Why is there no Publish button in Claude, and why won't my artifact share?

You built a game, a quiz, or a small tool in Claude and went to share it. There's no Publish button. Or Anyone with the link is grey. Or you sent the link and your friend got a Claude sign-in screen. Each of these has a cause in Anthropic's own help pages, and most aren't bugs: they're the rules for who can share what. This page matches each symptom to its cause, says what you can change inside Claude, and shows how to get a link anyone can open when you can't.

Anthropic's sharing guide and its artifacts guide were read for this page on October 22, 2026. Anthropic rewrote the sharing guide on November 5, 2026, and this page was read against it again on November 6, 2026: “Most artifacts shared with ‘Anyone with the link’ open without a Claude account or sign-in.” If you read Japanese, Claude のアーティファクトが公開できない原因 covers the same symptoms for readers in Japan.

Find your symptom

If the link shows “This browser isn't supported” with “Update iOS to open this artifact” or “Update it to open this artifact”, the cause is the browser it was opened in, not your sharing settings: see what that message means and 4 ways to open the artifact.

Publish is missing, or there's only Share

Anthropic's artifacts guide draws the line by date: "Legacy artifacts are artifacts made in a chat before September 16, 2026. They keep working, and you can still publish and share them, but you can't make new ones." Its sharing guide adds that a legacy artifact shows Publish, or Share & copy link on Team and Enterprise, where a newer one shows Share.

So an artifact you made after that date has Share, and that's not a fault. The 2 buttons do different things:

• Publish, on a legacy artifact, on Free, Pro, Max, and Ultra: "Anyone with the link can view and use it without a Claude account."
• Share, on every newer artifact: you choose who has access. With Anyone with the link, most artifacts open without signing in to Claude.

If you unpublished a legacy artifact, its Publish won't come back. The sharing guide says: "You can't publish an artifact again after you unpublish it. To share it later, you'll need to create a new artifact. Unpublishing also permanently deletes any personal and shared storage data the artifact used."

A new artifact made in its place gets Share. On Pro, Max, or Ultra, its Anyone with the link opens for most visitors without a sign-in. On Claude Free it gets no link at all, so publish the artifact's code instead.

Anyone with the link is greyed out or missing

In the plan table of Anthropic's sharing guide, "Share with anyone who has the link" is ticked for Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, and Enterprise. The Free column is empty. The guide's text agrees: Pro, Max, and Ultra choose "Only you" or "Anyone with the link", and it gives no line for Free. The only sharing row ticked for Free is "Publish a legacy artifact (made in a chat)".

Then 3 more causes:

• Team and Enterprise. Anyone with the link is there only when an Owner has turned on External sharing or allowed that one artifact. The guide's advice: "If it's grayed out, ask an Owner or Primary Owner." If an Owner later turns External sharing off, existing links stop working until it's back on.
• Artifacts that reach other websites, or carry a file under check. “Artifacts that connect to other websites, and artifacts with an uploaded file that's still being checked or didn't pass the check, can't use ‘Anyone with the link.’”
• Your phone. "You can't change sharing settings in Claude for iOS or Claude for Android. Use Claude on the web or Claude Desktop."

Anthropic's pages don't mention a greyed-out Publish button on a legacy artifact, so if that's what you see, none of the causes above is confirmed for it.

The link opens, but asks people to sign in to Claude

A sign-in screen is no longer the rule for every link. Since November 5, 2026, the sharing guide says: “Most artifacts shared with ‘Anyone with the link’ open without a Claude account or sign-in.” When the link still asks, the guide names these causes:

• You shared it with people or with your organization. “To open an artifact shared with them or with your organization, people sign in to Claude.” An email invitee needs a Claude account with the address you invited. Choose Anyone with the link instead.
• It's a doc, or an artifact like a dashboard. “Docs open only for people signed in to Claude, who can only view them. Some other artifacts, like dashboards, show part or all of their content only after the visitor signs in.”
• It keeps its content in saved storage. People who aren't signed in can't see that information, “so an artifact that keeps most of its content there shows them little or nothing until they sign in.”
• External sharing was turned off. On Team and Enterprise, “if an owner turns off External sharing, these links stop working until it's turned back on, unless an owner has allowed that artifact individually.”
• A legacy artifact on Team or Enterprise. Its Share & copy link opens for people outside the organization only with External sharing on, and “They need a Claude account.”

Visitors to a published legacy artifact are "asked to sign up only for features that use Claude." On a newer artifact, someone with only the link sees it, but “the parts that use connected apps or Claude don't work for them, and they can't see or add comments.” So if a game asks Claude for its questions, that part doesn't work for them either way.

