> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.floe.one/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Request links: let someone send files to your PC
> Make a one-time link in Floe Desktop so one person can send files to your PC from a browser. You accept first, unless Auto-accept is on.
With a [request link](/docs/glossary#request-link), one person can send files to your PC from their browser, with
nothing to install on their side: you make it in Floe Desktop for Windows and send it to them. When they click
**Send**, your Floe asks you first, and nothing is saved until you click **Accept**, unless you made the link
with [Auto-accept](#auto-accept) on.
Someone sent you a request link? This page is for the person who makes one. To send through a link, see
[Sending through a request link](/docs/web-app/request-links).
**Needs:** Floe Desktop 0.3.0 or later on Windows, open, awake and online while the files arrive, and a server
that offers request links (Floe's own server does). The sender needs only a browser or the `floe` CLI.
The short version
In Floe Desktop, **Request link** sits next to **Code** under **Receive**.
The form works as it is: files go to `Downloads\Floe`, and the link ends in 24 hours. A label, another
folder and another end time are optional.
Click **Copy link** and send them the whole link through a channel you trust. They open it in their
browser, pick files, and click **Send**. Their page is supported in current Chrome and Edge on a computer: see [Sending through a request link](/docs/web-app/request-links).
Floe shows how many files they want to send, the total size, and the folder the files will go into.
Accept only if you expect them.
When the card reads **RECEIVED**, click **Show in folder**. The link is now used up.
What a request link is
* **One person, one drop.** A drop is one sending through the link. While one person is connected, nobody
else can use the link, and after a drop finishes or stops the link is used up.
* **A live transfer, not a mailbox.** Files move only while Floe is open on your PC and the PC is awake and
online. Nothing is stored on a Floe server, so nothing waits there for you to collect later.
* **No names attached.** Floe has no accounts, so a link carries no name. The sender's page says "Floe does
not know who that is", and it cannot tell you who is sending either.
* **One at a time.** You can have one request link open. Close it to make another.
Where to find it
In Floe Desktop, open **Receive**. **Request link** sits next to **Code**.
There is no switch to turn on, and Floe asks the server nothing about request links until you click
**Make link**.
Request links need a server that offers them. Floe's own server does unless they have been turned off
there. When the server does not offer them, **Make link** says so under the button: "Request links are off
on this server". If Floe cannot reach the server at all, it says "Couldn't make a link". For your own
server, see [Turn on request links](/docs/self-hosting/request-links).
Make a link
Go to **Receive** and choose **Request link**. The form has three fields and a check:
| Field | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Label** | Optional, up to 64 characters, and only you see it. It heads the link and the request and names the drop's folder and History row; without one, the **REQUEST LINK** tab names the link. It never leaves your PC. |
| **Save to** | The folder every drop goes into. Leave it blank for `Downloads\Floe`, which the field shows in gray. Floe remembers a folder you type or pick. |
| **Link ends** | **In 30 minutes**, **In 1 hour**, **In 8 hours**, **In 24 hours** (the default), **In 3 days** or **In 7 days**. The choice is not remembered between links. |
| **Auto-accept** | A check under **Link ends**, off on every new link and never remembered. With it on, drops through this link save without asking, except unusual ones. See [Auto-accept](#auto-accept). |
In **Save to**, a relative path such as `Pictures\Drops` is read from your home folder, so that one is the
Drops folder in your Pictures folder. Variables such as `%USERPROFILE%` and a leading `~` work, and the
quotes that File Explorer's **Copy as path** adds are dropped. The folder does not have to exist yet. A
**Save to** of only quotes or spaces means the default folder.
Floe checks the folder when you click **Make link**, before it asks the server anything. It says "Couldn't
use that folder" under the button, and makes no link, when:
* the folder's drive is not there, or its network share is offline
* part of the path is a file
* a folder name has a character Windows does not allow: `<`, `>`, `:`, `"`, `|`, `?` or `*`
* a folder name ends in a space, or in a period that follows a space or another period
* the path has no drive, such as `\Floe`, or is relative to a drive, such as `D:Floe`
* Floe cannot write there, such as in Program Files or on a read-only share
Click **Make link**. While Floe works, the button reads "Making link...". Above the button, one line says
who can see your IP address: "Senders see your IP, even if you decline". With Hide my IP on, it reads "Hide
my IP limits drops to 2 GB" instead (see [Who sees your IP address](#who-sees-your-ip-address)). While
**Auto-accept** is checked, an amber line under it reads "Anyone with this link can send you files without
asking".
