# Put your space on Velven
Publish a folder with one command and, once it passes a safety check, your space is live on Velven with its own page, clip and leaderboards. A page already live on another host can be linked instead.
## 1. Sign in from your terminal
You need Node 20 or later. Nothing to install: `npx` runs the Velven CLI.
```bash
npx @velven/cli login
```
It shows a code and opens Velven in your browser. Sign in with GitHub, Google or an email link, pick a handle if this is your first time, and press Approve.
> Note: Want to try it first? Skip this step: a publish without an account makes an [unlisted page](https://velven.ai/docs/quickstart#no-account) you can claim later.
## 2. Publish a preview
Build your space, then publish the folder that holds its `index.html`:
```bash
npx @velven/cli publish ./dist
```
The first time, the CLI asks for a title, the type of space and the devices it works on, and saves the answers in `velven.json` in that folder. It uploads the files and prints a preview link: your space, played on Velven's page, for you and anyone signed in you send it to, for 24 hours. Scores and saves made there go to a sandbox, not the live space.
[velven.json](https://velven.ai/docs/hosting#velven-json) has every field, and the [CLI reference](https://velven.ai/docs/cli) every command.
## 3. Go live
```bash
npx @velven/cli publish ./dist --prod --wait
```
Velven opens the version as a player would and checks it against the [content policy](https://velven.ai/content-policy). This takes a few minutes. When it passes, the version is live on its Velven page, the take becomes its clip and thumbnail, and the space is on Velven. The CLI prints the page's address.
- Refused: the reason is printed and nothing changes. Fix it and publish again, or press Ask for review on the space's Files tab.
- Could not judge: the take never got past a start screen. Add a hint to `velven.json`, such as `"start": { "click": "Play" }`, and publish again.
> Note: Every later `velven publish --prod` from the folder updates the same space, and `velven rollback` puts an earlier version back. [Versions and rollback](https://velven.ai/docs/hosting#versions).
## 4. Fill in your page
Open the space's edit page from its Velven page. The Page tab holds what players read beside the frame: about, how to play, the controls, features and questions. An agent can write it from your code through the [API](https://velven.ai/docs/agent#page).
## Publish without an account
Run `npx @velven/cli publish ./dist` without signing in and Velven makes an unlisted page: live once it passes the check, with every SDK feature, but on no list or search until you claim it. The CLI prints the page's address, a claim token and a claim link, and saves the token in `velven.json`, so publishing again from the folder updates the same page.
The page is deleted 7 days after its first publish unless you claim it: open the claim link and sign in, or run `velven login` and publish again from the folder. [Publish without an account](https://velven.ai/docs/hosting#no-account) has the limits.
## Upload in the browser instead
Open [Add a space](https://velven.ai/add) and choose Upload files. Drop a folder, a zip or one HTML file, or paste HTML. Fill in the title, type and devices, then publish: the same check runs, and signed out you get an unlisted page and a claim link.
## Or let your agent do it
A coding agent runs the same CLI for you, and an assistant in a chat publishes through Velven's MCP server. [Publish with an agent](https://velven.ai/docs/agent) has both, and agents that use skills can install [Velven's skills](https://velven.ai/docs/skills).
## Link a live URL instead
A space already live on ChatGPT, Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare, Replit or Firebase can be listed where it is: Velven plays it in a frame, records a clip for its tile and counts its plays. The page must be public and let Velven frame it, which all 7 hosts allow by default.
- Open [Add a space](https://velven.ai/add), choose Link a live URL, paste the address and press Check. Velven checks that the page is on a [supported host](https://velven.ai/docs/hosting#hosts), answers and plays in a frame.
- Signed in, add the [proof tag](https://velven.ai/docs/quickstart#prove) to your page and deploy again.
- Fill in the title, the type of space and the devices it works on. Engine, Model, Tool, Prompt and Repo are optional, and people filter by them.
- Press Publish once Velven has found your tag, or Save: the page then checks your site every 20 seconds and publishes as soon as it finds the tag.
> Note: Your details are kept in this browser for 7 days. You can close the page and come back after the deploy: paste the URL again and press Publish.
## Prove a linked space is yours
Signed in, the add page shows the proof tag at once. Add it to your page's ``, with your own handle, and deploy again:
```html
```
Once you copy the tag or press Check now, the light checks your site every 20 seconds. You don't have to wait for it: fill in the details while the deploy goes live. When the light finds the tag, it turns green and names your handle.
> Note: Only the page's own HTML counts, not a tag added by a script after load. [The proof tag](https://velven.ai/docs/hosting#proof) has the steps for each host. A space published on Velven needs no tag.
## The clip
Every space gets a 5-second clip for its tile; its first frame is the thumbnail. A space published on Velven gets it from the safety check's take. For a linked space, Velven plays it in its own browser and records one after you publish, which takes a few minutes. Until it lands, only you can see the space, marked Getting ready, and a strip on its page shows the progress.
> Note: To skip the wait on a linked space, press Add your own clip on the card before you publish: the space goes live as soon as it is proven. Later, open the Clip tab on the space's edit page. Under Upload your own video, press Choose a video. Under Record a new clip, say what the clip should show and press Record again; you can do this 2 times.
## Claim a space
Velven lists some spaces itself, marked Unclaimed and credited to their creator. If one is yours, add the proof tag to it and press Claim on its page. Its plays stay, and it moves to your handle. An unlisted page you published without an account shows the same Claim button: claim it with its token.
## Next steps
- [Add a leaderboard in 10 minutes](https://velven.ai/docs/sdk/leaderboard-quickstart), the fastest way into the Velven SDK.
- [Add achievements](https://velven.ai/docs/sdk/achievements), worth points on each player's profile.
- [Keep saves](https://velven.ai/docs/sdk/saves) so players pick up where they left off.
- [Test with velven dev](https://velven.ai/docs/cli#dev): your folder served on your machine, played on Velven's page.
Put the badge in your README, with your own handle and your space's slug:
```html
```