Single-click Link Sharing
Developers, Technical Writers, Instructors, and many others in the space constantly share code snippets, error logs, configuration files, boilerplate, sample code, and other developer materials with their colleagues, readers, students, open-source maintainers, customers, and so on.
For us, sharing is not only about sending someone the code snippet or resource itself, but further, enabling the recipient to access both the material and its associated context metadata - where it came from, what it is, why it was saved, its description, git context, tags, additional collaborators, related links, and so much more.
Effortlessly share code snippets, screenshots, and other resources with a personalized access link (e.g., YOUR_USERNAME.pieces.cloud), in just a few steps.
- When you select a resource and generate a shareable link, that resource, along with all of its useful context, is uploaded to your private Pieces for Developers Cloud.
From there, those with the link will be able to access what you shared and its context metadata, even if the recipient doesn't have Pieces for Developers themselves.
Preview this Shared Python Snippet from python.pieces.cloud in your browser! It's one of twenty useful snippets in our Curated Python Snippets Collection.
Saving a Shared Material#
Although it's not necessary to have Pieces for Developers when accessing a shared resource, we don't want our users to have to switch back and forth to the browser or keep track of all the shareable links they've received.
Recipients that have Pieces for Developers can easily save a copy of the shared resource to their own Pieces for Developers repository for offline search, suggestion, and reuse later on.
Viewing Materials#
Simply click the Save to Pieces button located at the top of the Sharing Preview Web App, and you're good to go! You can now access and reuse the locally saved resource in our Flagship Desktop App or in your IDE with the Pieces for Developers | VSCode Extension or Pieces for Developers | Jetbrains Plugin.
Editing and Revoking Shared Snippets#
If you edit the resource or add additional context metadata, Pieces for Developers will either recommend that you update the link or automatically update it for you. This happens in the background without generating a new access link, meaning previous recipients can stay up-to-date and you don't have to re-share.
Lastly, we know that accidental shares happen and permission levels can change. With that, you can always revoke a shareable link at any time.
Share via GitHub Gist#
When creating a shareable link to a snippet, you can also choose to share the snippet via GitHub Gist by creating the Gist directly from Pieces.
Created Gists be available on your list of public Gists, making them available for others to discover as you create them. (You can also choose to generate a Private Gist.)
Bundled Metadata Preview#
Every Gist has a Markdown Preview built using our Context Awareness Engine and Origin Details which include relevant and related information to the snippet's context.
Connecting a Custom Cloud Domain#
Sharing materials using Pieces for Developers is about more than sharing the material itself. It's about sharing the material and all the contextual metadata associated with it - where it came from, what it does, how to use it, associated people, and more. What's unique about our shareable links and sharing with Pieces for Developers is that all of our users receive their own, dedicated cloud, isolated from other users.
As a result, you can personalize your cloud domain with a custom name, like https://YOUR_USERNAME.pieces.cloud. Now, when you generate and share a link, your link will include your personalized domain, so users know exactly who it came from.
View this Shared Python Snippet from python.pieces.cloud in your browser. Notice this is from the custom domain, "python".
To personalize your cloud domain, open the Pieces for Developers | Desktop App and navigate to the settings menu.
Important Note: Updating your personal cloud domain can take up to 15 minutes. Don't worry, we'll notify you when this is complete.