Share links and forks

A share link opens your design system read-only for anyone who has it, with no account needed. Turn on forking and visitors who sign in can copy the system into their own account. Share links are free on every plan, for every system.

Create a share link

1. Sign in. Sharing works on systems synced to your account.
2. Click Share in the top bar, left of Get code.
3. Turn on Share this design system.
4. Click Copy link.

The link has the form https://manager.shadcndesign.com/s/<token>. The token is random, so only people you send the link to can find the system.

What viewers see

The link shows the live system as you last saved it. When you keep editing, viewers see the changes the next time they load the page.

Viewers can open every page except Style, switch between light and dark, and use the interactive demos. ProBlocks show the blocks your plan includes. Everything is read-only: there is no right rail, no selection, no Get code, and nothing to edit or undo. The top bar shows the DS Manager logo (a link to the app), your system's name, the light and dark switch, and Fork when you allow it.

Every page has its own address under the link, so a viewer can send someone straight to the Button page or reload without losing their place. Share pages ask search engines not to index them. Custom components are not shown in shared links, and the Share popover reminds you of that when your system has some. On a phone, the link shows a note to open it on a computer.

Let others fork

Check Users can fork in the Share popover. It is off by default and applies to the live link immediately.

A visitor who clicks Fork gets a copy of the system in their own account:

• Forking needs an account. A signed-out visitor sees "Log in to fork" with Log in with Github, and the fork finishes by itself after they sign in.
• The copy is a new system named after the original with "(fork)" added, and the editor opens on it. It has no tie to the original: later edits on either side stay where they are made.
• The fork counts toward the visitor's system limit: 3 on Free, 30 on Pro. At the limit, a Free account sees how many systems its plan holds and what Pro holds. A Pro account is told to delete a system first.
• Fonts you uploaded are not copied. The font slots stay, and the new owner uploads their own files. Google Fonts copy over.
• Custom components arrive as drafts.
• The fork starts unpublished.

If you turn forking off, a visitor who clicks Fork is told "The owner has turned forking off."

Duplicate your own system

To copy one of your own systems, open the system switcher in the top bar and choose Duplicate system. The copy gets the same name with "copy" added, starts unpublished, and counts toward your system limit. At the limit the menu item is greyed out and shows how many systems your plan holds.

Turn a link off or replace it

• Turn it off: switch off Share this design system. The link stops working at once. If you turn sharing on again later, you get a new link, and the old one stays dead.
• Replace it: click Regenerate link. The current link stops working and a new one takes its place. The fork setting stays as it was.

Deleting a system also deletes its share link.