PreviewShip

Deploy previews, share instantly. From your editor, terminal, AI agent, or browser — one step to a live link.

PreviewShip is a frontend preview deployment and sharing platform for developers. Deploy your static site and get a shareable preview URL in seconds — no Git, no CI/CD, no complex configuration.

Open Source Packages

PreviewShip provides three open-source client packages:

Package	npm	Description
CLI	previewship	Deploy from the terminal with one command
MCP Server	previewship-mcp	Native tool integration for AI coding agents
VS Code Extension	Marketplace	One-click deploy from your editor

Deployment Methods

Method	Command / Action	Best For
CLI	npx previewship deploy ./dist	Terminal, scripts, CI/CD
MCP Server	Say "deploy to PreviewShip" in AI chat	Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf
VS Code / Cursor Extension	Command Palette → PreviewShip: Deploy	Editor-first workflow
Web Console	Drag & drop zip at previewship.com	Zero-tool deployment

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CLI

One-command deploy from any terminal. Supports JSON output for AI agents and CI pipelines.

Quick Start

# Set your API Key
npx previewship login --key ps_live_YOUR_KEY

# Deploy a directory
npx previewship deploy ./dist

Commands

Command	Description
previewship login [--key KEY]	Set API Key for authentication
previewship deploy [path] [-n name] [--json]	Deploy a directory and get a preview URL
previewship status <id> [--json]	Check deployment status by ID
previewship usage [--json]	Show remaining deployment quota
previewship whoami	Display current configuration

Options

# Deploy with a custom project name
npx previewship deploy ./dist -n my-project

# JSON output for AI agents and CI
npx previewship deploy ./dist --json

# Custom exclude patterns
npx previewship deploy ./dist --exclude "*.map" --exclude "tests/**"

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
PREVIEWSHIP_API_KEY	API Key (overrides saved config)
PREVIEWSHIP_SERVER_URL	Custom API server URL
CI	Auto-enables JSON output in CI environments
NO_COLOR	Disables colored output

Programmatic Usage

The CLI also exports its core functions for use as a library:

import { deploy, getStatus, getUsage } from 'previewship'
import { ApiClient } from 'previewship'
import { packDirectory, DEFAULT_EXCLUDE_PATTERNS } from 'previewship'

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MCP Server

Model Context Protocol server that lets AI coding agents deploy previews as a native tool call. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP-compatible client.

Setup

Claude Code — add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "previewship": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "previewship-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PREVIEWSHIP_API_KEY": "ps_live_YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor — create .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "previewship": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "previewship-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PREVIEWSHIP_API_KEY": "ps_live_YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf — add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "previewship": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "previewship-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PREVIEWSHIP_API_KEY": "ps_live_YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Tool	Description	Parameters
deploy_preview	Deploy a directory and get a preview URL	path (optional), projectName (optional), excludePatterns (optional)
check_deployment	Check deployment status by ID	deploymentId (required)
show_usage	Show remaining deployment quota	—

Usage

Once configured, simply ask your AI agent:

"Deploy this project to PreviewShip" "Check the status of my last deployment" "How many deploys do I have left today?"

---

VS Code / Cursor Extension

One-click deploy from VS Code or Cursor. Install from the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX Registry.

Install

Via Command Palette (Ctrl+P / Cmd+P):

ext install previewship.previewship

Via VSIX (offline install):

code --install-extension previewship-0.1.3.vsix
# Or for Cursor:
cursor --install-extension previewship-0.1.3.vsix

Commands

Command	Description
PreviewShip: Set API Key	Store your API Key securely (encrypted via VS Code Secrets API)
PreviewShip: Deploy Current Workspace	Package, upload, and deploy your project
PreviewShip: Show Usage	Display daily/monthly deployment quota

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
previewship.serverUrl	https://api.previewship.com	API server URL
previewship.excludePatterns	node_modules/**, .git/**, .env*, etc.	File exclude patterns for packaging
previewship.pollIntervalMs	3000	Deployment status polling interval (ms)
previewship.pollTimeoutMs	300000	Polling timeout (ms)

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Getting Started

1. Register a free account at previewship.com
2. Create an API Key from the console → API Keys page
3. Deploy using any method above
4. Share the preview link with your team

Plans

	Free	Pro Monthly	Pro Yearly
Price	$0	$9/mo	$84/yr ($7/mo)
Projects	1	8	12
Daily Deploys	5	20	35
Max Zip Size	15 MB	50 MB	80 MB
Preview Expiry	7 days	30 days	365 days

Free plan requires no credit card. Start deploying instantly.

Supported Frameworks

Any static frontend output works — React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Next.js (export), Nuxt (generate), Astro, vanilla HTML/CSS/JS, and more. Just make sure your build output contains an index.html.

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 20.0.0 (for CLI and MCP)
• VS Code ≥ 1.85.0 (for extension)
• An API Key from previewship.com

Links

• Website: previewship.com
• Documentation: previewship.com/docs
• CLI on npm: npmjs.com/package/previewship
• MCP on npm: npmjs.com/package/previewship-mcp
• VS Code Marketplace: marketplace.visualstudio.com

License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.