# GitHub Pages without the repo, and private by default

GitHub Pages turns a repo into a free website with your own domain and Git history behind every change. artifact.guru skips the repo: your agent publishes over MCP, links start private, and email invites show who opened them.

## Pick GitHub Pages if

- The site already lives in a GitHub repo and should update on every push.
- It’s public anyway and you want free hosting on your own domain.
- Your org is on Enterprise Cloud and wants a site only repo readers can open.

## Pick artifact.guru if

- The page came out of an AI chat and you don’t want a repo, a commit or a build.
- It should stay private to a few named people, without GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
- You want to know who opened it, and you share PDFs, Word files or decks too.

## GitHub Pages and artifact.guru, row by row

| Question | GitHub Pages | artifact.guru |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Publish from AI agents | GitHub MCP server (OAuth or token) can create repos and commit files; Pages serves them | Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Gemini CLI, Grok and any MCP app, over OAuth; no API keys |
| Upload it yourself | Drag files into the repo in the browser: up to 100 at a time, 25 MiB each | Drag in files, or a whole folder for a built site or React app |
| What opens in the browser | Static HTML, CSS and JavaScript; Jekyll builds Markdown into pages | HTML, React, Markdown, PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, images, diagrams, zipped sites |
| Who can open a link | Public on Free, Pro and Team; private to repo readers on Enterprise Cloud only | Private, public or secret code on every plan; email invites (up to 50) on paid plans |
| Who opened it | Not documented | Paid plans: names on email links; counts, sources and devices on the rest |
| Updates and versions | Each push republishes at the same URL; every earlier version stays in Git history | Every change is a new version at the same link; roll back any time (Free keeps 3) |
| Your own domain | Custom apex or subdomain on every plan that includes Pages | Your subdomain for public and secret-code links, from $12 a month |
| Team workspace | Repo roles from Read to Admin; Maintain and up can configure Pages publishing | Team: one workspace, admins and members, a project per client, comments you can assign |
| Price | Free $0; Team $4 per user/month; Enterprise from $21 per user/month | Free $0; Individual $12/month; Team $30/month for 3 editors, then $8 each |

## Where GitHub Pages is good

- Public sites are free on GitHub Free, with a custom domain and up to 1 GB per site.
- GitHub Actions can run your own build, with starter workflows for Next.js, Hugo, Jekyll and plain static files.
- Every change is a commit, so the full history and pull request review come with it.

## Where artifact.guru is different

- No repo, no commit, no build. Agents publish over MCP from Claude, ChatGPT (Business, Enterprise or Edu), Codex, Gemini CLI and Grok, or you drag in a file or folder.
- Every artifact starts private, on every plan. Switch to Secret code or Public at the same link when you’re ready, or to Email invites on a paid plan.
- Email links show who opened it, when and how often, and who hasn’t opened yet. Public and code links show counts, sources and devices.
- PDF, Word and PowerPoint open in the browser next to HTML, React and Markdown with Mermaid diagrams, and every edit is a new version at the same link.

## Moving over from GitHub Pages

1. Drag in the built folder that Pages serves; a built site becomes one artifact.
2. Pick who can open it, then send the new link in place of the github.io address.
3. On a paid plan, put it on a subdomain like docs.yourcompany.com with two DNS records.

## Questions

### Can a GitHub Pages site be private?

Only for organizations on GitHub Enterprise Cloud, and then only people with read access to the repo can open it. On Free, Pro and Team, Pages sites are public. artifact.guru links start private on every plan.

### Is GitHub Pages free?

Yes for public repositories on GitHub Free. Publishing from a private repo needs Pro, Team or Enterprise. Sites can be up to 1 GB, with a soft limit of 100 GB of bandwidth a month.

### Can I see who visited a GitHub Pages site?

GitHub’s Pages docs don’t describe visitor analytics. On artifact.guru, email links show each person who opened it, and public links show counts, sources and devices.

### Can my AI agent publish to GitHub Pages?

Indirectly. GitHub’s MCP server can create a repo and commit files, and Pages publishes them once it’s turned on for that repo. artifact.guru’s MCP server publishes the file itself and gives back a link.

## Sources

What this page says about GitHub Pages comes from its own pages, checked on October 8, 2026. Plans and prices change; if something is out of date, tell us at [Support](https://artifact.guru/support).

- [GitHub pricing](https://github.com/pricing)
- [What is GitHub Pages?](https://docs.github.com/en/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/what-is-github-pages)
- [Changing the visibility of a Pages site](https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/changing-the-visibility-of-your-github-pages-site)
- [GitHub Pages limits](https://docs.github.com/en/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/github-pages-limits)
- [Custom domains and GitHub Pages](https://docs.github.com/en/pages/configuring-a-custom-domain-for-your-github-pages-site/about-custom-domains-and-github-pages)
- [Configuring a Pages publishing source](https://docs.github.com/en/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/configuring-a-publishing-source-for-your-github-pages-site)
- [GitHub Pages and Jekyll](https://docs.github.com/en/pages/setting-up-a-github-pages-site-with-jekyll/about-github-pages-and-jekyll)
- [Adding a file to a repository](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/working-with-files/managing-files/adding-a-file-to-a-repository)
- [Repository roles for an organization](https://docs.github.com/en/organizations/managing-user-access-to-your-organizations-repositories/managing-repository-roles/repository-roles-for-an-organization)
- [GitHub MCP server](https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server)
- [GitHub Pages starter workflows](https://github.com/actions/starter-workflows/tree/main/pages)

Source: https://artifact.guru/alternatives/github-pages