Who sees your IP address
The sender's browser and your PC connect to each other directly, and a
[direct connection](/docs/glossary#direct-connection) shows each side the other's
[IP address](/docs/glossary#ip-address), the number that locates a connection on the internet. That happens as soon
as the sender clicks **Send**, which is before your Floe asks you to accept or decline, so declining does not
hide your address.
Turn on **Hide my IP address** in Settings ([Hide my IP](/docs/glossary#hide-my-ip)) and Floe sends every drop through a
[relay](/docs/glossary#relay) instead, a [TURN](/docs/glossary#turn) server that passes the encrypted data along. The
sender then sees the relay's address and not yours. A relayed drop is capped at 2 GB. Floe reads the setting
when a sender connects, so a change applies to the next sender. The sender's page has its own Hide my IP
check, which hides the sender's address from you at the same cost. See
[Hide my IP address](/docs/desktop/settings#hide-my-ip-address) and
[What each side can see](#what-each-side-can-see).
Hide my IP needs a relay at the moment a sender connects. When the server has none, or Floe cannot read its
relay list then, that sender cannot connect. The link waits again and reads "The sender couldn't connect:
Hide my IP is on and no relay is available".
Auto-accept
Check [Auto-accept](/docs/glossary#auto-accept) under **Link ends** before you click **Make link**, and drops
through that one link save without the Accept step. It is off on every new link, and Floe never remembers it. Its info button
warns "Only turn this on if you trust everyone with the link", then says "Files save without asking, except
in a few cases, like low space or a USB drive". Anyone with the whole link can use it, a link can be
forwarded, and the person sending cannot tell that the link accepts by itself.
While such a link waits, its line reads "Ends today, 2:05 PM · Accepts automatically" and the status at the
top reads **AUTO-ACCEPT**. A drop that qualifies starts at once. With notifications on, Windows shows
"Receiving files through your request link", with no taskbar flash and no `(1) Floe` title (see
[Notifications](/docs/desktop/settings#notifications) for when Windows shows one). The card shows the drop
arriving, **Cancel drop** stops it as usual, and History marks it "Accepted automatically". If two automatic
Accepts on one link find the sender already gone within 10 minutes, Floe stops showing that notification for
the link.
Some drops still ask, with **Accept** and **Decline** as usual:
* A drop the request would warn about: too little free space, or over 2 GB through the relay.
* A drop whose route Floe could not read.
* A drop to a drive that cannot carry Windows' downloaded-file mark, the tag that makes Windows warn before
you open a downloaded file. Most USB sticks and SD cards (FAT32 and exFAT drives) and many network shares
cannot. A drop to a drive that does not answer that question within 2 seconds asks too.
* A drop that would leave less than 20 GB, or less than a tenth of the drive, free, and a drop to a drive
whose free space or size Floe could not read.
When a drop asks for one of the last three reasons, the request says why in one gray line:
| Gray line | Why the drop asks |
| - | - |
| “Asks because C: would have under 48.0 GB free” | It would leave less free space than an automatic drop must. |
| “Asks because Windows can't mark files on G:” | The drive cannot carry the downloaded-file mark. |
| “Asks because Floe couldn't check D:” | Floe could not read the drive's free space or size, or the drive did not answer in time. |
| “Asks because Floe couldn't check the connection” | Floe could not tell whether the drop comes through the relay. |
Floe also reads the drive when you make the link and every 10 minutes while it waits. When the drive already
has less free space than an automatic drop must leave, every drop would ask. The line under the link then
reads "Ends today, 2:05 PM · Asks first, low space on C:" instead. On a drive that cannot carry the
downloaded-file mark, every drop asks too, and the line reads "Ends today, 2:05 PM · Asks first, Windows
can't mark files on E:".
Everything else about a drop stays the same: one drop per link, at most 10,000 files, 2 GB kept free after
each file, renamed shortcut-type files, and [who sees your IP address](#who-sees-your-ip-address).
