---
title: "Here.Now — Publish static sites to {slug}"
sidebar_label: "Here.Now"
description: "Publish static sites to {slug}"
---

{/* This page is auto-generated from the skill's SKILL.md by website/scripts/generate-skill-docs.py. Edit the source SKILL.md, not this page. */}

# Here.Now

Publish static sites to &#123;slug&#125;.here.now and store private files in cloud Drives for agent-to-agent handoff.

## Skill metadata

| | |
|---|---|
| Source | Optional — install with `hermes skills install official/productivity/here-now` |
| Path | `optional-skills/productivity/here-now` |
| Version | `1.15.3` |
| Author | here.now |
| License | MIT |
| Platforms | macos, linux |
| Tags | `here.now`, `herenow`, `publish`, `deploy`, `hosting`, `static-site`, `web`, `share`, `URL`, `drive`, `storage` |

## Reference: full SKILL.md

:::info
The following is the complete skill definition that Hermes loads when this skill is triggered. This is what the agent sees as instructions when the skill is active.
:::

# here.now

here.now lets agents publish websites and store private files in cloud Drives.

Use here.now for two jobs:

- **Sites**: publish websites and files at `{slug}.here.now`.
- **Drives**: store private agent files in cloud folders.

## Current docs

**Before answering questions about here.now capabilities, features, or workflows, read the current docs:**

→ **https://here.now/docs**

Read the docs:

- at the first here.now-related interaction in a conversation
- any time the user asks how to do something
- any time the user asks what is possible, supported, or recommended
- before telling the user a feature is unsupported

Topics that require current docs (do not rely on local skill text alone):

- Drives and Drive sharing
- custom domains
- payments and payment gating
- forking
- proxy routes and service variables
- handles and links
- limits and quotas
- SPA routing
- error handling and remediation
- feature availability

**If docs and live API behavior disagree, trust the live API behavior.**

If the docs fetch fails or times out, continue with the local skill and live API/script output. Prefer live API behavior for active operations.

## Requirements

- Required binaries: `curl`, `file`, `jq`
- Optional environment variable: `$HERENOW_API_KEY`
- Optional Drive token variable: `$HERENOW_DRIVE_TOKEN`
- Optional credentials file: `~/.herenow/credentials`
- Skill helper paths:
  - `${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/publish.sh` for publishing sites
  - `${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/drive.sh` for private Drive storage

## Create a site

```bash
PUBLISH="${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/publish.sh"
bash "$PUBLISH" {file-or-dir} --client hermes
```

Outputs the live URL (e.g. `https://bright-canvas-a7k2.here.now/`).

Under the hood this is a three-step flow: create/update -> upload files -> finalize. A site is not live until finalize succeeds.

Without an API key this creates an **anonymous site** that expires in 24 hours.
With a saved API key, the site is permanent.

**File structure:** For HTML sites, place `index.html` at the root of the directory you publish, not inside a subdirectory. The directory's contents become the site root. For example, publish `my-site/` where `my-site/index.html` exists — don't publish a parent folder that contains `my-site/`.

You can also publish raw files without any HTML. Single files get a rich auto-viewer (images, PDF, video, audio). Multiple files get an auto-generated directory listing with folder navigation and an image gallery.

## Update an existing site

```bash
PUBLISH="${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/publish.sh"
bash "$PUBLISH" {file-or-dir} --slug {slug} --client hermes
```

The script auto-loads the `claimToken` from `.herenow/state.json` when updating anonymous sites. Pass `--claim-token {token}` to override.

Authenticated updates require a saved API key.

## Use a Drive

Use a Drive when the user wants private cloud storage for agent files: documents, context, memory, plans, assets, media, research, code, and anything else that should persist without being published as a website.

Every signed-in account has a default Drive named `My Drive`.

```bash
DRIVE="${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/drive.sh"
bash "$DRIVE" default
bash "$DRIVE" ls "My Drive"
bash "$DRIVE" put "My Drive" notes/today.md --from ./notes/today.md
bash "$DRIVE" cat "My Drive" notes/today.md
bash "$DRIVE" share "My Drive" --perms write --prefix notes/ --ttl 7d
```

Use scoped Drive tokens for agent-to-agent handoff. If you receive a `herenow_drive` share block, use its `token` as `Authorization: Bearer <token>` against `api_base`, respect `pathPrefix` when present, and preserve ETags on writes. A `pathPrefix` of `null` means full-Drive access. If the skill is available, prefer `drive.sh`; otherwise call the listed API operations directly.

