// Create shareable HTML pages for instant mobile preview and visual collaboration. Use when building documents, visualizations, or anything that needs structure — view it in a browser from any device, then iterate with Google Docs-style annotations.
| name | pagedrop |
| description | Create shareable HTML pages for instant mobile preview and visual collaboration. Use when building documents, visualizations, or anything that needs structure — view it in a browser from any device, then iterate with Google Docs-style annotations. |
Escape the chat window. Render complex content as a shareable web page, get structured feedback via annotations.
Write self-contained HTML (inline CSS/JS). Save to a persistent local file using the naming convention:
/tmp/<date>-<subject>-<gist_id>.html
<date> — today's date, e.g. 2026-02-05<subject> — short slug describing the content, e.g. api-architecture, quarterly-report<gist_id> — the GitHub Gist ID (assigned after first upload). On initial creation, omit this and add it after uploading.Why: Using the Gist ID in the filename creates a direct lookup — when annotation feedback references a gist ID, you can find the exact local file to edit. This also lets you make targeted edits instead of regenerating the entire document, which is faster and cheaper.
Default template — use Pico CSS dark theme as the base:
cat > /tmp/2026-02-05-my-preview.html << 'HTMLEOF'
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en" data-theme="dark">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>My Preview</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@picocss/pico@2/css/pico.min.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="container">
<!-- content -->
</main>
</body>
</html>
HTMLEOF
Default share path: use /g/USER/GIST_ID. This is the normal Pagedrop route; it injects the revision and annotation UI at the edge.
Large-file fallback: if a drop is too large for /g/ injection or returns a 503, use /h/USER/GIST_ID. The /h/ route streams the raw gist HTML without edge body rewriting, so the HTML itself must include the Pagedrop bootstrap script before </body>:
<script src="https://pagedrop.ai/pagedrop.js"></script>
Because /g/ and /h/ serve the same gist, it is safe for large drops to keep this script in the HTML even when someone opens the /g/ URL. The /g/ injector avoids double-loading Pagedrop UI when the bootstrap script is already present. Do not remove it from /h/ drops unless the author explicitly wants to forego annotations, auth, sharing, and revision UI.
gh gist create /tmp/2026-02-05-my-preview.html -d "Description #pagedrop"
Always include #pagedrop in the description — this tags it as a drop so it appears in the user's profile.
After creating, capture the Gist ID from the output URL and rename the local file:
mv /tmp/2026-02-05-my-preview.html /tmp/2026-02-05-my-preview-abc123def456.html
Now the filename contains the Gist ID — a direct lookup when annotation feedback references this gist.
Note: Gists are created as secret by default (not listed on profile, not indexed). Anyone with the pagedrop.ai link can still view.
If your drop needs images or other static assets, put them in a public GitHub repo (so viewers can load them). Convention:
drops/<gist_id>/... (no timestamps)Copy/paste (example uses placeholders):
# 0) Set your gist id (from https://gist.github.com/<USER>/<GIST_ID>)
export GIST_ID="<GIST_ID>"
# 1) Create (or choose) a public assets repo (one-time; skip if it already exists)
export USER="<USER>"
export REPO="<REPO>" # e.g. "pagedrop-assets"
gh repo create "$USER/$REPO" --public --confirm
# 2) Clone it locally (one-time) into any folder you want
export ASSETS_DIR="/path/to/local/assets-repo"
git clone "git@github.com:$ORG/$REPO.git" "$ASSETS_DIR"
# 3) Add assets for this drop
cd "$ASSETS_DIR"
mkdir -p "drops/$GIST_ID"
cp "/path/to/<FILE>" "drops/$GIST_ID/"
# 4) Commit + push
git add "drops/$GIST_ID"
git commit -m "Add assets for $GIST_ID"
git push
Raw URL pattern (replace the filename):
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/<USER>/<REPO>/<BRANCH>/drops/<GIST_ID>/<FILE>In your HTML:
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/<USER>/<REPO>/<BRANCH>/drops/<GIST_ID>/<FILE>" alt="Example">
In your Markdown:
Convert the gist URL to a pagedrop URL:
https://gist.github.com/USER/GIST_IDhttps://pagedrop.ai/g/USER/GIST_ID (default)https://pagedrop.ai/h/USER/GIST_ID (use when /g/ is too large or returns 503; requires the bootstrap script above)Send the pagedrop.ai URL. Works on phone, tablet, desktop.
For sharing with others, use the Share button in the revision bar to generate a share link:
/s/TOKEN — share link with configurable settingsShare links let you control what viewers see:
Or create programmatically:
curl -X POST "https://pagedrop.ai/api/share" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"gist_user": "USER", "gist_id": "GIST_ID", "settings": {"annotations": true, "revisions": true}}'
Edit the local file in place (use targeted edits — no need to rewrite the whole document), then push the update. The -f flag takes the gist filename (not the local path), followed by the local source file:
gh gist edit GIST_ID -f my-preview.html /tmp/2026-02-05-my-preview-GIST_ID.html
# ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
# gist filename local source file
Tip: If you're unsure of the gist filename, list it first with gh gist view GIST_ID --files.
Key: Because the file persists at a known path, you can make surgical edits to specific sections rather than regenerating the full HTML each turn. This saves tokens and preserves any manual tweaks.
GitHub keeps all revisions — accessible via the revision bar or API.
Cache behavior:
/g/USER/GIST_ID — latest version (cached ~5 min)/g/USER/GIST_ID/SHA — specific revision (cached longer, immutable)/h/USER/GIST_ID — large-file passthrough route; requires the drop HTML to include https://pagedrop.ai/pagedrop.js/s/TOKEN — share link (cached ~1 min)Only include libraries when the content needs them. All available via CDN — no build step.