Claude Code's docs say its artifacts can be shared "publicly", with "a link that anyone on the internet can open, with no claude.ai sign-in required", on Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, and Enterprise. On Team and Enterprise, Claude Code's public sharing stays off until an Owner turns it on.

Teachers run into this with a class. Anthropic calls Claude for Teachers “a free Claude for Teams plan for verified educators”, so its link opens for students only if the account's Owner has turned on External sharing or allowed that artifact, and Anthropic doesn't say whether it's on. How to share a Claude artifact with students covers how to check, the class link, and the QR code.

"This version can't be shared publicly," or the artifact is too big

Anthropic's help for chat artifacts states no size limit for sharing. Claude Code's docs do state one for its artifacts: "The rendered page must be 16 MiB or smaller. Large embedded images are the usual cause when a publish fails for size."

The message "This version can't be shared publicly. Publish a new version or change the shared version, then try again." isn't explained in Anthropic's docs. It comes up in Claude Code's issue tracker, where people report it on pages far smaller than 16 MiB:

• Issue #79824, open since July 21, 2026: republishing and starting a new artifact didn't help. Commenters found that removing a Mermaid diagram, an SVG image embedded in the code, or an AVIF image fixed it for their pages, and one commenter later withdrew their own explanation.
• Issue #89326, closed as not planned on October 18, 2026: a 2 MB page failed while a 75 KB page from the same session shared fine. The reporter first saw "This Artifact offers file downloads, so it can't be shared publicly" until they removed the page's download feature.

These are user reports, not Anthropic's word. What they suggest trying: publish a new version without SVG or AVIF images written into the code, Mermaid diagrams, or a download button, then share that version. If it still fails, the page's code can go somewhere that doesn't run this check.

If the artifact itself shows an error, Anthropic's artifacts guide says to look for Try fixing with Claude near the message. The same guide says artifacts "require Cloud code execution and file creation (called Create and edit files in the updated Settings layout) to be turned on in Settings > Capabilities (Free, Pro, Max, Ultra) or Organization settings > Capabilities (Team, Enterprise)."

Get a link anyone can open in 4 steps

When Claude gives you no link (on Claude Free, or with External sharing off on Team and Enterprise), or the artifact keeps its content in saved data that visitors who aren't signed in can't see, publish its code as an ordinary web page. Anyone opens it in a browser, with no account.

1. Get the artifact's code

For an artifact made today, ask Claude: "Give me the whole page as one HTML file, with the CSS and JavaScript inside." For a legacy artifact, use the controls at the top of the artifact panel to view the code, copy it, or download it. A design made with the Design template exports as standalone HTML from Export. How to download a Claude artifact as an HTML file covers each kind.

2. Paste it into the box

Paste the code into the upload box at the top of this page with Paste code, or drop the .html file, and click Get my preview link. You need no account. The preview shows your layout with scripts and forms off, and the link works for 3 minutes: it's for checking, not for sending.

3. Keep the page and publish it

Click Keep this page — free, no card and sign up. The page moves into your account, where its scripts run. Click Publish page, choose Public under Who can open this page?, and click Next. The first time you publish, click Publish free to publish on Free ($0, with a small Convika bar at the bottom); Publish without the Convika bar, under it, opens an order for Pro monthly.

4. Send the address

Copy the page's address, such as yourpage.convika.page, and send it. It opens on a phone, a school Chromebook, or any computer, without a Claude account. On Free, the page is Public: anyone with the link can open it, and it may show up in search results and in Convika's gallery. Private link (Pro) keeps it out of both.

Free gives you 1 published page. For a signup form on the page, your own domain, or letting Claude publish and update the page through a connector, see the full guide to publishing a Claude artifact.

What keeps working outside Claude

Most of an artifact is ordinary HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and that runs on a published Convika page, including libraries loaded from an https:// CDN such as Tailwind.

• Saved data and scores. A page whose code calls Claude's window.storage or window.claude.use("db") keeps working on Convika. A personal value, such as one player's settings, stays in that visitor's browser. Shared values, such as a high-score list, are kept per page: up to 1 MB and 1,000 keys on Free. Data saved while the artifact lived in Claude doesn't come along, so the page starts empty. How Claude's storage works on a published link has the details.
• Features that ask Claude. Anthropic's guide says an artifact that calls Claude "runs on Anthropic's infrastructure" and its users "sign in with their Claude account". Those parts don't run anywhere else. Ask Claude to replace them with fixed content before you copy the code.
• Your connected apps. Anything that reads Google Calendar, Slack, or another connected app needs Claude too.
• Calls to other websites. A script on a Convika page can fetch only from the page's own address.

There are no player accounts on Convika, so a score can't follow a person from one device to another.