Share the link
Floe shows the link with **Copy link** and **Close link**, and a line such as "Ends today, 2:05 PM". A later
day reads like “Ends Oct 9, 2:05 PM”, and a link made with Auto-accept adds “· Accepts automatically”. A
request link looks like `https://floe.one/r/#`.
Send the whole link, and only to one person, through a channel you trust: whoever has it can send you files,
and a link can be forwarded. Click **Copy link** to put it on your clipboard.
Floe's [terms of use](https://www.floe.one/terms#acceptable-use) make you responsible for who you send a link
to and what you ask them to send. They also rule out asking for files under false pretenses, and
impersonating a person or an organization.
The part after the `#` is the key that connects their browser to your PC. Browsers do not send it when they
load a page, so the web server behind floe.one never sees it. The sender's page uses it only when they click
**Send**, to reach your PC through Floe's [signaling server](/docs/glossary#signaling-server).
While the link waits, Floe reads "Waiting for files". Floe cannot tell when the link is opened, so a chat
app's preview of it changes nothing. Floe hears from the sender only when they click **Send**.
The preview gives nothing away. In a chat or mail app, every request link shows the same one: "Floe request
link" with "Send files [peer](/docs/glossary#peer) to peer. Nothing is stored on a Floe server.". Every link also
has the same tab title, "Send files - Floe". Neither ever holds the link id or the key, and search engines are
told not to list the page.
**Close link** ends the link at any time before a drop is accepted. Once files are arriving, **Cancel drop**
takes its place.
The status at the top
The status at the top right reads **READY** while a link waits, the same as when no link is open, or
**AUTO-ACCEPT** while a link made with Auto-accept waits. Open **Receive** > **Request link** to see your
link. The dot beside it is green, or amber when Hide my IP is on, because then whoever uses the link next is
relayed.
While files arrive it reads **ACTIVE** until the route is known, then **DIRECT** or **RELAY**, like any
transfer. See [Sending files](/docs/desktop/sending#while-it-sends) for every word the status can show.
A request link pasted into Receive
A request link is for sending, so it does not work in the **Code or link** field. Floe says "Request links
open in a web browser" and offers **Open in browser**, also for a link pasted without `https://` or inside
quotes or angle brackets. The `floe` [CLI](/docs/glossary#cli) refuses it too, in its own words:
"That is a request link for sending files to someone. Open it in a web browser."
What the sender does
The person you sent the link to opens it in a browser, picks files, and clicks **Send**. Their side, with
every message their page can show, is in [Sending through a request link](/docs/web-app/request-links). The
`floe` CLI can send through the link too: see
[Send through a request link](/docs/cli/send#send-through-a-request-link).
Accept or decline
When the sender clicks **Send**, Floe reads "Connecting to the sender...", connects to their computer, and
then shows the request under **Receive** > **Request link**. On a link made with Auto-accept, only a drop
that still asks shows one (see [Auto-accept](#auto-accept)).
A request gets your attention in three ways that have no switch, and a fourth you can turn off:
* The taskbar button flashes until Floe comes to the front.
* The window title reads `(1) Floe`.
* Everywhere else in Floe, a notice reads "Someone wants to send you files" with **Review**, which opens the
request.
* With notifications on, Windows shows "Someone wants to send you files".
Floe sends no Windows notification, this one or any other on this page, while it is the window in front on a
PC in use: see [When Floe is in front](/docs/desktop/settings#when-floe-is-in-front).
The request shows four things:
| Part | What it tells you |
| - | - |
| Your label | The label you gave the link, in the heading, such as **ACME FOOTAGE WANTS TO SEND YOU FILES**. It is your own label, not the sender's name. With no label it reads **SOMEONE WANTS TO SEND YOU FILES**. |
| How much | The number of files and their total size, as the sender's browser announced them, such as "12 files, 38.0 GB". |
| Where it saves | **Into**, then your **Save to** folder's name and the new folder the files will go into, such as `Floe\Acme footage 2026-09-14 1405`. |
| How long you have | **Accept** counts down the time left, in minutes and seconds, such as **Accept (9:45)**. |
It never shows a file name or any other text the sender chose. Names appear only as files arrive, with
hidden characters replaced. Floe holds the sender to the count and size you accepted: more data stops the
drop.
