# How to share a Claude artifact with your team > Source: > Published: 2026-09-11 12:00:00+00:00 [Blog](https://oncroft.net/blog/) · September 12, 2026 · Rich Chetwynd # How to share a Claude artifact with your team A Claude artifact lives in your chat. Emailing the HTML is not a real share. Here is how to host it so your team can open it like a normal app. ## Quick answer If you built something useful in Claude (a financial model, a calculator, a tracker) and the only way to share it is pasting HTML or screenshots, you need to **host it as a real app**. Put it on a private server, give it a URL your people can open, and let them sign in. That is what Croft is for. You do not need to know how to code or manage servers. ## The problem with “just share the artifact” Claude Artifacts (and ChatGPT Canvas, and similar previews) are brilliant for building in the moment. They are a poor way to run a tool for a team: - The preview lives in **your** chat. Colleagues cannot open it on their own. - There is usually **no lasting database** . Numbers vanish when the session ends. - Emailing an `.html` file means every person has a different copy, nothing is saved together, and updates mean another attachment. - A public paste or public host puts internal numbers on the open internet unless you invent login yourself. So the model worked. The sharing step failed. ## What “host my AI app” should mean For a business tool, hosting is not “get any live URL.” It is: 1. A **link the team can open** in a browser 2. **Sign-in for your people** , so strangers cannot wander in 3. A **database** so the model remembers inputs and results 4. **Backups and a way to undo** a bad change 5. A path to **update by chatting** again, without starting from zero If you do not care about coding, the host should handle the dull parts: HTTPS, deploys, and keeping the server online. ## Artifact vs hosted app | Need | Claude artifact | Email the HTML | Public host | Croft | |---|---|---|---|---| | Team can open their own link | No | Fragile copies | Yes | Yes | | Shared saved data | No | No | Extra setup | Included | | Private to your people | Chat-only | File chaos | You build login | Built in | | No devops required | N/A | N/A | Sometimes | Yes | | Keep iterating with AI | In chat only | Start over | Varies | Connect Claude and keep going | ## How to get there with Croft 1. Get a croft (private server) and connect [Claude](https://oncroft.net/connect/claude/) , or use[Croft Build](https://oncroft.net/build/) if you prefer not to connect an assistant yet. 2. Ask Claude to **deploy the artifact to your croft** as an app. 3. Invite the people who should use it. They open a normal URL and sign in. 4. Keep chatting to change the app. Deploys and rollbacks stay on the server. More on the product path: [From artifact to app](https://oncroft.net/artifacts/). You still do not need to learn nginx, Docker, or “how to deploy.” The point of Croft is that the assistant can ship it for you. ## FAQ ### Can I just send the HTML file? You can, once. Then someone edits a number, another person has an old copy, and nobody has a shared source of truth. That is fine for a demo. It is not fine for a financial model your team uses every week. ### Do I need to be technical? No. If you can chat with Claude, you can ask it to deploy to Croft. The people who get the most from this are subject-matter experts (finance, ops, sales), not platform engineers. ### Is this the same as putting it on Vercel or Replit? Those are strong for public products. For an internal model or tracker, you usually want a private server and team sign-in by default, not a public URL you must lock down after the fact. See also [Where to host a vibe-coded app so it stays private](https://oncroft.net/blog/where-to-host-a-vibe-coded-app-privately/). ### What about ChatGPT Canvas or other previews? Same job. A preview in chat is not a team app. Deploy it to Croft when you want a lasting URL, saved data, and people you invite. ### How much does Croft cost? Solo from $24/month on annual billing, Team $99/month on annual. 7-day free trial, no card to start. ## Stake out your croft. Your team's first app could be live before lunch. [Get your croft](https://app.oncroft.net/signup) 7 days free, no card to start. From $24/month - cancel anytime and take everything with you.