floe send command

floe send

floe send <file|folder> [file|folder...]

Sends files and folders from your terminal to one receiver with Floe’s CLI, straight to their device and encrypted end to end.

The short version

Run floe send with your files or folders, then give the receiver the room code, three words such as olive-tiger-castle, or the link it prints. Whoever uses it first gets the files, so send it only to the person you mean. Keep the terminal open until the Sent box appears. To send through someone’s request link instead, add --to with their link: see Send through a request link.

Examples

Send a single file:

Terminal

floe send report.pdf

Send multiple files at once:

Terminal

floe send photo.jpg video.mp4 notes.txt

Send an entire folder (transferred recursively):

Terminal

floe send ./project

Output

After reading your files, floe send shows a summary of what will be sent, then prints a sharing panel:

Output

  Sending   3 files · 11.8 MB
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Code   olive-tiger-castle
  Link   https://floe.one/#k=Xq3vT9bLw2ZkP7mRf1sY8A&room=6f1c2b9e-4a5d-4c3b-9f7e-2d1a0b9c8e7f
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
  In a terminal, put the link in quotes: floe receive "<link>"

  Waiting for peer...

That is floe 1.12 and later. floe 1.11.7 and earlier print a link with no link key, https://floe.one/#room=6f1c2b9e-4a5d-4c3b-9f7e-2d1a0b9c8e7f, and no line about quotes. Both lead to the same room, the meeting point on Floe’s server for this one transfer. Share one of them:

Row	Give it to someone using	How long it works
Code	`floe receive` or Floe Desktop	10 minutes at most, and for one receiver only
Link	A browser, `floe receive` or Floe Desktop	As long as this `floe send` keeps running

See how long a code and a link last for what ends each one early. For a single file, the Sending line shows the file’s name in place of the count. In floe 1.12 and later the two are not equal. A receiver who opens the link in a browser, in floe receive 1.12 or later, or in Floe Desktop 1.1 or later checks that your side holds the link key. The code carries none, so choosing the code is choosing no check. Your own floe send only detects: it stops on a proof that is wrong and goes on when no proof comes. So a server that plays a receiver with no link key gets the whole file, and the Sent box still prints. --link-only closes that gap. See What the link key checks. floe send waits for the other side with no time limit, for as long as its own connection to Floe’s signaling server lasts. If that connection drops while it waits (the computer sleeps, the network changes, the server restarts), it ends with Error: the connection to the server was lost before the peer connected. Run it again and share the new code. floe 1.11.0 and earlier print Error: peer disconnected before connecting there. The code and the link are all that protect the transfer. Whoever enters the code or opens the link first gets the files, and floe send does not ask you to approve them, so share them only over a channel you trust. See Known limitations. If the server does not hand out a code, for example because it is limiting requests from your network, floe send prints a line that starts with Warning: could not generate short code: and gives the cause. The panel then shows the Link row alone and the send goes on: share the link.

Put the link in quotes

A share link with a link key holds an &, which a terminal reads as the end of a command, so a link passed to floe receive goes in quotes. What an unquoted one does:

Where	What happens
bash, with `floe` 1.12 and later	The shell cuts the link at the `&`. `floe` prints `This link looks incomplete. Copy the whole link again, including everything after the # sign. Put the link in quotes.`, and does not print the link back.
bash, with `floe` 1.11.7 and earlier	The shell cuts it the same way. `floe` prints `Error: could not resolve "https://floe.one/#k=<link key>": URL does not contain a room id (#room= or ?room=)`, which puts the link key on your own screen.
Windows PowerShell 5.1	PowerShell refuses the line before `floe` runs: `The ampersand (&) character is not allowed.`
cmd.exe	`floe` runs on the cut link, as in bash, and then cmd.exe prints `'room' is not recognized as an internal or external command`.