The request also warns you, in amber, when something would stop the drop: too little free space, or more than
2 GB through the relay. Both lines are under [Messages](#messages-on-your-pc). On a link made with
Auto-accept, a drop that asks for another reason says why in a gray line (see [Auto-accept](#auto-accept)). A
laptop needs one more precaution: see [On a laptop](#on-a-laptop).
Accept only if you expect files from the person you sent this link to. A link can be forwarded, and Floe
cannot tell who is on the other end, so decline anything you do not expect.
**Accept** and **Decline** wake up 1 second after the request appears, and again 1 second after the Floe
window comes to the front, so a click meant for something else cannot answer it.
You have 9 minutes 45 seconds to answer, and **Accept** counts it down. After that the request ends on its
own and the sender's page says they did not answer in time. A missed request does not close the link: it
waits again and reads, for example, "Missed a request at 2:14 PM", or "Missed a request at Oct 15, 3:42 PM"
when it was not today.
If the sender's connection fails while the request is showing, because their browser closed or crashed or
their network went away, the request ends on its own. That takes about 30 seconds, and then the link waits
again. A drop
whose sender's connection fails stops the same way, and the files already saved stay.
After **Decline**, nothing is saved: Floe shows "Request declined" and asks "Keep waiting for the right
sender?". **Keep waiting** opens the link again; **Close link** ends it. Until you choose, the link takes no
new request, and a sender who tries sees "This link has already been used". If request links have been
turned off on the server in the meantime, **Keep waiting** ends the link with "Request links are off on this
server".
A request ends without an Accept when you decline it, when it runs out of time, or when the sender leaves
while it shows. When two do so on one link within 10 minutes, Floe stops showing Windows notifications for
that link's next requests and asks "2 requests ended without Accept in 10 minutes. Close this link?". The
flash, the title and the notice stay. Notifications come back once fewer than two such ends fall in the last
10 minutes, or as soon as you accept a request.
Where files go
Each drop gets its own new folder inside your **Save to** folder, created only when the drop is accepted, by
you or by Auto-accept. It is named from your label and this PC's clock, such as
`Acme footage 2026-09-14 1405`, or `Request 2026-09-14 1405` with no label. The time is on a 24-hour clock,
so the folders sort by date. A character Windows does not allow in a folder name becomes `_` there. On
Windows 10, a label that begins with a reserved device name and a dot, such as `con.notes`, also gets an `_`
in front. If the
name is taken, Floe adds a number, from `(2)` to `(99)`, and never writes into a folder that already exists.
**Make link** checks the **Save to** folder once. If the drop's folder cannot be made at Accept, for example
because the drive was unplugged since or all 99 names are taken, the drop stops before anything is saved. The
card reads "Windows couldn't write to the folder · Nothing saved", and the link is used up.
Inside it, the sender's folders keep their structure. A file shows as `name.ext.part` while it arrives and
takes its real name only once it is complete and checked. Names Windows cannot use are adjusted, as for any
receive (see [Receiving files](/docs/desktop/receiving#names-windows-cannot-represent-are-adjusted)).
While files arrive
The card reads, for example, **RECEIVING 2 OF 12 FROM ACME FOOTAGE**, and shows which file is arriving, how
much has arrived, the speed, and the time left. **Cancel drop** stops it, and reads **Stopping** until the
drop has stopped, which can take a few seconds. You can minimize the window. From
the moment the drop is accepted until it ends, Floe asks Windows to keep the PC awake; the screen can still
turn off. It does not keep the PC awake while a link only waits.
There is no resume. If the connection drops, the drop stops: files already saved stay, the file that was
moving is discarded, and the sender can send the rest with a new link.
A single drop stops at 24 hours. After the first minute, Floe warns about a long drop under the progress:
| Time left | The line |
| - | - |
| More than 2 hours | “If the connection drops, the current file starts over” |
| More than 24 hours | For example, “About 2 days at this speed, past the 24-hour limit” |
For a drop that will take hours, keep the PC plugged in and awake. Set Windows Update's active hours to cover
it too, because Windows may restart for updates outside your active hours.
