How To / FAQ

Xfile turns anything you can copy into a clean, mobile-first article with a permanent link. The flow is always the same:

1. Paste or import — paste text directly, import a URL, or connect a Google Doc.
2. Edit and preview — refine your headline, excerpt, and byline. Add an image or YouTube video. Check the live preview.
3. Publish — get a permanent link at xfile.me/yourname/your-title with automatic social cards for X and iMessage.

Every article lives at your handle-based URL. You can edit it after publishing and the link stays the same.

Xfile accepts plain text, markdown, HTML, AI-generated output, legal documents, policy drafts, essays, memos, and more.

1. Go to xfile.me/create and paste your content into the large Paste your content field.
2. Xfile automatically generates a headline from the first line and an excerpt from the opening sentences.
3. Edit the headline and excerpt if needed, then preview or publish.

What Xfile normalizes automatically:

• Section headings like SECTION 1., PART II., CHAPTER 3. become readable paragraph breaks
• Bullet symbols like • and ▪ become clean list items
• Lines with no blank separators (e.g. copy-pasted prose) are split into readable paragraphs
• Markdown headings, bold, italic, links, and dividers are preserved
• HTML is sanitized — scripts, styles, and event handlers are removed

Xfile can import the readable content from most public web pages, including news articles, blog posts, white papers, and press releases.

1. Paste the URL into the Import from link field at the top of the create page.
2. Click Import from link. Xfile fetches the page and extracts the main article body.
3. The content, headline, and excerpt are pre-filled. Review and edit before publishing.

Also supported:

• Google Docs — paste a Google Doc URL (must be shared as "Anyone with the link can view")
• YouTube — paste a YouTube URL to import a video embed template

What gets removed: navigation, footers, share buttons, related articles sections, press contact blocks, newsletter prompts, and duplicate export text.

These three fields shape how your article appears in the preview, in the social card, and on the public article page.

• Headline — the article title. Auto-generated from your first line, or set manually. Keep it under 75 characters for best social card display.
• Excerpt — a short summary shown below the headline in social cards and article footers. Auto-generated from the opening sentences. Edit freely. Maximum 150 characters.
• Byline — optional. Defaults to your Xfile handle. Override with any name, organization, or "By First Last" format.

All three fields are editable before and after publishing. Editing after publish updates the article immediately — the link stays the same.

Featured image

1. Click Add image below the content field.
2. Upload a JPEG or PNG. Xfile compresses and hosts it automatically.
3. The image appears at the top of your article and in the social card.

YouTube video

1. Paste a YouTube URL into the Import from link field, or enter a YouTube URL or video ID in the YouTube field directly.
2. The video embeds at the top of the article in place of a featured image.
3. A "Watch on YouTube" call-to-action appears below the player automatically.

The preview shows how your article will look when published — including typography, paragraph structure, headline, byline, and social card.

1. Click Preview after filling in your content. A full-screen preview opens.
2. Review the article body, headline, and the social card thumbnail at the bottom.
3. Click ← Back to edit to make changes, or Publish to go live immediately from the preview screen.

The preview renders with the same normalization and typography as the published article. What you see in preview is what readers see.

When you publish, Xfile creates a permanent, publicly accessible article at:

xfile.me/yourhandle/your-article-title

Social cards are generated automatically. When you paste your link into X, iMessage, Slack, or any platform that supports Open Graph previews, a card with your headline, excerpt, and image appears.

Editing after publish — open the article from your dashboard, make changes, and save. The link never changes.

Saving drafts — articles are saved as drafts before publishing. Return to your dashboard at any time to continue editing unpublished drafts.

Your handle — all articles are grouped under your handle-based URL. Set your handle once in account settings. It cannot be changed after articles are published under it.