On floe.one the link is 93 columns wide with its indent, so an 80-column terminal wraps it. A line break that gets into a copy reads as an incomplete link in floe 1.12 and later, with the This link looks incomplete line, and the link key is not printed. A space that gets into an unquoted copy reaches floe as a second word, and it prints Error: accepts 1 arg(s), received 2. Copy the link again, whole. Once the receiver connects, Floe sets up the connection and sends the files in the order you listed them, each with a live progress bar:

Output

  Connecting...
  Connected (direct)

  [1/3] report.pdf 100% [███████████████] (1.4 MB/s)
  [2/3] photo.jpg 100% [███████████████] (2.1 MB/s)
  [3/3] notes.txt 100% [███████████████] (900 kB/s)

  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Sent       3 files (11.8 MB)
  Verified   SHA-256 matched
  Time       8s · avg 1.4 MB/s
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────

The Connected line says which way the files travel: (direct) when the two devices reach each other, (relay) when they go through the relay, a server that passes the encrypted data along. It is read once, as the connection comes up. On the rare occasion the route cannot be read, the line is Connected alone and the transfer goes ahead. On a relayed route, more than 2 GB of files stops the send before any file data moves, with a line such as Error: transfer blocked: relay connections are capped at 2 GB (selected 3.1 GB). See File size limits. While a file is still in flight, its line also shows the time so far and the time left, for example [1/3] report.pdf 85% [██████████░░░░░] (1.4 MB/s) [6s:1s]. Those brackets disappear once the line reaches 100%. The bar stretches to the width of your terminal, and names longer than 30 characters are cut short. The speed on the bar counts 1 MB as 1,000,000 bytes (kB, MB), while the box below counts 1 MB as 1,048,576 bytes, so the two can differ slightly. The Verified SHA-256 matched row is the receiver’s report that every file matched the SHA-256, a fingerprint of the file’s contents, that your floe sent with it. It is not a check made on your side, and it says nothing about who the receiver is. It appears when the receiver is floe receive 1.11.0 or later, Floe Desktop 0.3.0 or later, or a browser, and every file matched. Otherwise the box holds the Sent and Time rows alone. See File checks. Time counts from the moment the receiver accepted, so the time they took to answer is in neither the time nor the average speed. In floe 1.11.0 and earlier it counted from the moment the connection came up. When the receiver runs a different Floe release from yours, one extra line names it as the transfer starts, for example Peer version: desktop-v1.1.0. A browser sends no version, so the line never appears for one. Versions do not need to match.

What the other person sees

What the receiver sees depends on what they receive with:

floe receive shows how many files are coming and their total size, or the name and size of a single file, then asks Accept? [Y/n]. Nothing is saved until they answer. See Confirmation prompt.
Floe Desktop starts saving at once: a code or a link has no accept step there. See Receiving files.
A browser shows each file as it arrives, each with its own download button. See Receive files in your browser.

They see each file’s name, and for a folder, where each file sits inside it. On a direct connection their device also learns your IP address. --relay-only hides it, at the cost of the 2 GB cap: see CLI flags reference.

Send a folder

When you send a folder, Floe walks it and everything inside it and rebuilds the same relative paths in the receiver’s output folder. Every file is included, hidden files and dotfiles among them, so a folder holding .git or .env sends those too. Empty folders are not recreated on the other side, because Floe sends files and an empty folder has none.

Terminal

floe send ./documents
# Transfers documents/report.pdf, documents/images/photo.jpg, etc.
# Receiver gets: ./documents/report.pdf, ./documents/images/photo.jpg

A trailing slash changes this. Floe names each file relative to the folder’s parent, and a trailing slash makes the folder itself the parent, so the folder’s name drops out and its contents land directly in the receiver’s output folder:

