## Draft vs. published

| Status   | Visibility                                                         |
|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **Draft**    | Visible only to you in the dashboard. Not in the registry or search. |
| **Published** | Live in the registry and indexed for search.                     |

## Publish a tool

1. **Edit your tool**: Fill in the name, description, categories, languages, links, and other metadata.
2. **Review changes**: Open the [Changes](/content/docs/creators/changes/index.html) page to see what will be deployed.
3. **Deploy**: Trigger a deployment from the Changes page or Deployments.
4. **Go live**: Once the deployment succeeds, the tool becomes searchable in the live registry.

## Deployments

Each deployment captures a snapshot of your tool at a point in time. You can:

- View deployment history
- Check deployment status
- Re-deploy after making changes

Deployments run as background jobs. Use the Deployments tab on the tool page to monitor status.

## Search index

Published tools are indexed in the UseAgents search backend. When agents call `search_tools` or the REST search endpoint, your tool can appear in the results if it matches the query. Metadata that affects discoverability:

- **Name** and **description**
- **Categories**, **languages**, and **frameworks**
- **Tags**

## Archive a tool

You can archive a published tool to remove it from the registry and search. Archived tools remain in your dashboard and can be restored later.

## Before you deploy

- Confirm the description is accurate and factual.
- Check that the docs, repo, and website links are valid.
- Make sure categories, tags, languages, and frameworks reflect the tool correctly.
- Review the changes page so the deployment does not publish stale or accidental edits.