On a laptop
Keep a laptop plugged in with its lid open while files arrive. Floe's request to keep the PC awake does not
override a closed lid or a manual sleep, and a laptop on battery can stop Floe a few minutes after its
screen turns off. The drop then stops, the files already saved stay, and the file that was moving has to be
sent again through a new link.
On a PC with a battery, the card reminds you with "Keep this laptop plugged in and open" under the progress.
It appears once the drop has run for 1 minute with more than 5 minutes left, and stays until that drop ends,
so a short drop never shows it. A PC without a battery never shows it.
When it finishes
The card reads, for example, **RECEIVED 12 FILES, 38.0 GB**, followed by a green check mark when every file
was checked (see [The check mark](#the-sha-256-check)). With notifications on, Windows shows "Files
received".
Under the heading the card lists every file that arrived, each with its size, in a box that scrolls after
about five rows. It keeps 200 names, and a line such as “+ 3 more” counts any beyond them. The drop's folder
and **Show in folder** sit at the bottom of the box. **Make another link** puts the result away and takes you
back to the form for a new link. The link you used is used up.
History keeps one row per drop. See [History](#history).
The check mark
A green check mark after the heading means every file in the drop matched the fingerprint the sender worked
out, its [SHA-256](/docs/glossary#sha-256). With no check mark the files are still saved: at least one arrived
without a SHA-256 to compare. A file that
does not match is never kept, and [File checks](/docs/how-it-works/file-checks) explains what the check proves
and when the mark is missing.
Renamed files
Some Windows file types are read by File Explorer as soon as it shows the folder they are in, before you
click anything. A few of them can make Windows contact a server the sender chose and hand it a scrambled copy
of your Windows sign-in, which someone could try to crack or reuse. A drop saves these with `.floe-blocked`
added to the name, so File Explorer leaves them alone:
| Ending | What it is |
| - | - |
| `.lnk` | A shortcut to a file, folder or program |
| `.url`, `.website` | A shortcut to a web page |
| `.library-ms` | A Windows library, a view that gathers several folders |
| `.search-ms`, `.searchConnector-ms` | A saved search, or a place File Explorer searches |
| `.scf` | An old File Explorer command file, such as Show Desktop |
| `.theme`, `.themepack`, `.deskthemepack` | A Windows desktop theme |
| `desktop.ini`, the whole name | The hidden file that sets how a folder looks |
So a shortcut called `Report.lnk` arrives as `Report.lnk.floe-blocked`. A folder or file name that ends in a
class ID loses that ending. A class ID is a code in curly braces, such as
`.{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}`, that makes File Explorer open something other than the folder.
The finished card says how many files were renamed, for example "1 file now ends in .floe-blocked so Windows
won't open it on its own". For more, it reads like "3 files now end in .floe-blocked so Windows won't open
them on their own".
**Show in folder** then asks first: "This drop has renamed files" and "Open the folder anyway?", with
**Cancel**, which has focus, and **Show in folder**. File Explorer leaves the renamed files alone when the
folder opens.
What to do with a renamed file:
* **If you did not expect it, delete it.** Nobody needs to send you a shortcut or a theme file you did not ask
for. In File Explorer, select it and press `Delete`.
* **If you expected it and trust the sender, rename it back.** Select it in File Explorer, press `F2`, delete
`.floe-blocked` from the end of the name, and press `Enter`. Windows may ask whether you are sure you want to
change the file name extension: click **Yes**. From then on it behaves like any file of its type.
Floe does not scan files
Floe does not scan received files for malware. It marks each file as downloaded, the way a browser does, so
Windows treats it like any download. Some drives cannot keep that mark: see
[Received files are marked as downloads](/docs/desktop/receiving#received-files-are-marked-as-downloads).
The finished card shows "Floe doesn't scan files for malware" only when your save drive cannot keep the
mark, or did not tell Floe within 2 seconds whether it can. On those drives Windows has nothing to warn you
with when you open a file, so the line takes the place of that warning.
The check mark means the files arrived intact. It does not mean they are safe.
If a drop stops
The card reads **DROP STOPPED** with one sentence saying why and how many files were saved:
* Files saved before the stop stay in the drop's folder, and **Show in folder** opens it when a file was
saved.
* A drop that saved nothing leaves no folder behind and adds no row to History, unless it kept a `.part` file
as below.