Terminal

floe send ./documents/
# Receiver gets: ./report.pdf, ./images/photo.jpg

The same applies to a trailing backslash on Windows. Shell tab-completion often adds one, so drop it if you want the folder’s name kept. floe send . works the same way: it sends what is in the current folder, without that folder’s name. A file you name directly arrives under its own name only: floe send a/b/report.pdf arrives as report.pdf. Two files with the same name from different folders arrive on floe receive and Floe Desktop as notes.txt and notes (1).txt. A link inside a folder (a symlink, or a junction on Windows) that points to a file is sent with that file’s contents and size. A link to a folder, or one that points nowhere, stops the send before it connects, because Floe does not follow links to folders. A path you give that is itself a link to a folder is sent as that folder, under the name you typed. floe 1.11.0 and earlier sized a linked file by the link itself, which could stop the transfer partway. Floe sends only regular files and folders. A pipe, a socket or a device that you name directly stops the send before it connects, with Error: cannot send <path>: it is a pipe, a socket or a device, not a file. Inside a folder, such entries, and links that point to them, are left out of the transfer without a message. floe 1.11.7 and earlier send a pipe or a device that you name directly as an empty file, and a socket or a pipe inside a folder stops or hangs the send. The receiver checks where each file would go before saving it. It refuses a file nested more than 32 levels deep, a path too long for it to save, or a file too large for its drive. floe receive 1.11.0 or later and Floe Desktop 0.3.0 or later make these checks. floe send then stops with one line, such as Error: A file name or folder path is too long for their computer. Shorten it or zip it first., and exits with status 1. Files the recipient saved before that one stay there. See Paths that are too deep or too long. A browser recipient refuses one thing of this kind: a file whose description is longer than 1,000 bytes, which takes a relative path of about 800 bytes. floe send stops with the same line. A web app that someone hosts themselves can run an older version, which does not answer in that case: see What an older web app shows.

When a send ends

A send that worked exits with status 0 after the Sent box. To floe receive 1.11.0 or later, Floe Desktop 0.3.0 or later, or a browser, the box prints only after the receiver has said it holds every file. To an older receiver, it prints once the other side’s connection has acknowledged all the data. See File checks. floe send never reports to the public transfer counter. Only a receiver does, and it can opt out: see Opting out of the global counter.

Stop a send with Ctrl+C

Press Ctrl+C at any time to stop. floe send prints Canceled. and exits with status 130. On macOS and Linux, a hangup does the same: closing the terminal, losing the SSH session, or SIGHUP, unless you started floe with nohup. floe 1.11.7 and earlier stop at once on a hangup and tell the receiver nothing. Once the two devices are connected, floe send first tells the receiver that the sender stopped and closes the connection, which takes about a second at most. What the other side sees depends on how far it had got:

Still connecting: floe receive prints the other side left before the connection was established, and Floe Desktop shows “They left before the connection was made”.
Connected and receiving: floe receive ends at once with Error: The sender stopped., a browser shows “The sender stopped.”, and Floe Desktop shows Error: transfer failed: The sender stopped. Files that had finished are kept.
At the Accept? prompt: floe receive finds out when the person answers, and ends with Error: the sender left before the transfer was accepted.

In the middle of a file on a slow link, the notice may not get out in time. The receiver then sees a closed connection instead, such as connection closed mid-transfer in floe receive. In floe 1.11.0 and earlier, Ctrl+C told the receiver nothing, so floe receive and Floe Desktop waited 60 seconds and reported a stalled transfer, and a browser waited until its connection failed.

When the other side stops it

floe send prints one line and exits with status 1:

Message	What it means	What to do
`Error: They stopped the transfer.`	The receiver pressed `Ctrl+C` in `floe receive` 1.11.0 or later. Files it had already saved stay on its side.	Agree on when to try again, then run `floe send` again. See `They stopped the transfer.`
`Error: They declined. Nothing was sent.`	The receiver answered `n` at the `floe receive` prompt. In `floe` 1.12 and later, a decline that comes after the receiver answered a file reads `Error: They stopped the transfer.`, because a file may have gone by then.	Ask them before you send again.
`Couldn't confirm the person who opened your link. Nothing was sent. Make a new link and try again.`	In `floe` 1.12 and later, the receiver’s proof of the link key was wrong, or it could not confirm yours. No file’s bytes went, though the first file’s name and size can have. This line has no `Error:` in front.	Do what the line says, over a channel you trust. See `Couldn't confirm the person who opened your link`.
`Error: error sending report.pdf: connection closed while waiting for the receiver (transfer declined or receiver exited)`	The receiver’s side closed or went away before it accepted, or a `floe receive` 1.11.0 or earlier answered `n`.	Ask them, then run `floe send` again. See `connection closed while waiting for the receiver`
`Error: error sending report.pdf: timed out waiting for ack`	The receiver did not accept within 120 seconds.	Run `floe send` again when they are at the prompt, or have them pass `-y`. See `timed out waiting for ack`
`Error: the other side left before the connection was established`	The receiver joined and then left before the connection came up.	Run `floe send` again and share the new code. See `the other side left`
`Error: the connection closed before the receiver confirmed delivery`	The connection ended after the last file, before a receiver that confirms delivery (a browser, or the versions named above) said it had everything. A browser tab closed right after the last byte does it.	Ask them which files arrived before you send again. See `the connection closed before the receiver confirmed delivery`
`Error: connection closed before delivery was confirmed (65536 bytes unacknowledged)`	An older receiver closed its side after the last file, before it had acknowledged all the data.	Ask them which files arrived.
`Error: error sending video.mp4: connection closed mid-transfer (4194304 bytes still buffered)`	The receiver’s side closed in the middle of a file.	Ask them which files arrived, then send the rest.

