From the App
Publish Octarine notes to the web from the desktop app and manage their public links.
Sharing a note from the Octarine desktop app turns it into a public web page. Octarine uploads a copy of the note, gives you a link to share, and lets you update or unpublish it later without changing the local Markdown file.
Sharing from the app requires an active Octarine Pro license and an internet connection.
Before You Share
A shared note is public. Anyone with its link can open it in a browser, and the link does not have a password, sign-in requirement, or reader permissions.
Review the note before publishing and remove anything that should stay private. This includes the note body, visible properties, and images referenced in the note.
The Show properties switch controls whether properties appear on the rendered page and public note endpoint. When it is off, the public endpoint returns an empty properties object. The note body, title, summary, timestamps, and any enabled author name remain public.
Create A Public Link
- Open a non-empty note in the desktop app.
- Click Share in the top-right of the note breadcrumb.
- On your first share, read the short introduction and click Continue to sharing.
- Review the public title. Octarine starts with the note's
titleproperty when one exists, or the Markdown filename otherwise. - Optionally add a summary. If an AI model is configured, click Generate to draft one from the note.
- Choose whether to show the note's properties.
- Review the expiration date and click Create link.
Octarine copies the new link to your clipboard. Use Open link in the confirmation message to check the published page in your browser.
The button in the breadcrumb changes from Share to Shared while the local note is connected to a public link.
The Command Bar also includes Share Note for a one-step publish. Use the breadcrumb popover when you want to review the title, summary, and property visibility before creating the link.
The summary generator sends the note content to the AI provider configured in Octarine. Write the summary yourself if you do not want to send the note to that provider.
What Gets Published
Octarine uploads:
- The current Markdown content.
- The public title and optional summary.
- Visible note properties.
- Supported images referenced with wikilinks such as
[[diagram.png]].
Image wikilinks with display options, such as [[diagram.png|400]], are supported. Octarine finds the matching file in the workspace's .attachments folder and uploads it with the note.
Supported image types are PNG, JPEG, GIF, and WebP. Each image can be up to 5 MiB, and your publishing account has 1 GB of image storage. Other attachments, SVG files, videos, and local files are not uploaded when sharing. If an image cannot be found, Octarine publishes the rest of the note and tells you that the missing image will not appear.
The public page uses Octarine's web reader. Standard Markdown links continue to work, while workspace-only links may not make sense outside your local workspace.
Update A Shared Note
Editing the local note does not update its public copy automatically.
To publish your latest changes:
- Open the shared note.
- Click Shared in the breadcrumb.
- Adjust the title, summary, or Show properties setting if needed.
- Click Update note.
Octarine uploads the current Markdown, properties, and supported images while keeping the same public URL. The original expiration date does not change.
You can also use Sync Shared Note from the Command Bar. Other sharing actions there let you open or copy the current link.
Copy Or Open A Link
Click Shared to see the public URL. Use the buttons beside it to:
- Copy the link to your clipboard.
- Open the published note in your default browser.
The Command Bar also includes Copy Share Link and Open Share Link for a shared note.
Choose Sharing Defaults
Open Settings -> Sharing -> General to manage account-wide sharing settings, then click Save changes.
Identity
Set a display name and turn on Show author when you want your name at the top of shared notes. Your account email is shown in Settings for reference but is not used as the public author name.
Expiration
New links expire automatically. Choose 3, 7, 14, 30, 60, or 90 days; the default is 30 days.
Changing this setting affects new links only. Existing links keep the expiration date they received when they were created, and updating a shared note does not extend it.
An expired note and its image API URLs stop serving new reads, but expiration does not delete the stored image bytes. Unpublish the note when its hosted images should be removed and its storage usage released. Copies that readers already downloaded or cached cannot be recalled.
Properties
Use Show properties by default to choose the initial state of the switch for new links. You can still change it for an individual note before publishing.
Appearance
Choose separate light and dark reader themes and a font for your public notes. The preview in Settings shows how the combination will look.
Identity and appearance are shared across your publishing account, so changes apply to your published-note reader rather than to one local workspace.
Manage Published Notes
Open Settings -> Sharing -> Published notes to see public links from your sharing account, including publications whose local note is no longer open in the app.
For each publication, you can:
- Open its public page.
- Copy its link.
- See its updated and expiration dates.
- Unpublish it.
Expired links remain in this list until you unpublish them. Use the refresh button to fetch the latest list from the sharing service.
The Unpublish all action disables every listed public link and removes their hosted attachments. It does not delete or edit the Markdown files in your workspaces.
Find Shared Notes In A View
Views can filter local notes using sharing fields:
- Shared Status
- Shared URL
- Shared Title
- Shared Expiration
- Shared Properties
For example, add a Shared Status is checked filter to create a view of notes that are currently marked as published in the workspace.
These fields come from metadata stored in the local Markdown frontmatter. They describe the link connected to that file; use Settings -> Sharing -> Published notes when you need the account-wide list from the server.
When you duplicate a shared note, Octarine removes the sharing metadata from the duplicate. The original note keeps its public link, and the duplicate starts as an unpublished local note.
Stop Sharing
To unpublish the note you are viewing:
- Click Shared in the breadcrumb.
- Click Stop sharing.
You can also use Unpublish Note in the Command Bar or unpublish a note from Settings -> Sharing -> Published notes.
Unpublishing makes the public link stop working and removes the note from your publication list. Images uploaded with that publication are scheduled for deletion. The local note and its local attachments are not changed.
Deleting a local Markdown file is not a substitute for unpublishing its hosted copy. If the source file is gone, use Settings -> Sharing -> Published notes to remove the public link.
Limits And API Access
Sharing from the app is intended for personal note publishing, not as a backup service or general-purpose file host. Keep the original Markdown and attachments in your normal workspace backup.
For size, storage, traffic, and fair-use guidance, see Limits & Fair Use. To publish from a terminal, API client, or local agent instead of the desktop UI, see via API.
Quick Answers
Who can read a shared note?
Anyone with the link. Shared notes do not currently support passwords, sign-in requirements, or per-reader permissions.
Do edits update the public note automatically?
No. Open the Shared popover and click Update note, or run Sync Shared Note from the Command Bar.
Does hiding properties keep them private?
No. It hides them from the rendered page, but uploaded properties remain available through the public note endpoint. Remove sensitive properties before publishing.
Does unpublishing delete my local note?
No. It disables the public link and removes hosted sharing data without changing the Markdown file or local attachments in your workspace.