# Publish from a script with the API A small REST API for creating sites, uploading a deployment and reading what happened, with an OpenAPI description you can generate a client from. ## Plan availability Raw API tokens start on Pro. The first-party extensions sign in separately and work on every plan. - **Free:** not included - **Starter:** not included - **Pro:** included - **Business:** included - **Enterprise:** included ## The same publish, without the browser A token, a POST with your build, and the site is live. It is the dashboard's publish path with a different front door. You create a token in the dashboard, then call the API to list your sites, create one, and upload a deployment to it. The response tells you the live address and what state the deployment is in, so a script can wait for it rather than guessing. The whole surface is described in the API reference and in a machine-readable OpenAPI 3.1 document, which is enough for most generators to produce a client without you writing one. The obvious use is a release step: your build runs wherever it already runs, and the last line publishes the output here. That is deliberately different from a Git integration. We do not watch a repository and we do not run your build, so nothing here needs access to your source; you build where you already build and hand us the folder. Rate limits are per plan and per token, so a runaway loop in a script hits a ceiling rather than your bill. ## How to use it 1. **Create a token.** Tokens live in the dashboard under API tokens, and each one is named and revocable on its own. 2. **Call the API.** Create a site if you need one, then upload your built folder as a deployment. The reference has the exact calls. 3. **Read the result.** The response carries the live address and the deployment state, so your script can fail loudly instead of assuming it worked. ## When people reach for this - **A release step at the end of your build.** The last command in your pipeline publishes the output. See the framework build guides for what each toolchain writes and where. - **Publishing generated reports on a schedule.** A nightly job that renders HTML and posts it, so the same address always has yesterday's numbers on it. - **A tool of your own that hands users a link.** An internal generator that needs somewhere to put its output. Publish through the API and give the person a URL instead of a download. ## Doing this without us The comparison that matters is not another API, it is the Git-based platforms this deliberately is not. - **What triggers a publish.** Droply: Your call, whenever you decide. A Git-connected platform: A push to a watched branch. - **Access to your source.** Droply: None. We never see the repository. A Git-connected platform: Repository access is the integration. - **Where the build runs.** Droply: Wherever it already runs. A Git-connected platform: On their builders, in their environment. - **Publishing without a repository at all.** Droply: Normal. There is no repository in the model. A Git-connected platform: Usually needs a CLI path instead. - **What you send.** Droply: The finished folder. A Git-connected platform: The source, plus a build configuration. Compared against the Git-integration model used by the developer platforms, not against a specific vendor. Checked September 2026. ## When this is not the right tool This publishes static output. It is not a build service and it is not a general file API. - There is no Git integration, no webhook on push and no build step. You build, then you upload. - It serves what you upload. It cannot run server-side code, so an API that needs to execute your application is out of scope. - Raw tokens are a paid feature. If all you want is to publish from an editor or a browser, the VS Code extension does that on every plan. - Rate limits and plan limits apply to API calls exactly as they do in the dashboard. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which plan includes API access? Raw API tokens start on Pro. That is separate from the first-party extensions, which sign in with an emailed code and work on every plan including free. ### Is there an OpenAPI description? Yes, OpenAPI 3.1, served as JSON. Most client generators will take it as-is, and the reference links to it. ### Can I deploy from CI? Yes. That is the main use. Your build runs where it already runs, and one call at the end uploads the output folder. ### Does it connect to my Git repository? No, and it is not planned. We never ask for repository access, which also means nothing here can read your source. ### Can I revoke a token? Yes. Tokens are listed in the dashboard, named, and revocable individually, so a token you put in a CI job can be replaced without touching the others. ### Are there rate limits? Yes, per plan and keyed per token, so one noisy script cannot spend another one's allowance. ## Related features - [VS Code extension](https://droply.host/features/vscode-extension) - [Chrome extension](https://droply.host/features/chrome-extension) - [Team seats](https://droply.host/features/team-seats)