## API key storage

The publish script reads the API key from these sources (first match wins):

1. `--api-key {key}` flag (CI/scripting only — avoid in interactive use)
2. `$HERENOW_API_KEY` environment variable
3. `~/.herenow/credentials` file (recommended for agents)

To store a key, write it to the credentials file:

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.herenow && echo "{API_KEY}" > ~/.herenow/credentials && chmod 600 ~/.herenow/credentials
```

**IMPORTANT**: After receiving an API key, save it immediately — run the command above yourself. Do not ask the user to run it manually. Avoid passing the key via CLI flags (e.g. `--api-key`) in interactive sessions; the credentials file is the preferred storage method.

Never commit credentials or local state files (`~/.herenow/credentials`, `.herenow/state.json`) to source control.

## Getting an API key

To upgrade from anonymous (24h) to permanent sites:

1. Ask the user for their email address.
2. Request a one-time sign-in code:

```bash
curl -sS https://here.now/api/auth/agent/request-code \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "user@example.com"}'
```

3. Tell the user: "Check your inbox for a sign-in code from here.now and paste it here."
4. Verify the code and get the API key:

```bash
curl -sS https://here.now/api/auth/agent/verify-code \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email":"user@example.com","code":"ABCD-2345"}'
```

5. Save the returned `apiKey` yourself (do not ask the user to do this):

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.herenow && echo "{API_KEY}" > ~/.herenow/credentials && chmod 600 ~/.herenow/credentials
```

## State file

After every site create/update, the script writes to `.herenow/state.json` in the working directory:

```json
{
  "publishes": {
    "bright-canvas-a7k2": {
      "siteUrl": "https://bright-canvas-a7k2.here.now/",
      "claimToken": "abc123",
      "claimUrl": "https://here.now/claim?slug=bright-canvas-a7k2&token=abc123",
      "expiresAt": "2026-02-18T01:00:00.000Z"
    }
  }
}
```

Before creating or updating sites, you may check this file to find prior slugs.
Treat `.herenow/state.json` as internal cache only.
Never present this local file path as a URL, and never use it as source of truth for auth mode, expiry, or claim URL.

## What to tell the user

For published sites:

- Always share the `siteUrl` from the current script run.
- Read and follow `publish_result.*` lines from script stderr to determine auth mode.
- When `publish_result.auth_mode=authenticated`: tell the user the site is **permanent** and saved to their account. No claim URL is needed.
- When `publish_result.auth_mode=anonymous`: tell the user the site **expires in 24 hours**. Share the claim URL (if `publish_result.claim_url` is non-empty and starts with `https://`) so they can keep it permanently. Warn that claim tokens are only returned once and cannot be recovered.
- Never tell the user to inspect `.herenow/state.json` for claim URLs or auth status.

For Drives:

- Do not describe Drive files as public URLs.
- Tell the user Drive contents are private unless shared with a scoped token.
- When sharing access with another agent, prefer a scoped token with a narrow `pathPrefix` and short TTL.

## publish.sh options

| Flag                   | Description                                  |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| `--slug {slug}`        | Update an existing site instead of creating |
| `--claim-token {token}`| Override claim token for anonymous updates    |
| `--title {text}`       | Viewer title (non-HTML sites)             |
| `--description {text}` | Viewer description                            |
| `--ttl {seconds}`      | Set expiry (authenticated only)               |
| `--client {name}`      | Agent name for attribution (e.g. `hermes`)    |
| `--base-url {url}`     | API base URL (default: `https://here.now`)    |
| `--allow-nonherenow-base-url` | Allow sending auth to non-default `--base-url` |
| `--api-key {key}`      | API key override (prefer credentials file)    |
| `--spa`                | Enable SPA routing (serve index.html for unknown paths) |
| `--forkable`           | Allow others to fork this site                           |

## Beyond publish.sh

For Drive operations, use `drive.sh` or the Drive API. For broader account and site management — delete, metadata, passwords, payments, domains, handles, links, variables, proxy routes, forking, duplication, and more — see the current docs:

→ **https://here.now/docs**

Full docs: https://here.now/docs
