Discord attachment
Drag the .build file straight into the channel as an upload. The receiver downloads it and drops it into their BuildPlanner folder unchanged. This is the most reliable method.
Sharing
How to share a PoE2 .build file
A .build file is just text, so it travels well — as long as you send it as a file, not as pasted text. Most "broken build" reports come from a file that was copied into a chat box and lost a character along the way.
Unofficial fan-made guide. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Grinding Gear Games.
The one rule that prevents most problems
Send the actual file as an attachment whenever you can. Pasting JSON into a message is where smart quotes, dropped braces, and word-wrap damage creep in. If the receiver has to copy text out of a chat bubble, expect to validate it before it will load.
Safe ways to share
Cloud link
Upload to a drive or file host and share the link. Good for large builds and for keeping a single canonical copy you can update later.
Zip it first
If a platform refuses the .build extension, compress it into a .zip. Zipping also stops chat apps from "helpfully" rewriting the file.
Code block, as a last resort
If you must paste the JSON, wrap it in a code block so the platform does not convert quotes or insert formatting. The receiver should still validate it before importing.
What breaks a file in transit
When a shared build refuses to load, it is rarely the build itself — it is usually one of these transport problems.
Smart quotes
Symptom: Quotes look curly, not straight.
Fix: Replace “ ” with plain " and re-validate.
Renamed extension
Symptom: File arrives as .txt or .json.
Fix: Rename it back to .build before placing it.
Truncated paste
Symptom: A trailing brace or bracket is missing.
Fix: Validate to find the exact spot, then ask the sender for the file.
Hidden whitespace
Symptom: Looks fine but will not parse.
Fix: Re-export or re-download the original rather than hand-fixing.
If you are the one receiving a build
Validate first, import second
Run any file from Discord, Reddit, or a guide through the validator before moving it. It checks the JSON and obvious missing fields locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Then put it in the right folder
Once it validates, drop it into the correct BuildPlanner folder for your platform and reopen the planner.
Sharing a build you made from scratch
Start from a clean minimal file
If you are building something to hand out, generate a minimal starter file as a base. A clean file is far less likely to carry stale, patch-broken fields than an old export.
Keep it conservative after patches
The Build Planner format is experimental. Before resharing an older file, re-export it so recipients are not debugging fields that a recent update renamed.