# Activate a Site

Activation permanently locks your site's identity and consumes one site slot on your account. Once activated, your site can be built and deployed to production. Activations are permanent — there is no deactivation or slot reassignment.

In dev mode, an activation banner appears at the bottom of every page reminding you the site hasn't been activated yet.

## What gets locked

Activation captures a **site identity fingerprint** from your rendered HTML:

- **Title** (from `settings/meta.md`)
- **Brand name** (from `settings/meta.md`)
- **URL** (from `settings/meta.md` — hostname is extracted automatically)
- **Header brand** and **footer brand** text
- **SEO titles and brand names** across all pages

The brand name is automatically appended to every page's `<title>` tag via `seoTitleSuffix` — you don't need to manually include it in page titles.

This fingerprint is stored permanently on the sitemd API. Every subsequent build or deploy re-extracts the fingerprint and verifies it against the stored snapshot. If the identity has drifted, the build is refused with details about what changed.

## Before you activate

1. Set your site title and brand name in `settings/meta.md`
2. Set your site URL in `settings/meta.md` (e.g., `url: https://example.com`) — or pass a `url` to `sitemd_init` which sets it automatically
3. [Authenticate](/docs/authentication) with your sitemd account
4. Run `sitemd_build` at least once so page titles include your brand suffix

A URL is required at activation time. These values are permanently locked — changes after activation require contacting support.

## Activate

### Via deploy (most common)

The first time you deploy, sitemd triggers the activation ceremony automatically:

```bash
sitemd deploy
```

You'll see a fingerprint summary and a confirmation prompt before activation proceeds. After confirmation, the API stores the fingerprint, a receipt is written to `site.md` at your project root, and the deploy continues.

### CLI (standalone)

Activate without deploying — useful to lock in your site identity before you're ready to go live:

```bash
sitemd activate
```

This builds the site in memory to extract the fingerprint, then activates via the API.

### MCP tool

```
sitemd_activate
```

Same behavior as the CLI — builds in memory, extracts fingerprint, activates.

If the site is already activated, all three commands verify the fingerprint and return immediately without consuming an additional slot.

## The `site.md` receipt

After activation, a `site.md` file is written to your project root. This is a local activation receipt — not the source of truth. The API is always authoritative.

If you delete `site.md`, it regenerates as an empty (unactivated) receipt. The next build or deploy re-verifies with the API and restores it.

## Checking activation status

- **CLI**: `sitemd auth status` shows "Site slots: X/Y used"
- **MCP**: `sitemd_status` shows activation state (trial or activated)
- **Account dashboard**: [/account](/account) lists all activated sites with title, domain, and activation date
- **Dev server**: logs activation status on startup and watches `site.md` for changes

## After activation

Every build and deploy calls the sitemd API to verify your fingerprint against the stored snapshot. There is no offline build path — network access is required.

If your site identity has changed (different title, brand name, or URL), the build is refused with a message explaining the drift. To update your site identity after activation, contact support.

## Related

- [Deploy](/docs/deploy) — configure hosting and run deploys
- [Build Modes](/docs/build-modes) — trial vs activated
- [Authentication](/docs/authentication) — log in before building for production
- [MCP Server](/docs/mcp-server) — full list of MCP tools including `sitemd_activate`
- [CLI Config](/docs/cli-config) — CLI command reference