Claude artifacts
How to password-protect a Claude artifact
Can you password-protect a Claude artifact?
Not with Claude's Publish button: a published artifact is public to anyone who has the link. To add a password, publish the artifact's HTML with PDF Deck (paste it, upload it, or ask Claude through the PDF Deck connector) and turn on "Require a password". Visitors see a password screen before the page loads.
Password-protect a Claude artifact in 4 steps
- 1In Claude, open the artifact and copy its code, or download it as an HTML file.
- 2Paste or drop it into PDF Deck. You get a link straight away.
- 3In the link settings, turn on "Require a password" and choose one.
- 4Send the link and share the password separately (by phone or a different message).
Ways to keep a Claude artifact private
| PDF Deck | Claude's Publish button | |
|---|---|---|
| Password before the page loads | ✓ | – |
| Only allow emails from one company (e.g. @acme.com) | ✓ | – |
| A separate link for each person | ✓ | – |
| Expiry date, then the link stops working | ✓ | – |
| Switch the link off any time | ✓ | ✓ |
| See who opened it | ✓ | – |
Is a published Claude artifact private?
No. Publishing gives the artifact a public claude.ai link: anyone who has the link can open it, with no sign-in, and you can't see who did. Treat it like an unlisted web page. If the page holds pricing, a client's name or anything you wouldn't post publicly, put it behind a password or an email check instead.
Password or email gate: which one?
A password keeps out anyone who doesn't have it, but everyone who has it looks the same. An email gate asks each visitor for their work email (and can accept only one company's domain), so a forwarded link still tells you who opened it. For a proposal to one client, the email gate restricted to their domain is usually the better choice.
Do it from inside Claude
Connect Claude to PDF Deck once (Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector) and you can ask: "Publish this page with the password globex-2026." Claude publishes it and sets the password for you; it never repeats the password back in its reply.
Change or remove the password later
Change it in the link settings, or ask Claude. Anyone who unlocked the page before will need the new password next time. The link itself never changes.
Questions
- Does password protection cost extra?
- No. Passwords are available on every PDF Deck plan, including free.
- Will the interactive parts of the artifact still work?
- Yes. Scripts, charts and calculators run as they do in Claude, in a sandbox that keeps visitors safe.
- Can I see who entered the password?
- You see each view (when, where, which device, how far they read). To know who each person was, use a per-person link or the email gate.
- Is the password stored safely?
- It is stored hashed, like an account password, and is never shown again after you set it.
Related
Last updated 3 October 2026