A receiver that cannot keep a file says why, and floe send prints Floe’s own sentence for the reason:

Message	What it means	What to do
`Error: Their computer ran out of space.`	Their save drive filled up.	Ask them to free space, then send again.
`Error: Their computer could not save a file.`	Their computer refused a write into the save folder.	Ask them to check their save folder.
`Error: A file changed or was damaged on the way, so their Floe deleted it.`	A file’s SHA-256 did not match on their side.	Send that file and the ones after it again.
`Error: A file name or folder path is too long for their computer. Shorten it or zip it first.`	A file’s name or path was too long, or too deep, to save on their side. One long file name is enough.	Shorten the name, or zip it and send the archive.
`Error: A file is too large for the drive they save to.`	Their save drive cannot hold a file that large, for example a file of 4 GB or more on a FAT32 drive.	Ask them to save to another drive.
`Error: A file arrived but their computer blocked saving it.`	The file arrived whole but could not take its final name, so it stays there with a `.part` ending.	Ask them about that file before you send it again.

A line after Error: that starts with receiver is a reason the receiving app gave in its own words, for a case Floe has no sentence for, such as Error: receiver rejected the file description: and a detail. It is shown as it came, cut to 300 characters. Read it as the other side’s words, not as advice from Floe.

When something on your side stops it

These end the send with status 1:

Message	What it means	What to do
`Error: cannot read report.pdf:` and the reason	A path you gave does not exist or cannot be read. Floe checks every path before it connects.	Check the path, then run the command again.
`Error: no files to send`	The folders you gave hold no files. A pipe, a socket or a device inside them does not count.	See `no files to send`.
`Error: cannot send /dev/zero: it is a pipe, a socket or a device, not a file`	A path you gave is not a regular file or folder. Checked before Floe connects.	Send a regular file. To send a device’s contents, copy them to a file first.
`Error: cannot walk project:` and the reason	A folder could not be listed, or it holds a link to a folder or a link that points nowhere. Checked before Floe connects.	Fix the permission or the link, or leave it out.
`Error: error sending notes.txt: open notes.txt:` and the reason	A file could not be opened when its turn came. The files before it were delivered. The receiver is told that a file could not be read.	Fix that file’s permissions, then send what did not arrive.
`Error: error sending notes.txt: error reading file:` and the reason	A file could not be read partway through, for example because its drive was unplugged. The files before it were delivered. The receiver is told that a file could not be read.	Check the file, then send what did not arrive.
`Error: error sending app.log: the file grew while it was being sent (announced 1048576 bytes); send it again once it stops changing`	The file changed on disk while Floe read it, and the receiver was told so. The other form says `shrank`.	Wait until the program writing the file has finished, then send it again.
`Error: the connection to the server was lost before the peer connected`	Your connection to Floe’s server dropped while `floe send` waited.	Run `floe send` again and share the new code.
`Error: --relay-only needs a TURN relay and https://floe.example.com offers none; drop the flag, or configure a relay on the server`	You passed `--relay-only`, and the server has no relay. Checked before the code is made.	See `--relay-only needs a TURN relay`.
`Error: --iface matches no network interface on this computer; check the name, or drop the flag`	No network interface on this computer has a name you passed to `--iface`. Checked before the code is made.	Check the name, or drop the flag. See `--iface`.
`Error: failed to connect to signaling server:` and the reason	`floe` could not reach Floe’s server.	See `failed to connect to signaling server`.

