Preview your store
Open the current storefront preview and check pages and responsive layouts before publishing.
Entry path: Workspace → select a store → Storefront
What this covers
Review the current storefront inside Runner, move between its pages, and check how it looks on desktop, tablet, and phone layouts without publishing it.
Why and when to use Preview
Use Preview after Runner creates or changes the storefront. It is the safest place to catch missing copy, broken routes, poor mobile layouts, or unfinished sections before customers see them.
Preview is separate from the live store. A page that looks correct here does not prove that the public URL, catalog data, inventory, payment connection, or checkout works.
Availability and prerequisites
- Open a project with existing storefront activity or a previewable version.
- If the page says No storefront yet, use the prompt on that page to ask Runner to build the first version.
- If it says Building the first version of your storefront… or Preparing preview…, the preview is not ready yet.
- Some workspaces use the newer checkpoint-based storefront. The exact version controls can vary with staged availability.
When conditional conversation version cards are enabled, selecting a completed work card's storefront image or Preview opens the exact ready version created by that task. It can be historical rather than latest. For an older project without saved version history, Preview on the latest storefront work card opens the current live preview instead. Check the v…, Current Version, and Published labels when they are available before editing or starting publication.
A completed task or successful source build does not by itself mean Preview has updated. Runner promotes the finished storefront after the task completes. If that promotion fails, Preview keeps the previous successful version—or shows no built preview when none exists—so confirm the visible version and preview result.
Open Preview
- Open your Runner workspace.
- Select the store you want to review.
- Select Storefront in the project navigation.
- Wait until the current version appears in the preview area.
If the project has no storefront yet:
- Enter what you want in Describe the store you want to build….
- Select Start building, or press Enter without Shift.
- Runner creates a conversation and sends that description as the first request.
- If creation fails, the description remains in the field so you can retry.
Preview controls
| Control | Why you use it | What happens when you select it |
|---|---|---|
| Go Back | Return to the previous page visited inside the preview. | The preview moves backward in its own page history. It does not leave your Runner project. |
| Go Forward | Revisit a page after going back. | The preview moves forward when a later history entry exists. |
| PC / Pad / Phone | Check responsive layouts. | Each selection cycles the preview frame to the next device size. It does not change the live storefront. |
Path field, such as / | Open a known storefront route. | Select the path, enter another path on the same preview site, and press Enter. Invalid or external addresses are ignored. |
| Refresh | Reload the current preview after a change or stalled render. | Runner reloads the visible page and clears the active Design Mode selection and undo/redo session. Save pending design changes first. |
| Open in new tab | Review the preview with more space. | Runner opens this preview URL in another browser tab. This is still a preview, not proof of a published store. |
| Version label, such as v1 · Current | Identify what you are reviewing. | The label distinguishes the latest current version from a historical preview. |
| Design Mode | Start visual editing. | Runner opens the design workspace when the latest version is eligible. |
| Version History | Compare earlier storefront versions. | Runner opens the version list without changing the current storefront. |
| Open code editor | Inspect or edit the storefront source when this advanced control is available. | Runner opens the full-height Code editor dialog. Closing it returns the Storefront panel to Preview; verify the visible result there. |
| Coin / Earn free credits | Open the referral offer. | Runner opens the referral dialog; no credit is earned merely by opening it. |
| Credit count / Upgrade | Review credit, plan, or usage options. | Runner opens a popover whose available actions can lead to workspace Billing or Usage. |
| Publish, Publish Changes, or Republish | Start the publication flow appropriate to the current state. | Runner runs access and readiness checks before any publication starts. |
Review a storefront page by page
- Start at
/and scan the header, announcement area, hero, featured products, sections, and footer. - Select every visible navigation link. Confirm the destination appears and the preview path changes as expected.
- Open a product page from the storefront. Confirm its title, media, price, options, availability, and purchase control are visible.
- Use the path field for important routes that are not linked from the current page.
- Cycle through PC, Pad, and Phone. Look for clipped content, overlapping controls, unreadable text, and horizontal scrolling.
- Select Refresh only after saving any Design Mode changes.
- Record any problem in Runner chat with the page path, device size, and expected result.
States, limits, and troubleshooting
| What you see | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No storefront yet | Runner found neither existing storefront activity nor a saved previewable version. | Ask Runner to create the storefront. |
| Building the first version… | The first version is still being prepared. | Follow task progress and wait for a terminal result. |
| Preparing preview… | Runner is starting the selected preview. | Keep the page open; use Refresh only if the state stops progressing. |
| Failed to load the preview for this version | The selected version could not be displayed. | Return to the current version, refresh, or report the version and error to Runner. |
| Reconnecting preview | Runner lost the preview connection and is retrying. | Keep the project open and follow the retry count. If it cannot recover, reconnect the workspace. |
| Preview error bar with Fix | The preview reported an error Runner can inspect. | Select Fix or Fix error to send the displayed diagnostic to Runner. Use Show more to expand details and Dismiss only to hide the message. |
| A control is disabled | The preview does not currently support that action, the workspace is disconnected, or Runner is working. | Wait for Runner, reconnect the workspace if prompted, or return to the latest ready version. |
| The preview looks correct but the live store does not | The changes have not been published, or you are viewing different versions. | Check the version label, then use Publish Changes. |