* The file that was arriving is deleted. The one exception is a finished file Windows would not let Floe move
into place, often because another program was holding it. Floe retries for 5 minutes, and if it still
fails, the complete file stays in the drop's folder with a `.part` ending.
* With notifications on, Windows shows "Floe - receive failed" with "The transfer didn't finish", unless you
stopped the drop yourself.
Some drops stop before any request appears. Your Floe refuses them at once, the link is used up, and Windows
still shows "Floe - receive failed":
| What the drop announced | The card |
| - | - |
| A first file whose name or path is too long, or too deep | “A file name or folder path was too long for Windows · Nothing saved” |
| A first file too large for the save drive | “A file is too large for this drive · Nothing saved” |
| More than 10,000 files | “More data arrived than you accepted · Nothing saved” |
The last one reads as if you had accepted something, though no request was shown: it is the same sentence as
for a sender that sends more than you accepted.
After a stop, the sender can send the rest with a new link: click **Make another link** and send them that.
Every stop sentence is listed under [Messages](#messages-on-your-pc).
With **Contribute to global stats** on, the files a drop saved before it stopped count toward Floe's public
total, as a finished drop's do. See [Contribute to global stats](/docs/desktop/settings#contribute-to-global-stats).
How a link ends
| How | What you see | What to do |
| - | - | - |
| Its end time passes | “Link ended at 2:05 PM”, or “Link ended at Oct 15, 3:42 PM” when it was not today. A request or a drop that began before then keeps going. | Click **Make another link** if you need one. |
| You click **Close link** | “Link closed” | Nothing. |
| A drop finishes or stops | The result card; the link is used up. | Click **Make another link** for the next drop. |
| You close Floe | Floe asks first, in a dialog titled **Close Floe?**, with **Keep open** and **Close**. See below the table. | Choose **Keep open** to keep the link. |
| Request links are turned off on the server | “Request links are off on this server”, also when you click **Keep waiting** after a decline while they are off. | Try again later. |
| Floe could not make the link again after a reconnect | “This network reached today's link limit” or “Couldn't make a link”, under **Make link**. See below the table. | Make a new link later, and send it again. |
When you close Floe while a link waits, the dialog reads "Your request link stops working". While a drop is
arriving, it reads "Closing now stops the transfer before the files finish", and **Close** stops the drop at
once. The files saved so far stay in its folder, and the sender needs a new link for the rest. The next time
Floe starts, the drop shows as stopped, for example "Floe was closed · 4 of 12 files saved", with **Show in
folder**, and gets its row in History. The same happens when Windows ends Floe, for example to restart for
an update. With a send or
a receive by code running too, a second line reads "Your request link also stops working".
The link is kept in memory only, so after a close it cannot come back. If you reopen Floe before the link's
end time, **Receive** opens on **Request link**, ready for a new link.
If Floe loses its connection to the Floe server, the card reads "Can't reach the Floe server" and
"Reconnecting...", with **Retry now**. A server that goes silent, rather than closing the connection, takes
Floe up to about a minute to notice. Floe then retries, waiting between 1 and 30 seconds between attempts, and
keeps trying until the link's end time. **Retry now** skips the wait. Meanwhile the sender's page says your
computer is not connected.
A server restart does not end the link by itself: Floe makes it again when it reconnects. The server counts
that link as a new one after a restart, and also after your PC was asleep or offline for more than 10 minutes.
If your network has used its 20 links for the day, or already has 10 open, the link then ends with "This
network reached today's link limit" or "Couldn't make a link".
**Start over** on the Send side leaves the link open. So does switching tabs or opening Settings.
History
Each drop that finishes, stops after saving a file, or stops with a complete file kept as `.part` adds one
row to [History](/docs/desktop/receiving#history), titled with your label if you gave one. With no label, a drop
that saved no file is titled "Nothing saved". A drop Floe was closed during gets its row the next time Floe
starts. Opening it shows the
check mark when every file was checked, "Accepted automatically" for a drop that Auto-accept took, and why
it stopped. It repeats no renamed-files warning (that stays on the finished card), but **Show in folder**
still asks first after renames. Declined and missed requests add nothing.