When the receiver is told that a file could not be read, floe receive prints Error: The sender stopped: a file could not be read on their device. Ask them to check it and send again., and Floe Desktop and a browser show the same sentence. On a slow link the notice may not get out in time, and the receiver sees a closed connection instead. Through a request link, their Floe Desktop shows only “The sender stopped this drop”, or, before they accept, goes back to waiting with no line. floe 1.11.7 and earlier close the connection without telling the receiver.

Send only to a receiver that proves it holds the link

floe send --link-only

floe send <file|folder> [file|folder...] --link-only

Needs: floe 1.12 or later. An older floe stops with Error: unknown flag: --link-only. --link-only makes no code, so the panel has a Link row alone. It names no file until the receiver has proved it holds the link’s link key, so a server in the middle learns no file’s name, size or bytes. It has no environment variable: it is a choice about one transfer. It proves nothing about who the receiver is: anyone holding the whole link can pass. See What the link key cannot see. The receiver needs the whole link, in a browser on floe.one or on a web app image of 1.12.0 or later, in floe receive 1.12 or later, or in Floe Desktop 1.1 or later. Anything else has no proof to give.

Message	What it means	What to do
`Couldn't confirm the receiver. They may need to run floe update, or open the link in a browser.`	No proof came within 15 seconds. The receiver may run an older Floe, or a browser on an older web app image, which does not read the link key.	Ask them what they opened it with. See `Couldn't confirm the receiver`.
`Couldn't confirm the person who opened your link. Nothing was sent. Make a new link and try again.`	A proof came and was wrong.	Do what the line says, over a channel you trust.

Neither line has Error: in front, and both end the send with status 1. A receiver too old to prove the link is told to update. floe receive from 1.10.8 to 1.11.7 prints Cannot transfer: your floe is too old for this peer. and Run `floe update` to upgrade. One older than that prints connection closed before any file arrived (the sender canceled, or the transfer was blocked). --link-only and --to cannot be used together, and floe stops before any network call with Error: if any flags in the group [to link-only] are set none of the others can be; [link-only to] were all set.

Send through a request link

floe send --to

floe send <file|folder> [file|folder...] --to "<request link>"

Needs: floe 1.11.0 or later, and a request link from someone whose Floe Desktop is open. A link from Floe Desktop 1.1 or later holds a link key and needs floe 1.12 or later: floe 1.11.7 stops on it with the This link looks incomplete line below. A floe older than 1.11.0 stops with Error: unknown flag: --to, and floe update fixes both. See Install the CLI. Someone who uses Floe Desktop can make a request link so that one person can send files straight to their PC. If you were sent one, you can open it in a browser (see Sending through a request link), or give it to floe send with --to and send from your terminal. Floe registers no code and prints no link: the files go only to the computer that made the link.

Terminal

floe send shoot --to "https://floe.one/r/<link id>#<room id>.<link key>"

Put the whole link in quotes, including everything after the #: the room id there reaches their computer, and the link key checks it. A link with nothing after the # stops at once, before Floe contacts any server, with:

Output

  This link looks incomplete. Copy the whole link again, including everything after the # sign. Put the link in quotes.

A link cut before its link key gets as far as their computer, which refuses it, and ends on the same line.

The whole link, room id and link key included, is on your command line. Your shell keeps it in its history, and while the command runs, other users of the same computer can see it in the list of running processes. Anyone with the whole link can send through it while it is open.

Floe checks your files, connects to their computer, and asks them to accept:

Output

  Sending   shoot (12 files, 38 GB)
  Joining the request link...
  Connecting...
  Connected (direct)
  Waiting for them to accept. They have 9 min to answer.

