DocsQuick Start Guide
Get your first digital product distributed with Continuata in under 15 minutes.
What You'll Build
By the end of this guide you'll have created a product, uploaded your files, tested the download yourself, and know exactly how to connect FastSpring so customers receive a download link automatically when they purchase.
Step 1: Create Your Account
Create your Continuata organization account:
- Go to continuata.io/signup
- Choose a unique organization ID (e.g.,
my-audio-company) - Enter your organization name and admin details
- Verify your email address
Step 2: Create a Product
A product in Continuata represents one downloadable item — for example, a sample library or a VST plugin.
- In your dashboard, click New Product
- Fill in:
- Product name — the display name customers see (e.g., Epic Drum Kit Vol. 1)
- URL slug — a short, permanent identifier used in store integrations and webhooks (e.g.,
epic-drums-v1). Keep it simple and lowercase. Cannot be changed later.
- Click Create Product
Step 3: Upload Your Files
Upload is done from the Versions tab on your product detail page. Each upload creates a numbered version — you can have multiple versions and promote any one to be the active (downloadable) release.
Browser requirement for upload: Uploading requires Chrome or Edge (any recent version). Safari and Firefox do not support the folder picker used during upload. Your customers can still download in Chrome and Edge natively, or via the free Continuata Bridge on Safari and Firefox. This restriction only applies to you as the vendor uploading files.
- Open your product and click the Versions tab
- In the Upload New Version section, type a version number into the Version field (e.g.,
1.0.0) - Click Select Folder to Upload — your browser's folder picker will open
- Choose the folder that contains your product files. The entire folder structure is preserved exactly as-is for your customers
- Click Upload to R2 to start the upload
- Wait for all five stages to complete:
- Scanning — your folder is walked and each file enumerated; hidden and system files are filtered out
- Hashing — every file is SHA-256-fingerprinted in the browser, then grouped into ~8MB packs (unchanged packs from previous uploads are detected and skipped)
- Uploading — only new packs are transferred to cloud storage
- Verifying — all packs are confirmed present in storage before the version is finalised
- Finalizing — the manifest is written and the version becomes selectable for activation
- On success you'll see "Upload complete! Refreshing versions…"
Pause & resume: you can pause the upload at any time using the Pause button that appears once uploading starts. Current speed (MB/s) and estimated time remaining are shown throughout. On resume, already-uploaded packs are not re-transferred.
File organisation tip: Organise your folder before uploading. Customers will see the same folder and file names exactly as they appear on your disk. Hidden files and __MACOSX folders are skipped automatically.
Step 4: Test the Download Before Going Live
Always test the download yourself before activating a version for real customers. Use the Test Download button — it generates a short-lived token that bypasses the published check, so you can verify the full download experience without making the product public.
- On the Versions tab, find your newly uploaded version in the Version History list
- Click Test Download next to that version
- A download link appears — open it in a new tab
- On the download page, click Choose Download Location and pick a folder on your computer
- Click Start Download and verify all files arrive correctly
- Try pausing and resuming mid-download to confirm resume works
- Try closing the tab mid-download and re-opening the link — a Resume Download button should appear to continue from where you left off
What to check
- All files download and open correctly
- Folder structure matches your upload
- Pause and resume works mid-file
- Download speed looks healthy
Browser support for download
- Chrome / Edge — full native support
- Firefox — requires Continuata Bridge
- Safari — requires Continuata Bridge
Step 5: Activate and Publish
Once you're happy with your test download, promote the version and make the product public.
- Activate the version — on the Versions tab, click Set Active next to the version you tested. This marks it as the version customers will receive when they purchase. A version marked Active shows a green badge.
- Publish the product — in the product header, change the status dropdown from Draft to Published. Only published products can deliver downloads to customers. Setting a version active also automatically sets the product to Published.
Active vs Published: Active version determines which set of files a customer gets when they download — you can switch versions at any time without the customer knowing. Published product determines whether the product accepts real customer download requests at all. Keep it on Draft while setting up.
Step 6: Tell Customers About the Portal
Customers don't need to keep track of token URLs. Anyone who has bought from you can go to continuata.io/my, enter their purchase email, and self-serve every download tied to that address — even across multiple vendors. Link this from your post-purchase emails and your store's "Where's my download?" support page.
- No password required — verification is via emailed link
- Customers can add additional emails on the same account if they purchased under different ones
- Always available at
https://continuata.io/my