Classless semantic CSS. Write HTML, get beautiful output. Default to dark theme.
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@picocss/pico@2/css/pico.min.css">
Theming:
<html data-theme="dark"> — dark theme (default for drops)<html data-theme="light"> — light theme<html data-theme="auto"> — follows OS preferencePico handles typography, tables, forms, buttons, cards, and layout with zero classes. Just use semantic HTML (<table>, <article>, <details>, <form>, etc.).
When to use: Always. It's the base layer.
When to skip: Only if the content demands a fully custom aesthetic (dashboards, landing pages with specific brand styling).
Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, ERDs, state machines, Gantt charts, and more.
<script type="module">
import mermaid from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mermaid@11/dist/mermaid.esm.min.mjs';
mermaid.initialize({ startOnLoad: true, theme: 'dark', securityLevel: 'loose' });
</script>
Usage in HTML:
<pre class="mermaid">
graph TD
A[User] -->|visits| B[CloudFront]
B --> C[Lambda@Edge]
C --> D[GitHub Gist]
</pre>
Theme consistency: Use theme: 'dark' with Pico dark, theme: 'default' with Pico light.
When to use: Architecture diagrams, flowcharts, sequence diagrams, ERDs, state machines, timelines.
Simple, responsive charts with beautiful defaults.
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/chart.js@4"></script>
Usage:
<canvas id="myChart"></canvas>
<script>
new Chart(document.getElementById('myChart'), {
type: 'bar', // bar, line, pie, doughnut, radar, scatter, bubble
data: {
labels: ['Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar'],
datasets: [{
label: 'Revenue',
data: [12, 19, 3],
backgroundColor: 'rgba(88, 166, 255, 0.7)',
borderRadius: 6,
}]
},
options: {
responsive: true,
plugins: { legend: { labels: { color: '#c9d1d9' } } },
scales: {
x: { ticks: { color: '#8b949e' }, grid: { color: '#30363d' } },
y: { ticks: { color: '#8b949e' }, grid: { color: '#30363d' } }
}
}
});
</script>
Theme consistency (dark): Set color: '#c9d1d9' for labels, color: '#8b949e' for ticks, color: '#30363d' for grid lines. For light theme, omit these (Chart.js defaults are light-friendly).
When to use: Bar charts, line charts, pie/doughnut, scatter plots, radar charts. Any time there's numeric data to visualize.
VS Code-quality code rendering. 300+ languages.
<!-- Dark theme (matches Pico dark) -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/prismjs@1.29.0/themes/prism-tomorrow.min.css">
<!-- Light theme (matches Pico light) -->
<!-- <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/prismjs@1.29.0/themes/prism.min.css"> -->
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/prismjs@1.29.0/prism.min.js"></script>
<!-- Add languages as needed -->
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/prismjs@1.29.0/components/prism-python.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/prismjs@1.29.0/components/prism-bash.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/prismjs@1.29.0/components/prism-typescript.min.js"></script>
Usage:
<pre><code class="language-javascript">
const greeting = "Hello, world!";
console.log(greeting);
</code></pre>
Theme consistency:
prism-tomorrow.min.css (dark background, light text)prism.min.css (light background, dark text)When to use: Any content containing code snippets. Skip if there's no code.
Fast LaTeX math. Way faster than MathJax.
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/katex@0.16.9/dist/katex.min.css">
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/katex@0.16.9/dist/katex.min.js"></script>
Usage:
<!-- Display math -->
<div id="equation"></div>
<script>
katex.render('E = mc^2', document.getElementById('equation'), { displayMode: true });
</script>
<!-- Or use auto-render for LaTeX in text -->
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/katex@0.16.9/dist/contrib/auto-render.min.js"></script>
<script>renderMathInElement(document.body);</script>
With auto-render, use $$...$$ for display math and \(...\) for inline math directly in HTML text.
Theme consistency: KaTeX inherits text color from CSS — works with both Pico dark and light automatically.
When to use: Math equations, formulas, technical papers, scientific content. Skip if there's no math.
| Library | Dark mode setting | Light mode setting |
|---|---|---|
| Pico CSS | data-theme="dark" | data-theme="light" |
| Mermaid | theme: 'dark' | theme: 'default' |
| Chart.js | Custom colors (see above) | Default colors |
| Prism.js | prism-tomorrow.min.css | prism.min.css |
| KaTeX | Automatic (inherits) | Automatic (inherits) |
Rule: Pick dark or light, then match ALL libraries to that choice. Don't mix.
Include only what the content needs:
| Content type | Libraries to include |
|---|---|
| Text/docs only | Pico CSS |
| Has code snippets | + Prism.js |
| Has data/metrics | + Chart.js |
| Has architecture/flows | + Mermaid |
| Has math/equations | + KaTeX |
| Dashboard with custom look | Skip Pico, use custom CSS |
Size budget (gzipped):
| Library | Size |
|---|---|
| Pico CSS | ~10 KB |
| Mermaid | ~300 KB |
| Chart.js | ~70 KB |
| Prism.js | ~6 KB + langs |
| KaTeX | ~90 KB |
A typical drop with all libraries loads in <500 KB. Most drops need only Pico + one other.
The annotation UI is automatically injected on pagedrop.ai pages:
## Preview Feedback
**Preview:** Document Title
**Date:** 2/1/2026, 7:44:30 PM
**Annotations:** 3
---
### 1. [by @jalehman]
📍 Section: "Performance Results"
> ...reduced latency across all endpoints. Redis caching reduced validate latency by 87%, making auth nearly invisible...
This is the key win — call it out more prominently!
---
### 2. [by @collaborator]
> Sort key: UUID annotation ID
Another annotation
---
The format includes:
[by @username] or [by Anonymous])