On a link with a link key, in floe 1.12 and later, the Waiting line appears only once their computer has proved it holds the link key. floe waits up to 15 seconds for that, and names no file until then. A link from Floe Desktop 1.0.x holds no link key, so it has no such check and no such wait. See What the link key checks. Their Floe Desktop shows the request: how many files and their total size, and the folder they will go into. Nothing is written to their computer until they click Accept, unless they made the link with Auto-accept on, which saves an ordinary drop without asking. They have 9 minutes 45 seconds to answer, which the line rounds down to whole minutes. Their computer sees your IP address unless you add --relay-only. Once they accept, each file streams with the same progress bar as any send, and the command ends when their Floe confirms that every file arrived:

Output

  All 12 files arrived (38 GB in 17m 4s, direct).
  Their app reports every file's SHA-256 matched.

For a single file the first line reads like 1 file arrived (48 Bytes in 0s, direct)., and the route is left out when it could not be read. The time counts from their Accept. The second line appears only when their Floe checked every file against the SHA-256 your floe sent with it, and every one matched. It is their report, not a check made on your side. The Sent box of a plain send is not printed. When their Floe is a different version from yours, a Peer version: line names it as they accept, for example Peer version: desktop-v1.1.0. Through a request link the line appears only for a version shaped like a Floe release (three numbers, with an optional v or desktop-v in front) or dev. Any other text prints no line, so the other side cannot put words of its own on your terminal.

Exit status

floe send --to exits with status 0 only after their Floe confirms that every file arrived. Ctrl+C, SIGTERM and, on macOS and Linux, a hangup exit with status 130, and every other outcome prints its fixed lines, listed under Messages, and exits with status 1. Each outcome is one of those lines, never the other side’s own words.

Flags that change this send

Flag	With `--to`
`--relay-only`, or `FLOE_RELAY_ONLY=1`	The same as Hide my IP on the request link’s page: everything goes through the relay, so their computer sees the relay’s address, not yours. Floe checks that the server has a relay before it joins the link.
`--no-relay` and `--iface`	Work as for any send.
`--web`	Changes nothing, because no link is printed.
`--server`, or `FLOE_SERVER`	Has to name the server the link was made on, as described below.

A link made on floe.one works only with floe.one’s own server, https://api.floe.one, which is the default: leave --server out and unset FLOE_SERVER, or pass --server https://api.floe.one. A link made on a self-hosted server needs that server named. When the link and the server do not match, the send stops before Floe contacts any server, with Couldn't connect to their computer. Nothing was sent. See Use a self-hosted server.

A link in the wrong place

Floe never prints a request link back. A request link given where a file or folder goes, with --to left out, or typed as the command itself (floe <link>, or floe help <link>), is refused before Floe contacts any server. floe prints this one line, with no Error: in front, and exits with status 1:

Output

  That looks like a request link, not a file. To send to it, use: floe send <files> --to <link>

A link and a path swapped, with the file after --to, stops on the This link looks incomplete line above. So does --to with nothing after it, such as --to "$LINK" with LINK unset. Neither case prints the usual cannot read error, which would repeat the link, with its room id and its link key.

Ctrl+C

Ctrl+C stops the send and exits with status 130. On macOS and Linux, a hangup (a closed terminal, a lost SSH session, or SIGHUP) does the same unless floe runs under nohup. floe 1.11.7 and earlier stop at once on a hangup. Otherwise either prints one line:

before they accept: Canceled. Nothing was sent.
after they accept: You stopped this drop. and how many files were saved, such as You stopped this drop. 4 of 12 files were saved.

With nothing saved after they accept, floe 1.12 and later print You stopped this drop. alone, because part of a file may have gone. floe 1.11.7 and earlier print You stopped this drop. Nothing was sent. there. Once connected, their computer is told that you stopped, and the files that arrived stay there. If their Floe confirms the last file while floe send is stopping, the drop still counts as delivered: the arrived lines print and the status is 0. A Ctrl+C after the outcome is decided prints nothing and changes nothing. A second Ctrl+C exits with status 130 at once.

