# htmlpreview.github.io Alternatives That Don't Break Your Assets (2026)

Canonical: https://commareports.com/alternatives/htmlpreview-github-io-alternatives
Published: 2026-09-06

> htmlpreview.github.io renders raw GitHub HTML in the browser — until CSS, fonts or fetch() calls fail, or the repo is private. Alternatives compared for previewing and sharing HTML from a repository.

# htmlpreview.github.io alternatives

Everyone finds it the same way. You have an HTML file in a repo, GitHub
shows you the source instead of the page, you search for a workaround, and
you land on prefixing the blob URL with `htmlpreview.github.io/?`.

It works, right up until it doesn't — and it fails in a way that wastes an
afternoon, because the page *almost* renders.

## Why it breaks

htmlpreview is a client-side proxy: it fetches your file from
`raw.githubusercontent.com` and injects it into a page on its own domain.
Everything downstream of that inherits the consequences.

- **Relative paths move.** `./data/results.json` was next to your file on
  disk. In the preview it is resolved against a different origin, and the
  fetch 404s.
- **Cross-origin rules apply.** Fonts, XHR, `fetch()`, workers and some
  iframes are subject to CORS against raw.githubusercontent.com — which
  does not serve the headers your page assumed.
- **Public repos only.** It reads the raw endpoint anonymously. A private
  repo renders nothing.
- **Nothing is shareable in a durable way.** The URL is a proxy of a
  branch. Push to `main` and the "shared" link silently shows different
  content; delete the branch and it shows nothing.
- **No review layer.** The person you sent it to can only reply in chat.

## The shortlist

### 1. Publish the artifact, not the source — Comma

The structural fix is to stop proxying a file out of version control and
start serving the built thing from a real origin. Drag the file into
[/new](/login), or publish it from the same CI job that produced it:

```yaml
- name: Publish report
  run: |
    curl -X POST https://commareports.com/api/v1/reports \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ secrets.COMMA_API_TOKEN }}" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d "$(jq -n --arg h "$(cat dist/report.html)" \
            '{title:"Build report", html:$h, visibility:"team"}')"
```

Because the report is served from one origin, relative assets in a zip
bundle resolve the way they did locally, and the cross-origin failures
disappear. On top of that: private / team / domain / link visibility, so
private repos are no longer a dead end, and anchored comments so the
feedback lands on the paragraph instead of in a DM.

**Not for:** browsing a repository. This replaces the *share* step, not
GitHub.

**Pricing:** Free — unlimited reports, viewers, commenters and revisions.

**[Publishing from CI →](/docs/ci)**

### 2. raw.githack.com — the better proxy, same public-repo limit

Serves the file from its own CDN with the correct `Content-Type` instead of
rewriting it in the browser, which fixes most asset problems. Still public
repos only, still pinned to a ref you have to remember to bump. See
[raw.githack alternatives](/alternatives/raw-githack-alternatives).

### 3. GitHub Pages — the supported answer for a repo's own site

If the HTML is part of the project rather than an output of one run, Pages
is what it is for: a real origin, real relative paths, git as history.
Public unless you are on Enterprise, and deployed from a branch or action
rather than from a file. See
[GitHub Pages alternatives](/alternatives/github-pages-alternatives).

### 4. `python -m http.server` — the two-second local answer

If you only need to *look* at it yourself, serve the folder locally and
open `localhost`. That removes every path and CORS problem instantly, and
shares with exactly nobody. See
[serving an HTML file locally](/serve-html-file-locally).

## At a glance

| Option           | Assets survive     | Private repos | Stable link | Comments |
| ---------------- | ------------------ | ------------- | ----------- | -------- |
| **Comma**        | **Yes (bundle)**   | **Yes**       | **Yes**     | **Yes**  |
| htmlpreview      | Often not          | No            | No (branch) | No       |
| raw.githack      | Mostly             | No            | Ref-pinned  | No       |
| GitHub Pages     | Yes                | Enterprise    | Yes         | No       |
| Local server     | Yes                | n/a           | n/a         | No       |

_Checked September 2026._

## How to choose

- **Just want to see it once?** Serve the folder locally.
- **Public demo out of a public repo?** raw.githack, or Pages if it is
  permanent.
- **Sending it to someone who will have opinions — or the repo is
  private?** [Publish the file and keep the thread on it](/share-html-report).

### Related

- [Share an HTML report](/share-html-report) ·
  [Host an HTML file](/host-html-file)
- [Why my HTML report has no CSS](/html-report-broken-css) ·
  [GitHub Gist HTML alternatives](/alternatives/github-gist-html-alternatives)
- [All hosting alternatives](/alternatives)