A share link is a secret URL for one file. Anyone who has it can read that file in a browser without an account, and share links stay out of the community. They are the private half of sharing. To publish a whole folder in public, use [[Public Folders]].

## How a share link works

Every link lives at its own secret address:

```text nocopy
https://www.monofile.ai/l/V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT
```

- **The URL is the access control.** The token is 21 random characters, and knowing it is the only way in.
- **Links are never listed.** They do not appear in the community, the feed, search results or your public profile, and the pages are excluded from search engines.
- **No votes, comments or forks.** A linked file cannot be voted on, commented on or forked, and it is not added to community search.
- **One link per file.** Creating a link for a file that already has one updates that link instead of minting a second URL.
- **Files only.** A share link points at a single file, never at a folder or a whole workspace. A link to `/notes/plan.md` reveals `plan.md` and nothing else.

Viewers get a read-only page with the file's content, no editor and no sign-in prompt.

## Create a link

In the app, right-click a file in the file tree and choose **Share**, or use the actions menu on the file's tab. The dialog has five controls:

| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Copy link | Puts the URL on your clipboard |
| General access | Switches between **Private** and **Anyone with the link** |
| Shared version | Serves the live file, or a frozen copy of it |
| Require password | Adds a password gate in front of the content |
| Expires | Never, 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days |

## Revoke a link

Set **General access** back to **Private**, or press **Remove link**. Revocation is immediate and permanent. The old URL stops resolving, and a link created for that file later gets a different URL. Use **Reset link** when a link has spread further than you intended. It revokes the old URL, mints a new one and copies it, in one step.

## Expiry

An expiry is optional and stored on the link. Once it passes, the URL stops working and the page looks exactly like a bad token, so an expired link and a wrong token look the same. Clearing the expiry puts the link back to never expiring.

## Password

**Require password** adds a gate in front of the content. The password is 6 to 72 characters. A viewer types it once, and that browser stays unlocked for 7 days on that one link. A locked page shows nothing, not even the filename. Changing or removing the password signs out every viewer who had already unlocked the link, which also cuts off access without changing the URL.

Password attempts are rate-limited per visitor and per link.

## Pin the content to a version

By default a link serves the file's current content, so viewers see your edits as you make them. Under **Shared version**, choose **Freeze current content** or pick one of the file's checkpoints instead. A pinned link holds a frozen copy of that content. Later edits to the file do not change what the recipient sees until you switch the link back to live.

## What the link looks like when you paste it

Paste a link into WhatsApp, Slack, iMessage or a social post and the card shows the file, not the Monofile logo.

| File | Title and text | Image |
|---|---|---|
| `.html` | The page's `<title>` and `<meta name="description">` | A screenshot of the rendered page |
| `.slides` | The file name | The first slide |
| Markdown | The first heading and the first paragraph | A generated card with that text |
| Images and video | The file name | The image itself, or the video's poster frame |
| Everything else | The file name | A generated card |

An HTML file that declares `<meta property="og:image" content="https://…">` uses that image instead of the screenshot, so a page can carry its own cover.

The image follows the content. After you edit a shared file, the next time the link is pasted it fetches a new render; a message that was already sent keeps the card it had, because chat apps cache them. Deleting the file or revoking the link deletes its stored renders. A password-protected link shows a generic card and no content, as before.

## Check a link's status

The share dialog shows the link's view count, its expiry and whether it is frozen. Over the API, `get_share_link` returns the same fields:

```json nocopy
{
  "exists": true,
  "url": "https://www.monofile.ai/l/V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT",
  "expiresAt": null,
  "pinned": { "label": "Frozen Jul 16, 2026" },
  "viewCount": 12,
  "createdAt": "2026-07-16T18:04:22.000Z"
}
```

For a password-protected link the view count counts unlocked views only.

## From an agent or the CLI

Three tools cover the whole lifecycle: `create_share_link` (create or update, including `expiresInHours`, `freeze` and `password`), `get_share_link` (read-only status) and `revoke_share_link`. Creating needs the `shares:write` scope and reading needs `shares:read`. The CLI wraps the same tools. `monofile share` picks the kind of sharing from what the path points at, so on a file it creates a link.

```bash tab="curl"
curl -X POST https://www.monofile.ai/api/tools/create_share_link \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MONOFILE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"path":"/notes/plan.md","expiresInHours":48,"freeze":true}'
```

```bash tab="CLI"
monofile share /notes/plan.md --expires-hours 48 --freeze
monofile share /notes/plan.md --status
monofile unshare /notes/plan.md
```

> [!WARNING]
> A link contains exactly one file, so a link to a `.canvas` board shows empty nodes, because the files the board points at are not in the link. Share the folder instead.

## Next steps

:::cards
- [[Public Folders]] — Publish a folder to the community, and what becomes visible.
- [[Community]] — The feed, votes, comments and trending.
- [[Profiles and Following]] — Your public profile, followers, and the people feed.
- [[Forking]] — Copy someone else's shared work into your own workspace.
- [[Discovery and Search]] — How shared work is found: trending, search and embeddings.
- [[Checkpoints]] — Named snapshots of a file or a folder subtree you can return to.
- [[Sharing and Community]] — Share links, folder shares, votes, comments, follows and the feed.
:::