# Illustrated companion walkthroughs

Instructional guides, not provider screenshots or completed account actions. Checked August 31, 2026.


## Find the files and see your first change

A visual file guide, not a screenshot of Finder, Windows or Codex.


### 1. Find the project folder

**Where:** Finder on Mac or File Explorer on Windows

Open Documents, then your extracted study kit. Copy checkpoint-02 to a new folder named my-website. Keep the original untouched.

**Expected:** my-website contains index.html and styles.css.

**If stuck:** If you see another enclosing folder, open it. If the file ends .html.txt, correct the extension.


### 2. Match each file to its job

**Where:** my-website

index.html holds words and links. styles.css holds layout and colors. assets holds permitted images. Keep notes/brief.txt private and outside the publish folder.

**Expected:** You can point to the file responsible for the change you want.

**If stuck:** Do not rename files without updating the paths that reference them.


### 3. Preview without installation

**Where:** index.html → Open With → browser

Open the copied file. Ask the agent to change one heading in my-website, save, then refresh the browser.

**Expected:** The changed heading appears and the original checkpoint is unchanged.

**If stuck:** If not, compare the browser address with the file path your agent edited. A stale tab may show another copy.


### 4. Show the same folder to your AI tool

**Where:** Your tool’s project/folder chooser

Select my-website, then ask: “Show the absolute folder path and list index.html and styles.css. Do not edit yet.” Compare it to Finder/File Explorer.

**Expected:** Both the agent and browser refer to the same copy.

**If stuck:** If the tool cannot access local files, use its supported export workflow; do not broaden access to your entire computer.


## Publish one static folder

Manual upload route. Dashboard labels may change; use the linked official guide if yours differs.


### 1. Prepare a publish-only folder

**Where:** Your local project

Copy only index.html, styles.css and public assets into publish. Open publish/index.html first. Exclude notes, secrets and unrelated books/manuscripts.

**Expected:** The publish copy renders and links correctly.

**If stuck:** Do not upload the entire working folder out of convenience.


### 2. Create a manual deployment

**Where:** Netlify dashboard → add/import a project → deploy manually

Use the manual deploy option and upload the folder whose top level contains index.html. Read the actual account’s plan/usage terms first.

**Expected:** The deployment produces a host-provided URL.

**If stuck:** If you instead see Git settings, you chose the repository route. Return to manual upload for this static exercise.

[Official instructions](https://docs.netlify.com/deploy/create-deploys/)


### 3. Verify outside your account

**Where:** Host-provided URL → signed-out browser + phone

Check title, stylesheet, image, main link and contact. A preview in your editor is not the deployed copy.

**Expected:** A visitor can reach the same page without your host login.

**If stuck:** A missing home page often means index.html was nested one folder too deep.


### 4. Update the existing project

**Where:** The SAME Netlify project → Deploys

Change a sentence locally, verify it, and upload the new publish folder to that project’s deploy area. Keep the preceding deployment.

**Expected:** The same public URL shows the edit.

**If stuck:** Creating another project can leave your real domain pointing to the old copy.

[Official instructions](https://docs.netlify.com/deploy/create-deploys/)


## Connect your address without guessing records

Keep your host’s exact instructions beside your DNS editor. No account-specific values are supplied here.


### 1. Add the domain at the host

**Where:** Netlify project → Domain management

Add a domain you own and choose the external-DNS route. Keep the host’s instruction panel open.

**Expected:** The host identifies the exact records needed for this site.

**If stuck:** Do not copy values from a course diagram.

[Official instructions](https://docs.netlify.com/manage/domains/configure-domains/configure-external-dns/)


### 2. Find the active DNS provider

**Where:** Registrar → nameserver settings → DNS provider

Nameservers tell you which provider owns the active DNS zone. Save current records before editing. Identify existing MX and mail-related TXT entries.

**Expected:** You know where edits take effect and have a recovery record.

**If stuck:** Editing an inactive DNS zone has no effect.


### 3. Copy the three fields

**Where:** DNS editor → add/edit record

Match Type, Name and Value to your host. For a www CNAME, the value is a hostname without https:// or a path. Follow the host’s separate root-domain instructions.

**Expected:** Each field has been compared, not guessed.

**If stuck:** Leave MX/TXT mail entries alone. Do not replace all records or switch nameservers casually.


### 4. Verify routing and HTTPS

**Where:** Host domain panel → root and www in browser

Wait for the host’s verification and certificate status. Open both addresses, confirm the intended page and preferred redirect.

**Expected:** No certificate warning; both supported addresses reach your site.

**If stuck:** Record the exact pending/error status before editing again. Repeated random changes make diagnosis harder.

[Official instructions](https://docs.netlify.com/manage/domains/configure-domains/configure-external-dns/)