Connecting a site

The free local workbench is complete on its own. Connecting a site is the explicit step that adds the hosted side - scheduled scans that run while your computer is off, alert email and signed webhooks, and shareable reports - for one production environment. Nothing here happens implicitly: you activate, you prove you control the domain, and you approve the first sync.

Activate the connected service

SiteCMD Connect is free during the beta. Request access through the contact form, then activate the supplied license in Settings → Account & Billing. Open Settings → Connected and click Activate with Your License. Public pricing and allowances for the connected service have not been set.

Create the connected site

Enter the production URL and click Create Connected Site. That registers the site with the service and hands you an ownership challenge. Nothing is scanned until you verify.

Prove you control the domain

The ownership card shows a Value to publish and accepts proof through whichever method suits your setup:

• Verify DNS Record - publish the value as a DNS TXT record on the domain. The card shows exactly what to publish and where.
• Verify Well-Known File - serve the value from a well-known path on the site itself. Useful when DNS is slow to touch or owned by someone else.
• Verify Through Provider - if you've connected a hosting provider, pick the provider project serving this domain and verify through it directly. Provider-verified sites also get their deploys reported automatically.

Until the challenge is found, the card reads "Not verified yet." Once any method succeeds: "Ownership proved," and the next step lights up.

Inspect, then sync

The Connection card states the contract: SiteCMD can sync inspected findings and lifecycle changes for this production environment, and nothing leaves this desktop until a site connection is imported and you approve a sync.

Inspect Payload shows the exact serialized snapshot a sync would send at that moment, using the same inspector logic as the CLI's connected --dry-run. Sync Now builds and sends the current snapshot, so intervening scans or lifecycle changes can change its values. The fields a sync can contain are documented under Privacy & data.

The hosted service manages its own scheduled scans for verified active sites. Configure alert destinations and create shareable reports in the Connected settings. The desktop scan schedule is separate and runs only while the app is running.

CI credentials

The CI Gate Credential card mints the site-scoped token that sitecmd gate and sitecmd connected --submit use in pipelines. The token is shown once and stored only as a hash. Fill in Repository and Trusted workflow to pin it for verified GitHub Actions provenance; a token without pins still works in unattested mode. Create Encrypted Export produces the credential-free connection export those commands read, protected by a passphrase you choose. The details live in the CLI reference.

Moving, pausing, leaving

• Transfer Connection moves the site's connection to another desktop: create the encrypted transfer payload here, then use Import Connection on the new machine with the payload, its passphrase, and the installation token.
• Unlink This Desktop → Unlink Site removes this desktop's local connection. The connected site keeps running. Keep a transfer export if you need to connect another desktop later.
• Stop Watching This Site → Stop Watching stops the hosted site and starts its 30-day data-retention period. The desktop keeps the connection needed to resume. Existing CI credentials are revoked.
• Resume Watching This Site → Resume Watching reactivates a stopped site during that retention period. Create replacement CI credentials; resuming does not restore revoked tokens.
• Erase Site Data permanently deletes the site's remote state immediately, and the app shows a deletion receipt once - keep it. Your local data stays. Privacy & data explains retention and erasure.