Quickstart

Connect a Git repo, push a branch, get a live preview URL. Takes about five minutes.

Prerequisites

A GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket account, and a repo that either has a Dockerfile at its root or uses a framework PreviewDrop can auto-detect (Node, Python, Ruby, Go, Java, PHP, Rust, and more).

1. Create a workspace

Head to previewdrop.dev/signup and sign up. Every new account is on the Free plan — no credit card, no trial clock. You can invite teammates later from Settings.

2. Connect a Git provider

In the dashboard, click Connect repo. Pick GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. You'll be sent through OAuth, then asked which repositories PreviewDrop can see. Grant access only to the repos you want previewed — you can expand the list later.

On GitHub this installs the PreviewDrop App. It only reads repo metadata and listens for push/PR events. No code is stored server-side beyond the build container, which is destroyed when the preview expires.

3. Create a project

After connecting, pick the repo you want to preview. PreviewDrop creates a project— the durable record that owns all the previews for that repo. You'll land on the project page with the Deployments tab open.

4. Push a branch

That's it. Push any branch (or open a PR) and PreviewDrop builds it automatically:

bash
git checkout -b preview-test
echo "<h1>Hello from a preview</h1>" >> README.md
git commit -am "test preview"
git push origin preview-test

Within seconds the Deployments tab shows a new row in building. You can clickLogs to watch the build stream. Once the container is healthy the status flips to ready and the URL is live.

5. Open the preview

The URL looks like:

URL
https://preview-test-<hash>.previews.previewdrop.dev

It's a real, reachable URL — share it with a PM, a client, or anyone. TLS is handled for you. If you want it password-protected, flip on Preview password in Project Settings (Starter plan and up).

What to do next

Add env vars — API keys, database URLs, feature flags.
Set up PR comments — PreviewDrop posts the URL straight onto every PR.
Share a preview — email it, password-protect it, embed a status badge.
Try the CLI — trigger previews from CI or your laptop without a Git push.

Troubleshooting the first deploy

Build fails immediately: most often your repo's Dockerfileexpects files or secrets that aren't in the repo. Check the Logs tab for the exact line.
Build succeeds but preview shows a connection error:your app probably isn't listening on the port PreviewDrop exposes. Bind to 0.0.0.0 and use the PORT env var (PreviewDrop sets it automatically). See Frameworks & Docker.
Preview went 404 after a while: free-plan previews expire 1 hour after their last access. Push a new commit or click Redeploy.

More fixes in Troubleshooting.