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What's the difference between "Live" and "Edited" in Sanity?

10 replies
Last updated: Jun 7, 2023
“Live edited” …what’s the difference?
AI Update

The question "Live edited" is a bit ambiguous, but I'm guessing you're asking about the difference between live editing and regular editing in Sanity, or perhaps the difference between live preview and published content. Let me clarify both:

Live Preview vs. Published Content

When you edit content in Sanity Studio, changes are automatically saved to a draft document (with an ID prefixed by drafts.). These drafts are separate from your published content, which means:

  • Draft/Live Edited content: Changes you're actively making that aren't yet live on your site
  • Published content: The version that's actually visible to your site visitors

Live Preview lets you see your draft changes in real-time before publishing them. As you type in the Studio, the preview updates instantly—no need to manually refresh or wait for cache clearing. This is powered by the Presentation Tool, which shows your content in context with features like click-to-edit overlays.

Real-time Editing Features

Sanity also supports collaborative editing, where multiple users can edit the same document simultaneously. You'll see live indicators showing who else is editing and what fields they're working on, helping prevent conflicts.

The newer Live Content API (GA as of March 2025) makes content delivery real-time by default, ensuring your frontend always has the latest published content without complex cache invalidation.

Key Differences Summary

  • Editing drafts: Your work-in-progress changes (not visible to site visitors)
  • Live Preview: Seeing those draft changes in real-time within Studio as you type
  • Published content: The live version on your actual website
  • Live Content API: Real-time delivery of published content to your frontend

If you meant something else by "live edited," like comparing different preview modes or API perspectives, let me know what specific scenario you're working with!

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10 replies
Hey (Removed Name),
Looks like in live edit mode, documents are published in real time.


https://www.sanity.io/docs/history-experience#c43418658a07
Very odd. There’s no mention of that feature in the UI or and buttons to adjust modes.
I wonder how that happened and how that’s used.
im pretty sure this is something opted into in config. im trying to find where they mention it.
but that description is wrong
“Turns off drafts when set to 
true
.”
oh I see nm, though damn that is some confusing languge. maybe its the prop name
This also happens when making edits via the API, i believe.
WOW, this is a super awesome feature! I didn’t realize I’d used it.
Knowing I can set a type this way is a big benefit, while also having more strict policies on other content.

That’s worth a marketing campaign
😜

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