Sharing previews

Send a preview URL to a PM, a client, or a QA reviewer — with optional password protection and a PR-ready status badge.

Just copy the URL

The simplest path: click Share on any deployment, copy the URL, paste it wherever. The URL is stable for the lifetime of the branch — same URL on every new push.

Email a preview

The Share modal has an email composer. Type an address, add a note, hit send. PreviewDrop sends a branded email with the preview URL, the branch name, the commit SHA, and (if enabled) the preview password.

Good for client reviews
Clients and non-technical reviewers usually want an email, not a Slack link. The email contains everything they need in one place and survives inbox archaeology better than a Slack message.

Password protection

Starter and up. Turn on Preview password in Project Settings. PreviewDrop generates a password (or you can set your own); every preview on that project gates behind a simple login page. The password is the same across branches, so you can share it once.

  • The login is HTTP-level — your app sees requests only after the password check passes.
  • Sessions last 7 days by default (configurable).
  • Rotating the password invalidates existing sessions immediately.
Not a production auth solution
Preview passwords exist to keep casual visitors out — they're not a replacement for real auth on sensitive data. Don't point previews at production PII with only a shared password in front.

Embed a status badge in your PR

Drop this Markdown into your PR description and it renders a live badge that updates as the preview moves through states:

Markdown
[![Preview](https://previewdrop.dev/badge/prj_abc123/feature-checkout-v2.svg)](https://feature-checkout-v2-abc.previews.previewdrop.dev)

The badge is green when the latest preview is ready, orange during building, red on failed.

Slack notifications

Install the PreviewDrop Slack App from Dashboard → Integrations and pick a channel. You'll get one message per deployment state change (or deploy-ready-only — configurable). The message includes the branch, the URL, and a Open preview button.

Custom notifications

Prefer to route events somewhere else (your own Slack bot, Discord, Teams, a webhook to your ops platform)? Use the API to poll, or wait for outbound webhooks (on the roadmap — email support@previewdrop.dev if you want early access).

Team access

Invite teammates from Settings → Team. Roles:

  • Owner — full control, billing, delete projects.
  • Admin — manage projects and team, no billing.
  • Member — deploy, view, redeploy; cannot delete projects.
  • Viewer — read-only access to previews and logs.

Preview URLs (with the right password, if set) work for anyone — you don't need a PreviewDrop account to open a preview a teammate shared.