Your site's code
Briks writes real code for every site, and it's yours to read. The File Explorer shows the files written for your site as the live version holds them. People with edit rights can change them and publish, on every plan. On a paid plan, anyone in the workspace can also download them as a zip.
Open the File Explorer
It has two views: Files, where you read and edit, and Settings, where you download on a paid plan. The heading says which version is live, for example “The code written for this site, as version 14 is live.” Until the site has been published there's nothing to show, and the page says “Nothing published yet”.
Browse the files
Folders and files sit in a tree on the left, folders first, each in name order. Type in Filter files to narrow the list by name or folder. Underneath, a count reads something like “38 files written for this site”. The first file opened is content/site.ts, which holds the site's main facts.
| Folder | What's in it |
|---|---|
app/ | The site's pages, one folder for each page address. |
components/custom/ | The sections written for your site, such as its hero, services list and footer. |
content/ | The site's words and facts. |
public/ | Files the site serves as they are. |
api/ | The site's own server code, if it has any. |
db/ | The shape of the site's data, if it stores any. |
Click a file to read it with line numbers. Wrap lines stops long lines running off the side, and Copy puts the whole file on your clipboard. Pictures and other files that aren't text are listed but not shown, and they're part of the download on a paid plan.
Edit a file and publish it
Editors, Admins and Owners get an editor when they open a file. Viewers see every file read only.
Open the file
Where: Files
Click it in the tree. The editor opens with its text.
Make your edit
Where: Editor
Type as in any code editor. The file is marked Edited, and its folder shows a dot while closed. Undo changes puts one file back as it was.
Add or delete files if needed
Where: Files
New file asks for a path inside
app/,components/custom/,content/,api/,db/orpublic/. Delete marks a file for removal, and Keep file changes your mind.Save and publish
Where: Editor
Press Save and publish in the bar at the bottom, or Ctrl+S (⌘S on a Mac). The dialog lists every changed file.
Add a note
Where: Dialog
Optionally say what changed in Note. It's kept in the version history.
Confirm
Where: Dialog
Press Save and publish. The bar reads, for example, “Publishing 2 changed files.” with a link to follow it in the Studio.
What happens after you save
Briks builds the site with your files and publishes it, usually within a few minutes. Nothing is redesigned or rewritten, and no credits are held or charged. The Studio shows Verifying build and Publishing, then a reply such as “Your code changes are live: 2 files changed in the File Explorer. Nothing else about the site changed.” Back in the File Explorer, a green bar says “Your changes are published and live.” with Open the site.
The save becomes a new version marked Change, so the undo arrow above the preview takes it back. Changes you ask for in the conversation later start from your edited files. Changes published from the Visual Editor are written into these same files, so you see them here once they are live.
If your code doesn't build, nothing is published and the live site stays as it was. A red box says “Nothing was published”, names the file it stopped in and shows the build's own lines underneath. Your edits are still there: press the Open button for that file to jump to the line, fix it and publish again.
| Limit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Files in one save | 50 |
| One file you can edit | 256 KB (bigger files are shown read only) |
| All the changes in one save | 2 MB |
| The note | 300 characters |
A save is refused, with the reason, if the site changed since you opened the page (“The site changed since you opened it: reload to see the new version.”), while something is building, or while an A/B test runs. A few files are written by the studio before every build, so they can't be changed here, and the File Explorer says so if you try.
Download the code
Downloading the code comes with a paid plan. On Free, the Download code button and the Download buttons in Backups are not shown. A note says “Downloading the code comes with a paid plan.”, and See what's included opens the upgrade window on Download your site's code. Browsing and editing the files stay open on every plan.
Go to the Settings view
Where: File Explorer
Open Settings, File Explorer, then the Settings view beside Files.
Download
Where: Export
Press Download code. You get a zip named after the site's address and version, such as
harbour-plumbing-version-14.zip.
For an earlier version, open Settings, Backups: every version has its own Download button. The Download code row carries a Paid tag.
What the zip holds, and what it doesn't
The zip holds the files written for your site: its pages, sections, words and its own files, exactly as that version had them. It leaves out the shared building blocks the studio provides for every site, the files that set up the build, and anything secret. Because those shared pieces are missing, the zip won't run or build on its own.
That makes it a record and a reference rather than a portable copy. People use it to keep an archive of what went live, to show a developer how a section was made, or to search the site's words in their own editor.
An agency with six client sites downloads each site's zip after launch and files it with the client's contract.
Each zip holds the launch version's pages and words, so they can show exactly what went live and when.
The clinic's office manager finds the file holding the opening hours, changes Friday to 8am to 4pm, adds the note
Winter hoursand presses Save and publish.
A few minutes later the site showed the new hours. Versions listed it as a Change, and no credits were used.
Can Viewers edit code?
No. They can read every file, and on a paid plan download the zip.
Can I download the code on Free?
No. Downloading the code comes with a paid plan, from Starter. On Free you can still browse every file and, with edit rights, edit and publish them.
Will Briks overwrite my edits?
Changes you ask for later start from your files. A change can still rework a file it touches, so mention your edit if you ask Briks to change the same section.
Can I add pictures here?
No. Pictures and other files that aren't text can't be made in the File Explorer. Use the Media tab or Storage.