# Anonymous Drops & Claiming A drop is the shortest path from "here are my files" to "here is a link": drag files onto the [homepage](https://swarmfile.com/) and you get a real, public-by-link project you can share without anyone installing anything or creating an account. A drop expires after seven days unless you keep a copy (the claim) in a project of your own. Drops are a hosted-hub feature. A self-hosted community server does not serve them. ## Creating a drop 1. Open the [homepage](https://swarmfile.com/) while signed out (or signed in - a signed-in visitor uploads directly into their last project instead). 2. Drag files or a folder onto the Finder window. Folders keep their relative paths. 3. The first drop in a browser asks you to confirm you have the right to share the files. The acknowledgement is remembered in that browser; later drops, a retry, and a signed-in direct upload do not ask again. 4. The upload runs in the browser. When it finishes, the drop's share page is ready. A drop is capped at **5 GiB total, 200 files, and 7 days**. It is **public and plaintext**: anyone with the link can read and download it, so never put confidential material in a drop. The link is unguessable, but it is a bearer capability - treat it like a password. The per-network-address create limits (5 per 24 hours, 25 per 30 days; the address is a hashed client IP) and the global byte/email budgets are abuse bounds, not a plan limit. ## Sharing the link The share page (`/d/`) is a delivery receipt. From there you can: - **Copy the link** or show a **QR code**. - **Email the link** to up to five people. See [Emailing recipients](#emailing-recipients). - **Email me a copy** to your own confirmed address. - **Keep a copy in a project** (the claim) once you sign in. - **Delete the drop** before it expires. The public link keeps working until the drop expires, is deleted, or is claimed. A claimed drop closes for everyone once the hub records the copy as complete (usually within a few minutes; within about 15 minutes even if the claimant's tab is closed). ## Emailing recipients Emailing the link is consent-based and verifies the sender first: 1. Enter the recipients (up to five addresses) and **your** email address. 2. We email **you** a confirmation link. Recipients get nothing until you open it. 3. After you confirm, each recipient gets one email with the drop link and your optional message. Only your email address is confirmed; your name is optional (leave it blank and recipients see "A Swarmfile sender"). Addresses are used only for this drop and are deleted with it - never for marketing. Delivery is not tracked beyond the mail service accepting a message, so ask the recipient to check spam before assuming the link never arrived. ## Claiming a drop Keeping a copy (the claim) copies the files into a **new, git-enabled project** in an organization you belong to. The drop itself stays live until the copy finishes; if the copy fails, the drop is still there and you can retry. 1. Sign in from the share page. 2. Choose the organization and edit the proposed project name. 3. Confirm. The copy runs in the background and the page shows byte progress. A claim belongs to the browser that uploaded the drop: it needs both your session and the drop's upload key, which is kept in that browser. Opening the link in another browser or signing in as a different person cannot claim it. If you clear site data before claiming, the drop can no longer be claimed - only the public link remains. The copy is asynchronous. Large drops can take several minutes; the copy continues if you leave the page, and reloading the share page in the same tab resumes the progress display - even if the public link expired while the copy was running, the copy's progress and outcome are still shown. ### What the claimed project looks like - It is a normal project with real versions and history; each copied file is a commit on the default branch. - It is **git-enabled**: once the copy completes, the project page shows `git clone swarmfile:////` (and the repository is available through the [Git remote helper](https://swarmfile.com/docs/guides/git-clone)). - Its encryption tier and visibility follow your organization's plan. A paid organization creates the usual managed/private project; a **Free organization creates a public project** (Free projects are always public). The drop's public link closes when the hub records the copy as complete, but a public project remains readable by anyone who can reach it. - The uploaded bytes are re-encrypted when the target is a managed project. The content is identical; the storage format is the target project's. ## Expiry, deletion, and retention - A drop expires **seven days** after creation. Public reads then answer `410`, and the project and its blocks are purged by the reaper. - **Delete** from the share page closes the public link immediately and purges the drop's staging; the project and its bytes are removed on the next GC pass (usually within minutes, at most about 15). Deleting is refused while a claim is copying. - A claimed copy is an ordinary project and is not subject to the drop TTL. It follows the project's own retention and trash settings. - The drop's registry row is retained for 90 days for audit and abuse handling after its content is purged. ## Troubleshooting - **"This drop's upload key is required" / "This key does not belong to this drop."** The claim must come from the browser that uploaded it. Use that browser (site data intact), or ask the uploader to claim it. - **"This drop has already been claimed."** Someone claimed it; the copy is in their project. The public link is closed. - **The email never arrived.** The page reports what the mail service accepted, not delivery. Check spam on both the sender-confirmation and recipient sides. - **The copy is still running after several minutes.** Large drops are copied in bounded background batches; the page keeps polling at a slower cadence. Keep the tab open, or reload it in the same tab to resume the status.