Getting Started with Draft

Draft is a platform where you can publish and sell articles with only 6.6% fee. Here's how to get started in 5 minutes.

Step 1: Create an Account

Go to draft-publish.com/login and sign in with Google, X (Twitter), or a username/password.

That's it. No email verification, no waiting.

Step 2: Write Your First Article

Option A: Web Editor

Click "Write" in the top navigation bar. You'll see a Markdown editor with live preview.

Write your article in Markdown. The editor supports:

• Headings, bold, italic, strikethrough
• Code blocks with syntax highlighting
• Tables
• Images (drag and drop)
• Lists (bullet and numbered)
• Blockquotes
• Slash commands (type / for a menu)

Keyboard shortcuts:

• Ctrl+B — Bold
• Ctrl+I — Italic
• Ctrl+K — Insert link
• Ctrl+E — Toggle split/edit/preview

Option B: CLI (for developers)

Install the CLI with one command:

pipx install git+https://github.com/s-saga011/draft-publish.git

Set up your server:

draft remote https://draft-publish.com --lang en

Create and publish an article:

draft new "My First Article" --price 5
cd ~/drafts/my-first-article-xxxxxx/
# Edit article.md with your favorite editor
draft push

Step 3: Set a Price (Optional)

• Free articles: Set price to 0. Everyone can read the full article.
• Paid articles: Set any price. Readers see a preview, then pay to read the rest.

For paid articles, add a paywall marker in your Markdown:

Free content here...



Paid content here...

Everything above `` is free. Everything below requires purchase.

Rule: At least 300 characters must be free, so readers can judge quality before buying.

Here's what readers see at the paywall:

Step 4: Add Images

Web Editor

Drag and drop images onto the editor. They're automatically uploaded and linked.

CLI

Put images in the same folder as your article. They're auto-detected and uploaded when you draft push.

my-article/
├── article.md
├── chart1.png
├── chart2.png
└── charts/
    └── analysis.png    ← subfolders work too

Step 5: Publish

Web Editor

Click "Publish" at the bottom of the editor.

CLI

draft push      # uploads as draft
draft publish   # makes it public

Your article is now live at https://draft-publish.com/articles/your-slug.

Your dashboard shows all your articles, sales, and storage usage:

For Readers: How to Buy

1. Find an article on the homepage
2. Read the free preview
3. Click the purchase button
4. Pay with credit card (Stripe)
5. Full article is immediately visible
6. Not satisfied? Refund within 30 minutes, no questions asked

For Creators: Get Paid

Payment system coming soon

Connect your Stripe account in Settings to receive automatic payouts.

When someone buys your article: - Stripe fee: 3.6% - Platform fee: 3% -You receive: 93.4%

Example: $10 article → you get $9.34.

SSH Key Setup (CLI users)

The CLI authenticates with SSH keys, like GitHub. No passwords stored.

1. Go to Settings
2. Open "SSH Keys" section
3. Paste your public key (cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)
4. Done — draft push now authenticates automatically

Tips

• Markdown files + images: Put them in a folder and draft push ./folder/ to upload everything at once
• Multiple articles: Each article is a "branch" in ~/drafts/. Manage them with draft status
• Edit published articles: draft checkout <slug> to download, edit, then draft push to update
• Revision history: draft log shows all versions

Questions?

Use the feedback form on the homepage or check the CLI guide.

Welcome to Draft. Write. Sell. That's it.