When Claude's own link is the better choice

On Pro, Max, or Ultra, start with Claude's own Anyone with the link: most artifacts open for anyone with the link, signed in or not. Inside Claude you also get comments and per-person access for the people you invite, and Pro and higher can invite people by email (in beta). An artifact whose point is to ask Claude things, or to connect to other websites, can't go to the public either way: an artifact that connects to other websites can't use Anyone with the link, and the Claude parts work only for people in your organization (“On Pro, Max, and Ultra plans, ‘outside your organization’ means anyone other than you”). On a Convika page the Claude parts don't run, and on Free neither do calls to other websites. Ask Claude for a version with fixed content. Publish the code instead when you're on Claude Free, when External sharing is off on your Team or Enterprise account, when the artifact keeps its content in saved data, or when you want a form that keeps entries, your own domain, or a count of who opened the page.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there no Publish button in Claude?

Because Publish is only on legacy artifacts, made in a chat before September 16, 2026. Anthropic's help says a newer artifact shows Share instead, and a legacy artifact you unpublished can't be published again. With Share and Anyone with the link, most artifacts open without a Claude account, on Pro, Max, Ultra, and on Team and Enterprise once an Owner turns on External sharing. Claude Free has no such link, so on Free, publish the artifact's code instead.

What if there is no Share button in Claude?

A legacy artifact, made in a chat before September 16, 2026, has no Share: Anthropic's sharing guide says it shows Publish (Free, Pro, Max, Ultra) or Share & copy link (Team and Enterprise) instead. In Claude for iOS or Android, you can't change sharing settings at all: use Claude on the web or Claude Desktop.

Why is the publish button greyed out in Claude?

Anthropic's help doesn't describe a greyed-out Publish button. It describes Anyone with the link greyed out on Team and Enterprise: "If it's grayed out, ask an Owner or Primary Owner." The option is also missing on Claude Free, on artifacts that connect to other websites or carry an uploaded file that's still being checked or didn't pass the check, and in the iOS and Android apps. An artifact made since September 16, 2026 has Share, not Publish.

Why can't I share my Claude artifact publicly?

On Claude Free, new artifacts can't be shared by link at all: Anthropic's plan table ticks Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, and Enterprise only. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner must turn on External sharing. Artifacts that connect to other websites, or carry an uploaded file that's still being checked or didn't pass the check, can't use Anyone with the link on any plan. Where it works, most artifacts open without a sign-in. On Claude Free, copy the code and publish it as a web page.

Why does my Claude artifact link ask people to log in?

Because of how you shared it or what it is. Anthropic's sharing guide says “Most artifacts shared with ‘Anyone with the link’ open without a Claude account or sign-in.” People still sign in for an artifact shared with them or with your organization, for docs, and for some artifacts, like dashboards, that show part or all of their content only after sign-in. On Team and Enterprise, a link also stops working when an Owner turns off External sharing. If the artifact keeps its content in saved data, which visitors who aren't signed in can't see, publish its code: on a Convika page, every visitor sees the shared values.

Do people need a Claude account to open a shared artifact?

Not for most artifacts shared with Anyone with the link, on Pro, Max, Ultra, or on Team and Enterprise with External sharing on. They do for an artifact shared with them or with your organization, for docs, and for an email invitation. Visitors to a published legacy artifact don't need one, though they're asked to sign up for features that use Claude. Claude Code artifacts shared publicly need no sign-in, according to Claude Code's docs. A Convika page needs no account of any kind.

Is there a size limit for Claude artifacts?

For artifacts made in Claude Code, yes: its docs say "The rendered page must be 16 MiB or smaller." Anthropic's help for chat artifacts states no size limit for sharing; the 20 MB it gives is for data an artifact stores. Users report "This version can't be shared publicly" on much smaller pages, and suspect SVG or AVIF images written into the code, or Mermaid diagrams.

How do I publish a Claude artifact without a Claude account?

You need Claude to make the artifact. The people who open it don't need Claude for most artifacts shared with Anyone with the link, or for a page published from its code. On Claude Free, publish the code: ask Claude for the page as one HTML file, paste it into Convika's upload box, and keep the page with a free account. Click Publish page, choose Public, click Next, and, the first time, click Publish free. The address opens in any browser without signing in.

Sources

• Share artifacts (Claude Help Center) (checked November 6, 2026)
• Claude for Teachers: your data and our terms (Claude Help Center) (checked November 6, 2026)
• What are artifacts and how do I use them? (Claude Help Center) (checked November 3, 2026)
• Share session output as artifacts (Claude Code Docs) (checked November 3, 2026)
• Artifact sharing fails: "This version can't be shared publicly" (anthropics/claude-code #79824, GitHub) (checked October 22, 2026)
• Artifact public sharing blocked: content scan never dispatched (anthropics/claude-code #89326, GitHub) (checked October 22, 2026)