The Is public toggle on channel settings controls whether unauthenticated visitors can read the channel.
Public channels
- Reachable at
/en/c/<perma-name>and on any verified custom domain. - Articles marked searchable are indexed and surface in the public search box.
- Feeds (RSS, sitemap) include the channel.
Private channels
- Only org members with access can view content.
- Custom domains on a private channel do not route — the middleware requires both verified DNS and public status.
- Useful for drafts, staging, or internal wikis.
Password-protecting a public channel
A middle ground: the channel is public (indexable, works on a custom domain) but every visitor must enter a shared password before they see any page. Useful for letting a client preview a site before it's fully public, without going fully private.
- Turn it on and set a password from channel settings — Password-protect the public site.
- Signed-in channel members (owner, editor, reviewer) never see the prompt.
- Once a visitor enters the correct password they're not asked again for that channel.
- Toggling it on without setting a password fails open — visitors aren't locked out by an incomplete setup.
Per-article controls
Inside a public channel, individual articles can still be hidden from readers:
- Publish window — the article is only visible between its publish-since and publish-until timestamps.
- Is archived — hides the article from listings and search.
- Is searchable — excludes it from the search index while keeping the direct permalink live.