1 Choose a format that fits the material #
Match the tool to the size and lifetime of what you are sending:
- Chat message — a sentence or two that only makes sense inside the conversation.
- Paste link — a note, log, configuration file, or code sample that must keep its line breaks.
- Shared document — work other people will comment on, edit, or track over time.
A paste preserves spacing and line breaks without asking anyone to open an attachment. If the content needs comments, permissions, or version history, a shared document service is the better home for it.
2 Create a link people can use #
- Give the paste a descriptive title so the link preview and the page header make sense.
- Read the text once for accidental secrets before you publish it.
- Pick the shortest expiration that still gives your recipient time to read it.
- Create the link, open it, and check that the formatting survived.
- Send the complete URL — the random identifier is what makes an unlisted paste reachable.
Tip
Sending the same text to several people? Share one link with one sentence of context instead of repeating the whole thing.
For the step-by-step version of this workflow, see how to share text online without creating an account.
3 Unlisted is not the same as private #
An unlisted URL is not indexed or advertised, but it is still a bearer link: whoever holds it can read the paste. No login step proves who the reader is.
Never put the following in a paste:
- Passwords, recovery codes, one-time codes
- API keys, access tokens, private keys,
.envfiles - Customer records, medical or financial details
- Internal hostnames, private URLs, employee-only documents
For genuinely confidential material use a password manager's sharing feature or a secret-sharing tool that encrypts the value and expires after a single read.
How to protect sensitive text when sharing online explains how to classify material before you send it.
4 Treat sharing as a lifecycle #
Temporary information should stop being reachable when it stops being useful.
| Expiration | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | Incident notes, shift handovers | Recipients in another time zone |
| 7 days | Review drafts, sprint logs | Links reused as documentation |
| 30 days | Onboarding notes, long reviews | Content that ages badly |
| Never | Reference material that stays valid | Secrets — never share those |
The creator receives separate edit and delete links. They are capability URLs: possession is the permission, so store them the way you store keys.
5 Make code and notes easy to scan #
- Keep the smallest complete sample that still reproduces the issue.
- Preserve indentation; a paste shows text exactly as it was written.
- Name the language in the title when it is not obvious (
TypeScript,SQL,nginx). - Include the lines around an error, then trim unrelated log noise.
- Remove credentials, machine-specific paths, and internal hostnames before sending.
CopyPasta renders a paste as text and never executes it — but readers may copy it into a live system, so write every paste as if it were public reading material.
For a worked redaction checklist, see sharing code snippets and logs clearly.