Hudu's built-in, encrypted sharing options let you provide clients with required credentials, share KB articles and asset information, and maintain transparency with end-users about how their data is handled.
Information stored in Hudu can be shared in several ways — quick-share links, printable versions and exports, the REST API, and the end-user-facing portal. This article focuses on the two main ways to share information with end-users and other external (non-technician) users:
- Share links — individual passwords and knowledge base articles can generate quick-share links, letting technicians (with permission) provide clients with useful articles or required credentials. Quick-share links are encrypted in transit, but external users are not required to have unique Hudu credentials, so these are public URLs.
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Share portal — a read-only documentation system for securely sharing end-user data back with them. Almost any piece of information in your Hudu environment can be added to the portal.
- Portal users are created in Hudu admin → Users at no additional cost.
- Each portal user requires unique login credentials and can access only a single end-user portal.
- As of version 2.44, authors and editors (in addition to admins and super admins) can add and remove individual items from the portal.
Visit Portal and Groups & Restrictions for additional information on portal customization and controlling who can share.
Guides
Enabling external sharing
External sharing is enabled by default when your Hudu environment is created. To disable it completely — which removes share links and access to portal creation/configuration across all client spaces — navigate to Hudu admin → Security (admin or super admin role required).
Creating share links
Navigate to a specific client/company space and into either the client's Passwords section or their KB section. Viewing items shared via quick-share links does not require a Hudu login.
Individual general passwords stored in a client's space can be shared. Share Password Via Link is at the bottom of the details page:
- Select how long the link stays active — from 30 minutes to 30 days.
- Include a message.
- Include the username.
- Include the TOTP code.
- Have the link expire after the first view.
KB articles can also generate quick-share links so technicians can share useful guides with external users.
- Find share links at the top of the right-hand menu (make sure the sidebar isn't hidden by full view mode).
- Create the public share link, then copy and share it.
- To remove access to a link, either:
- Make Private — disables the share link, or
- Regenerate Share Link — disables the current link and generates a new unique URL.
Configuring the portal
The external share portal lets your team configure a read-only interface to share information back with end-users — anything from everything you maintain for a client down to a single item (for example, one Wi-Fi password).
- Navigate to an individual client/company space and into the External Sharing tab at the top of the Overview page.
- Before configuring what to share, activate the portal: click External Portal → Create Portal → Activate Portal.
- Once active, add information to the client's portal, such as:
- Custom assets — items in a custom asset layout; bulk-share a whole layout or selectively remove individual items.
- Passwords — general passwords from the client's Passwords section; include all or add individually.
- Website info — items from the client's Websites section; bulk-share all or add individually.
- KB folders — any global or client-specific article folder.
- External links — clickable links highlighted on the portal overview page.
You can also add an item from its individual page (inside a password, website, or custom asset): at the top of the right-hand sidebar, click + Add to Portal. To remove an item, open it and click Remove at the top of the right-hand sidebar. You can also View or Pin an item from there.
There is not currently a way to bulk-remove items from the external portal.
Managing the portal
Beyond choosing what to share, portals can be branded and further customized — globally (all client portals) or per client.
- Global edits — navigate to Hudu admin → Portal (under Basic Setup) to update the portal nomenclature. Changes apply to all active client portals and are restricted to the admin or super admin role.
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Per-client edits — from within an individual client space, you can:
- Brand the portal — add a custom client logo.
- Edit the client portal — use the WYSIWYG editor to add an information section to that client's portal overview page.
Visit Portal for additional information on portal nomenclature.
Tools
The sections below introduce additional tools associated with external sharing. Expand each for an overview.
Share one-off secure notes directly with clients or end-users. Create them from the paper airplane icon in the toolbar. Secure notes work similarly to quick-share links and let you:
- Include a note (required).
- Add a label (optional).
- Select how long the link stays active — from 30 minutes to one week.
- Have the link expire after the first view.
Secure notes are encrypted with zero-knowledge encryption. Links cannot be re-accessed, so navigating away or refreshing requires creating a new note.
For any custom asset, you can generate a QR code (in PDF format) containing that asset's information. When scanned, the code pulls up information for only the specific asset it was created for.
- Navigate to the asset.
- At the top right, click the Print icon and select Generate QR Code.
FAQ
No. Quick-share links are public URLs (encrypted in transit) and do not require unique Hudu credentials. For persistent, read-only access to a set of information, use the external share portal instead, which does require portal login credentials.
No. Each portal user requires unique login credentials and can be assigned to a single client's portal only.
Yes. It's enabled when your environment is created. An admin or super admin can disable it entirely in Hudu admin → Security.
As of version 2.44, admins, super admins, authors, and editors can add and remove individual items from the portal.
Troubleshooting
External sharing can be turned on or off in Hudu admin → Security — make sure it's on. You must be an admin or super admin to access this option.
This is usually one of two things:
- The portal hasn't been created or activated yet. Go to the company's External Sharing tab and click Create Portal → Activate Portal.
- The user hasn't been assigned a portal. Go to Hudu admin → Users, click Edit on the portal user, and assign them to a client. Each user can be assigned to only one client (one portal).