---
title: "Academy Article"
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- [Content and media](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/leitfaeden/content-and-media)

- [Check drafts in the preview before publishing](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/check-drafts-in-the-preview)

# Check drafts in the preview before publishing

With the project's content preview token, the real storefront shows unpublished content instead of published content. The token is used by the open preview link in project settings, the Studio command Show preview content or the URL parameter preview\_token.

## Before you start

<dl>

<dt>Plan</dt>
<dd>All plans</dd>

<dt>Role</dt>
<dd>Access to project settings to see the token</dd>

<dt>Duration</dt>
<dd>5 min</dd></dl>

### Prerequisites

- Deployed frontend with a current frontend-core version
- Content preview token in project settings

Last reviewed on October 15, 2026

The **content preview** shows drafts on the real storefront: real layout, real products, real prices. It is based on the **content preview token**, a secret per project under **Project › Settings**. New projects receive one automatically.

When a storefront URL is opened with the token, the server renders the page with unpublished content. A wrong token causes no error: the page simply shows the published content. Preview pages are never cached and always carry `noindex, nofollow`, so they never end up in search engines.

The token applies to the whole project, not to one person. Anyone holding it sees every draft. So it is treated like a staging password and rotated when someone leaves. A new token only takes effect after the next deployment, and preview templates in external CMSs have to be updated then.

## Step by step

1. 1 ### Step 1: Find the token

   Open **Project › Settings** in Cockpit and check the **content preview token**. If it is missing, generate one.
2. 2 ### Step 2: Open the preview from settings

   Choose the **open preview** link in project settings. The storefront opens in preview mode in a new tab.
3. 3 ### Step 3: Turn on the preview in Studio

   In Studio, run the **Show preview content** command from the command bar. The Studio preview then also shows unpublished entries.
4. 4 ### Step 4: Share a preview link

   Append `?preview_token=` with the token to any storefront URL and send the link to the reviewers.
5. 5 ### Step 5: Connect an external CMS

   Enter the token in the preview URL template of the external CMS so that its preview button opens the storefront with drafts.

## Check the result

An entry with status Draft or Changed appears with its new content on the preview page, but not on the same URL without the token. If the preview shows only published content too, the token is wrong or was rotated without a new deployment.

## Frequently asked questions

Why does the preview only show published content?

The token is wrong, or it was rotated and the storefront has not been redeployed yet. A wrong token deliberately causes no error, only the normal page.

Why is Show preview content greyed out in Studio?

The deployed frontend-core version is too old. A tooltip names the required version; a developer updates the frontend.

Can search engines find preview pages?

No. Every page with a token carries noindex, nofollow and is never stored in a shared cache.

Is there one token per person?

No, the token applies to the whole project. When someone leaves, rotate the token and deploy afterwards.

## Related

- [Manage content in Content Collections](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/manage-content-in-content-collections)6 min

  Content Collections are the place for structured content such as blog posts, recipes or authors in Cockpit. Under Content › Collections, entries are created, maintained per language, linked and published without a deployment.
- [Preview and publish changes in Studio](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/preview-and-publish-changes-in-studio)5 min

  Studio saves changes as a draft and shows them instantly in the live preview. Publish in the top bar takes the saved state to the storefront through a deployment of the environment.
- [Start and check a deployment](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/start-and-check-a-deployment)5 min

  A deployment rebuilds the storefront of an environment and puts changes to apps, versions and configuration live. It is started in Cockpit under Deployments with Deploy; the status and build log show whether it worked.
- [Connect Hygraph](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/apps/connect-hygraph)10 min

  The Hygraph app connects a Hygraph project to Laioutr through the Content API. Hygraph content appears in Studio through Orchestr, and Hygraph assets are available in the media library.

## Learn it in a lesson

- [Preview and publishing](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/lektionen/foundations-preview-and-publish)7 min
- [Maintain content in content collections](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/lektionen/frontend-manager-content-collections)10 min
- [Preview and publish](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/lektionen/go-live-preview-and-publish)6 min

## [Content and media](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/leitfaeden/content-and-media)

Search this guide

1. [Manage content in Content Collections](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/manage-content-in-content-collections)6 min
2. [Check drafts in the preview before publishing](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/check-drafts-in-the-preview)5 min
3. [Manage media in Cockpit and Studio](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/manage-media-in-cockpit-and-studio)5 min
4. [Maintain markets and translations in Studio](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/maintain-markets-and-translations-in-studio)6 min

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