How Can I Share Snippets with Someone Who Doesn't Have an Account?

Sometimes you need to share your pastes with someone who does not have a PasteBase account and does not need one. A freelancer, a client, a vendor, or a colleague in another organization might need access to your templates or snippets without going through registration. PasteBase makes this possible with shareable access links: unique URLs that give anyone read-only access to a team's pastes.

How shareable links work

A shareable access link is a unique URL that, when opened in a browser, displays the pastes from a specific team. The person who opens the link does not need a PasteBase account. They can browse the pastes, read their content, and copy them with the same one-click copy button that registered users see. The link provides read-only access, so visitors cannot create, edit, or delete any pastes.

Each shareable link contains a unique token, which means the URL is not guessable. Only people who have been given the link can access the content. Think of it like a "view-only" sharing link in Google Docs: anyone with the link can view, but they cannot find it through search or browsing.

Generating a shareable link

To create a shareable link for your team, navigate to the team's settings or management page. Look for the sharing or access link option. When you generate a link, PasteBase creates a unique token-based URL that you can copy and share with anyone through email, chat, or any other communication channel.

The link gives access to all pastes in that team, organized by category just as registered members see them. Visitors can browse categories and copy individual pastes. This makes shareable links an excellent way to distribute a curated set of templates or references to people outside your organization.

What visitors can see and do

When someone opens a shareable access link, they see:

• The team name and a list of all pastes in the team
• Pastes organized by category, with the ability to filter
• The full content of each paste, with formatting intact for rich text pastes and syntax highlighting for code pastes
• A copy button on each paste for one-click copying

Visitors cannot see who created each paste, who else is on the team, or any content from other teams. They also cannot create, edit, or delete pastes. The access is strictly read-only and scoped to the single team the link was generated for.

Use cases for shareable links

Shareable access links are versatile. Here are some common scenarios:

• Client-facing templates — Share a set of email templates or documentation snippets with a client who needs to use your approved messaging but does not need a full PasteBase account.
• Vendor or partner collaboration — Give a partner organization read-only access to a set of technical configurations, API templates, or standard operating procedures.
• Training and onboarding — Share a link with new hires during their first week so they can access templates and references before their PasteBase account is fully set up.
• External contractors — Freelancers or contractors working temporarily with your team can use the shared link without needing to be added as formal team members.

Revoking a shareable link

If you no longer want external visitors to access a team's pastes, you can revoke the shareable link from the team management page. Once revoked, the link immediately stops working. Anyone who tries to open the old URL will see an error page instead of the team's content. This is useful when a project ends, a contract expires, or you simply want to tighten access.

After revoking, you can generate a new link if needed. The new link will have a different token, so the old URL remains permanently disabled. This gives you full control over who can access your content at any point in time.

Security considerations

Shareable links are a powerful convenience, but they require some care:

• Treat links like passwords — Anyone who has the link can access the content. Share it only with people who need it, and avoid posting it in public channels.
• Do not include sensitive data — If your team's pastes contain internal-only information like API keys, credentials, or confidential business data, think carefully before generating a shareable link. Consider creating a separate team with only the pastes you want to share externally.
• Review periodically — Check which teams have active shareable links and whether those links are still needed. Revoke any that are no longer in use.
• Use team invitations for ongoing access — If someone needs regular, long-term access to your pastes, invite them as a team Member instead of relying on a shareable link. Team membership gives you more control, including the ability to assign roles and track who is on the team.

For more on team sharing and access control, see how to set up a team and how to manage team roles. You can also visit the shareable links help article for a quick reference.