in place.

# a few files
$ curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $UNO_API_KEY" -X POST https://console.uno.place/api/v1/deploy \
    -F "[email protected]" -F "[email protected]" -F "slug=my-cafe"
# or the whole build as one zip
$ curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $UNO_API_KEY" -X POST https://console.uno.place/api/v1/deploy \
    -F "[email protected]" -F "slug=my-cafe"
{"slug":"my-cafe","url":"https://my-cafe.uno4.me/"}

Uno looks at the folder first: from a project folder Uno publishes dist/ or public/; keys, .env files and source files stay out. A folder that is an app with a server side is refused with a reason: its code would go online and none of it would run.

What happens when someone opens it

The visitor gets the page over https from Uno's copy, not from your computer. Uno hosts the published copy, so a static site stays up while your computer sleeps. A site costs nothing to run, so it keeps working on any plan, the free one included.

Everything you publish is readable by anyone with the address, and names like admin or crm are easy to guess. Keep keys and customer data out of the folder, or close the site with a password.

What happens when you set a password

Visitors see a password page; after the right password the browser remembers it for 7 days, and a new password signs everyone out. In Uno Work the agent sets a readable password and tells it to you; it never sets one without asking. For an office or a VPN, you can also let in only chosen IP addresses.

Good for

A draft, a client preview, family photos

Visitors type it

Once per browser for 7 days

Change it

Everyone signs in again

What happens when a visitor sends a form

A plain HTML form works without a backend: point it at /__forms. Out of the box, a new site with a form sends every entry to your account's email. You can also send entries to your email, Telegram, or a webhook. The account's own email works at once; another address gets a confirmation letter first.

<form action="/__forms" method="POST">
  <input name="name" required>
  <input name="email" type="email" required>
  <textarea name="message"></textarea>
  <button>Send</button>
</form>

Every entry is stored, and you see them all on the site's Forms tab in the console, so a lost email does not mean a lost lead. Forms get their own page: Forms without a backend.

What happens when you add your own domain

To use it, add a CNAME record from your subdomain to your site's uno4.me address, then connect it on the site's Custom domain tab. Uno checks the record and serves the site on your domain over https. A root domain like mycafe.com cannot hold a CNAME, so use a subdomain such as www.mycafe.com.

# type   name   value
CNAME    www    my-cafe.uno4.me

What happens when the site needs a backend

A site runs no server code. When it needs some, run the backend on your computer and route one path there: PUT /api/v1/deploys/{slug}/routes sends a path such as /api to your computer, so the site and its backend share one address. The front end needs no changes and no second address. The app on the computer listens on port 80.

# / serves the site, /api/* reaches computer 42
$ curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $UNO_API_KEY" -X PUT \
    https://console.uno.place/api/v1/deploys/my-cafe/routes \
    -d '{"routes":[{"path":"/api","box_id":42}]}'

For a counter, a settings file or a review queue, there is a small JSON store per site: anyone can read it, writing needs your key or the site password, up to 1 MB.

What happens when you update or take it down

Uno runs no build of its own: you publish finished files, and the next upload under the same name replaces them. Taking a site down is one step too.

1. Update

   publishing under the same name again updates the site. The address stays the same.

2. Take down

   Unpublish in Apps & sites in Uno Work or in the console; an agent asks you first.

3. Keep the name

   A deleted site's name stays yours for 30 days, so nobody takes over your address.

Limits

What it does not do

• No server code: PHP, Node or Python do not run on a site. Run them as an app on your computer.
• No root domain: mycafe.com cannot point at a site, www.mycafe.com can.
• Not a store for big files. Put videos and downloads in cloud storage and link to them.
• No secrets: a key built into the page is readable by every visitor.

What it costs

Nothing. Sites, passwords and forms are free on every plan. A computer for the backend starts at $5 a month for Small. Compare the plans on Pricing.