Messages

Each of these ends the command with status 1.

Message	What it means	What to do
`Their computer is not connected right now. The person who made this link may have closed Floe.`	Floe cannot reach the computer that made the link: the PC is asleep or offline, or Floe there stopped without closing the link. It also covers a link that never existed, or that ended more than about a day ago.	Run the command again once they have Floe Desktop open, or ask for a new link.
`This link has ended. Ask them for a new link.`	The link was closed, or reached its end time, before anyone used it, or it closed while this send was connecting.	Ask them for a new link.
`This link has already been used. Ask the person who made it for a new one.`	The link took its one drop, someone else is sending through it now, or one of the cases under this table applies.	Ask the person who made it for a new link.
`Request links are turned off right now.`	The server has turned request links off. A link that was waiting for a sender when that happened has ended.	Try again later. If it then prints `This link has ended. Ask them for a new link.`, ask for a new link.
`Request links are not available on this Floe server.`	The server did not answer within 10 seconds, which is what a server older than 1.11.0 does: it has no request links.	Check that `--server` or `FLOE_SERVER` names the server the link was made on.
`This link looks incomplete. Copy the whole link again, including everything after the # sign. Put the link in quotes.`	What follows `--to` is not a whole request link: it was cut short, often at the `#`, or a request link was typed where a file goes.	Copy the whole link again and put it in quotes.
`Couldn't connect to their computer. Nothing was sent.`	The two computers could not finish connecting, or Floe’s server could not be reached. It is also the line for a link and a server that do not match.	Check the server against the link, then run the command again. If it keeps happening, a network on one side may be blocking the connection.
`Couldn't confirm their computer. Nothing was sent.`	In `floe` 1.12 and later, on a link with a link key: the computer that answered proved nothing within 15 seconds, or its proof was wrong, or this side could not read its own connection.	Ask the person who made the link for a new one, over a channel you trust. See `Couldn't confirm their computer`.
`They declined. Nothing was sent.`	They clicked Decline.	Ask them before you send again.
`They did not answer in time. Nothing was sent.`	Nobody clicked Accept or Decline in time. The link stays open.	Ask them to be at their PC, then run the command again.
`Connection lost. Nothing was sent.`	The connection dropped after their computer connected and before they accepted.	Run the command again.
`Connection lost. 4 of 12 files arrived. Ask them for a new link to send the other 8.`	The connection dropped after they accepted. There is no resume. With one file left the line ends `send the other one.`, and a single file reads `0 of 1 file arrived. Ask them for a new link to send it.`	Ask them for a new link and send the files that did not arrive.
`This drop has more than 10,000 files. Zip them first.`	A drop can hold up to 10,000 files. Floe checks this before it contacts any server.	Zip them and send the archive.
`A file name or folder path is too long to send. Shorten it or zip it first.`	A file’s name, or its folder path and name together, are too long to send. Floe checks this before it contacts any server.	Shorten the name, or zip it and send the archive.
`The server is limiting connections from this network. Wait a minute and try again.`	The server turned the connection away by its limits on one network address, before the link was checked. See the server is limiting connections from this network.	Wait a minute, then run the command again.
`Their Floe needs an update to receive from this link.`	Their Floe Desktop is too old for your `floe`. No released Floe Desktop causes it: every release so far still accepts protocol version 1.	Ask them to update Floe Desktop.
`Your Floe needs an update to send to this link.`, then Run `floe update` to upgrade.	Your `floe` is too old for their Floe Desktop. `floe` 1.11.7 prints it for a link cut before its link key, when a Floe Desktop 1.1 or later refuses it.	Run `floe update`, and copy the whole link again.

“This link has already been used” also covers three more cases:

the person who made the link declined a request and has not reopened it;
they closed the link while a request was waiting for their answer, or after a decline;
senders have joined the link more than 6 times in 1 minute. If you had just run the command several times in a row, wait 1 minute and run it again first.

