Static by default

How to publish a Quarto site

Quarto renders notebooks and Markdown into a finished site. Your code runs while it renders, so what gets published is plain HTML.

Build command
quarto render
Folder to upload
_site

Free plan, free SSL, no credit card.

.droply.id
  1. Build the project

    Run quarto render in the project folder. This is the step Droply does not do for you: we publish finished pages, we never run your build.

  2. Find the output folder

    The build writes a finished site to _site. That folder, not the project folder, is what gets uploaded.

  3. Drag it in

    Drop the folder (or a ZIP of it) into Droply. It is live on an HTTPS droply.id subdomain in seconds, and re-uploading publishes a new version at the same URL.

Worth knowing about Quarto

  • A website project renders into _site by default. output-dir under project in _quarto.yml changes it, and a book project writes somewhere else, so read the config rather than assuming.

  • The code runs at render time, on your machine, not at the published address. Anything that needs a live kernel, such as a Shiny document, will not work as a static upload.

  • Render the whole project with quarto render, not a single file. Rendering one document leaves the rest of the site as it was at the last full render.

Did an AI tool build this project?

Hosting an AI-generated website covers the question that comes before the build command: whether what you are holding is a single file or a project, and which of the two every tool actually hands back.

Frequently asked questions

Does Droply build my Quarto project for me?
No, and it never will. Droply publishes finished static files. Running your build would mean running your dependencies on our servers, which is a different and much riskier product. Build locally or in your existing CI, then upload the result.
Which folder do I upload?
The _site folder that quarto render creates, not the project folder. Upload it directly or ZIP it first; both work.
What happens when I update the site?
Build again and upload again. The new version replaces the old one at the same URL, so a link you have already shared keeps working. The Pro, Business and Enterprise plans keep a version history you can roll back to in one click.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes, on the Pro, Business and Enterprise plans. Point your domain at Droply, and the certificate is issued and renewed automatically.