A share link is a standing invitation: anyone holding the URL keeps the link's role for as long as it lives. An expiry bounds that. You can give a link a lifetime when you create it, so it stops working on its own without you having to remember to revoke it. It complements the share password as a second self-serve control.
Choosing a lifetime
When you create a link in the Share dialog, an expiry dropdown sits next to the role toggle. You can pick:
- Never, the default, which is the original behaviour: the link lasts until you delete it.
- 1 Week
- 1 Month
- 6 Months
Pick the shortest span that fits, like "1 Week" for a workshop group or "1 Month" for a project review.
What happens when a link expires
When a link's lifetime runs out, it stops granting access everywhere at once. The share URL and any embed using it show the same not-found surface as a deleted link, and it stops opening the realtime room. People already viewing through it lose access on their next load or save.
Active links with a deadline show a small countdown chip in the dialog, like "6d left", so you can see at a glance how long each one has.
Inactive links: extend or delete
Expired links do not vanish. They move into an Inactive share links section in the Share dialog, where each one shows an "Expired" badge and its URL. From there you can:
- Extend the link, which gives it a fresh deadline using its original duration (for example "Extend 1 week") and moves it back to Active, or
- Delete it for good.
You can also extend a link that is still active to push its deadline further out.
Want to change a link's lifetime after creating it? A never-expiring link cannot be extended, so the simplest route is to delete it and create a new one with the lifetime you want.
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