If their computer disappears while you wait or send (it crashes, or its network goes), the command ends about 30 seconds after the last word from it, on one of the two Connection lost. lines. When their Floe stops the drop, floe send --to prints one of these, then how many files were saved, such as 4 of 12 files were saved. (1 of 1 file was saved. for a single file) or Nothing was sent. In floe 1.12 and later, once they have accepted, part of a file may have gone, so with nothing saved there is no such line. A decline or a missed answer that comes after they accepted then reads The drop stopped on their computer.

Message	What it means	What to do
`Their computer ran out of space.`	Their save drive filled up, or the next file would have left it with less than the 2 GB it has to keep free.	Ask them to free space, then ask for a new link.
`Their computer could not save a file.`	Their computer refused a write into the save folder.	Ask them to check their save folder.
`A file changed or was damaged on the way, so their Floe deleted it.`, and after the count `Ask them for a new link to send the rest.`	A file’s SHA-256 did not match on their side.	Ask them for a new link and send the rest again.
`Relayed drops are capped at 2 GB.`, with `Nothing was sent. Send 2 GB or less.` in place of the count when nothing was saved	Their Floe found the drop going through the relay and past 2 GB. `floe` 1.11.0 ends that line `Send under 2 GB.`	Send 2 GB or less, or ask them to turn off Hide my IP address if it is on.
`A file name or folder path is too long for their computer. Shorten it or zip it first.`	A file’s name or path was too long, or too deep, to save on their side. One long file name is enough.	Shorten the name, or zip it and send the archive.
`A file is too large for the drive they save to.`	Their save drive cannot hold a file that large.	Ask them to save to another drive.
`A file arrived but their computer blocked saving it.`	Their Floe could not move a finished file into place, after 5 minutes of retries. The complete file stays there with a `.part` ending.	Ask them about that file before you send it again.
`More data arrived than they accepted. If files changed after you chose them, ask them for a new link.`	Your `floe` sent more than the count and size they accepted.	Ask them for a new link, and send once the files have stopped changing.
`They stopped this drop.`	They clicked Cancel drop, or closed the link or quit Floe while your request was waiting.	Ask them before you send again.
`This drop reached the 24-hour limit, so their Floe stopped it.`	A single drop stops at 24 hours.	Ask for a new link and send fewer files.
`Their computer couldn't confirm this link.`, and after the count `Ask the person who made this link for a new one.`	In `floe` 1.12 and later, their Floe holds a link key and your `floe`’s proof of it failed.	Do what the line says.
`The drop stopped on their computer.`	Their Floe stopped the drop for another reason.	Ask them what happened.

A few outcomes print the same Error: line as a plain send, described under When something on your side stops it:

a path that cannot be read, and a folder with no files in it (Error: no files to send);
a file that changed while it was being sent;
--relay-only against a server with no relay;
a relayed connection with more than 2 GB selected, which stops before anything is sent with Error: transfer blocked: relay connections are capped at 2 GB (selected 38 GB).

Flags

See CLI flags reference for --server, --no-relay, --relay-only, --web, and --iface, and for --to and --link-only, the two flags of floe send itself. To run floe send from a script or a CI job, see In scripts and CI.

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Reference

Changelog

floe send command

The short version

Examples

Output

Put the link in quotes

What the other person sees

Send a folder

When a send ends

Stop a send with Ctrl+C

When the other side stops it

When something on your side stops it

Send only to a receiver that proves it holds the link

Send through a request link

Exit status

Flags that change this send

A link in the wrong place

Ctrl+C

Messages

Flags

​The short version

​Examples

​Output

​Put the link in quotes

​What the other person sees

​Send a folder

​When a send ends

​Stop a send with Ctrl+C

​When the other side stops it

​When something on your side stops it

​Send only to a receiver that proves it holds the link

​Send through a request link

​Exit status

​Flags that change this send

​A link in the wrong place

​Ctrl+C

​Messages

​Flags

The short version

Examples

Output

Put the link in quotes

What the other person sees

Send a folder

When a send ends

Stop a send with Ctrl+C

When the other side stops it

When something on your side stops it

Send only to a receiver that proves it holds the link

Send through a request link

Exit status

Flags that change this send

A link in the wrong place

Ctrl+C

Messages

Flags