History words a stop in its own sentence, which can differ from the card's:
| On the card | In History |
| - | - |
| “The drive ran out of space · 4 of 12 files saved” | “Drop stopped: the drive ran out of space · 4 of 12 files saved” |
| “The sender stopped this drop · 4 of 12 files saved” | “Drop stopped: the sender left · 4 of 12 files arrived” |
| “Windows blocked Floe from saving a file” | “Drop stopped: Windows blocked a save” |
| “The drop reached the 24-hour limit · 4 of 12 files saved” | “Drop stopped: it reached the 24-hour limit · 4 of 12 files saved” |
| “4 of 12 files saved” | “Drop stopped · 4 of 12 files saved” |
| “Floe was closed · 4 of 12 files saved” | “Drop stopped: Floe was closed · 4 of 12 files saved” |
Every other stop reads in History as “Drop stopped:” and the card's sentence, without the count, such as
“Drop stopped: over the 2 GB relay limit”. “You stopped this drop” keeps its count in both.
What each side can see
On this page, you are the person who made the link.
| | The person who made the link sees | The sender sees |
| - | - | - |
| IP address | The sender's, once the sender clicks **Send**, unless the sender turned on Hide my IP on the page. | The link maker's, once the sender clicks **Send**, unless Floe Desktop has Hide my IP on. |
| Floe version | Nothing about the sender's. | With `floe send --to`, the link maker's Floe Desktop version when it differs from the sender's and looks like a release, for example `Peer version: desktop-v1.0.0`. The browser page shows none. |
| Names | Not the sender's: Floe has no accounts. | Not the link maker's: the link's label never leaves the PC that made it. |
| Files | The count and total size in the request, then each file's name as it arrives. No name shows before the drop is accepted. | Their own files, which ones arrived, and why a drop stopped, such as a full drive on the other side. |
When your IP address is shown, and how to hide it, is under
[Who sees your IP address](#who-sees-your-ip-address). Floe's server introduces the two computers, as it does
for any transfer, and never receives the files. See [Security and privacy](/docs/security-privacy).
Limits
| Limit | Value |
| - | - |
| Drops per link | 1, then the link is used up |
| Links open at a time | 1 in each Floe Desktop |
| Link lifetime | 30 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours (the default), 3 days or 7 days |
| Label | 64 characters |
| Time to answer a request | 9 minutes 45 seconds |
| Files per drop | 10,000 |
| Size of a direct drop | No limit set by Floe |
| Size of a relayed drop | 2 GB |
| Largest file on a FAT or FAT32 save drive | 4 GB minus 1 byte |
| Longest one drop may run | 24 hours |
| Free space | Each file is taken only if 2 GB would still be free after saving it; otherwise the drop stops |
| Free space after an Auto-accept drop | 20 GB or a tenth of the drive, whichever is larger; a drop that would leave less asks first |
| Folder depth and path length | About 235 characters of path, and 32 levels (31 folders and a file), as for every receive in Floe Desktop and the CLI |
| New links from one network | 20 in any 24 hours |
| Open links from one network | 10 at a time |
A file too large for the save drive stops the drop as soon as the sender announces it. For the first file,
that is before any request appears: see [If a drop stops](#if-a-drop-stops).
A relayed drop over 2 GB does not start: the sender's page checks first and says "Relay limit" when the
connection needs the relay. If a drop gets past that check, your Floe stops it at the file that would take
it over 2 GB. See [File size limits](/docs/how-it-works/2gb-limit).
Messages
On your PC
| Message | What it means | What to do |
| - | - | - |
| “Request links are off on this server” | Under **Make link**, the server has turned request links off. It also ends a waiting link when the server turns them off. Send and Receive with a code still work. | Try again later. For your own server, see [Turn on request links](/docs/self-hosting/request-links). |
| “This Floe server doesn't offer request links” | Under **Make link**, the server is older than 1.11.0, from before request links. No setting on it turns them on. | Ask whoever runs the server to update it. See [Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting#this-floe-server-doesnt-offer-request-links). |
| “This network reached today's link limit” | The server allows 20 new request links from one network in any 24 hours. A link you closed still counts, and so does a link Floe made again after a long sleep. | Wait, then make the link again. |
| “Couldn't make a link” | Floe could not reach the server, the server is full, your network already has 10 request links open, or the server turned the link down for a reason Floe does not show. | Check your connection, then try again. |
| “Couldn't use that folder” | Under **Make link**, the **Save to** folder names no place Floe can use. The cases are listed under [Make a link](#make-a-link). No link was made. | Choose the folder with **Browse**, or type a full path such as `D:\Footage`. |
| “Hide my IP needs a relay this server doesn't have” | With Hide my IP on, every drop goes through a relay, and this server offers none. | Turn off Hide my IP, or add a relay to your server. See [TURN relay](/docs/self-hosting/turn-relay). |
| “Couldn't read this server's relay details for Hide my IP” | Floe could not read the server's relay list, so it cannot tell whether a relay exists. | Check the server address, or turn off Hide my IP. |
| “Close your open link to make a new one” | You can have one request link open at a time. | Close the open link first. |
| “Only 12.0 GB free on D:, not enough for this drop” | On the request, in amber. After this drop the save drive would have less than 2 GB free, so the drop would stop partway. | Free some space before you accept, or decline. |
| “This 3.1 GB drop is over the 2 GB relay limit” | On the request, in amber. The drop is over 2 GB, and the connection is relayed or Hide my IP is on. | Decline, then turn off Hide my IP if it is on, or ask for 2 GB or less per drop. |
| “Missed a request at 2:14 PM” | Someone clicked **Send** and the request ended without an answer. The link is still open. On another day it gives the date too, such as “Missed a request at Oct 15, 3:42 PM”. | If you expected files, ask them to send again. |
| “The sender couldn't connect” | Someone clicked **Send** (or ran `floe send --to`), but the two computers could not finish connecting, or connected and announced no file within 30 seconds. The link waits again. | They can try again. If it keeps happening, see [The transfer never starts](/docs/troubleshooting#the-transfer-never-starts). |
| “The sender couldn't connect: Hide my IP is on and no relay is available” | Hide my IP is on, and when a sender connected the server had no relay, or Floe could not read its relay list. The link waits again. | Turn off Hide my IP, or add a relay to your server. See [Who sees your IP address](#who-sees-your-ip-address). |
| “2 requests ended without Accept in 10 minutes. Close this link?” | Two requests on this link ended without an Accept, so Floe stopped showing Windows notifications for the next ones. The flash, the title and the notice stay. | Close the link if you expect nothing more through it. |
| “Can't reach the Floe server” with “Reconnecting...” | Floe lost its connection to the server and keeps trying until the link's end time. Meanwhile the sender's page says your computer is not connected. | Check your connection, or click **Retry now**. |
| “If the connection drops, the current file starts over” | Under the progress, once a drop has run for 1 minute with more than 2 hours left. There is no resume. | Keep the PC awake and online until the drop ends. |
| “About 2 days at this speed, past the 24-hour limit” | Under the progress, once a drop has run for 1 minute with more than 24 hours left. A single drop stops at 24 hours, and the files saved by then stay. | Let it run and send a new link for the rest, or cancel and ask for fewer files per drop. |
| “Link ended at 2:05 PM” | The link reached its end time. On another day it gives the date too, such as “Link ended at Oct 15, 3:42 PM”. | Click **Make another link** if you need one. |
| “Link closed” | You closed the link. | Nothing. |
| “Ends today, 2:05 PM · Asks first, low space on C:” | A link made with Auto-accept is waiting on a drive that already has less free space than an automatic drop must leave, so every drop will ask. | Free some space, or make the link with another **Save to** folder. |
| “Ends today, 2:05 PM · Asks first, Windows can't mark files on E:” | A link made with Auto-accept is waiting on a drive that cannot carry the downloaded-file mark, such as a FAT32 or exFAT USB drive, so every drop will ask. | Make the link with a **Save to** folder on an NTFS drive, or accept each drop. |
| “Asks because C: would have under 48.0 GB free” | On a link made with Auto-accept, this drop would leave less than 20 GB, or a tenth of the drive, free, so it asks. | Accept or decline as usual. |
| “Asks because Windows can't mark files on G:” | On a link made with Auto-accept, the save drive cannot carry the downloaded-file mark, so the drop asks. | Accept or decline as usual. |
| “Asks because Floe couldn't check D:” | On a link made with Auto-accept, Floe could not read the save drive's free space or size, or the drive did not say in time whether it can carry the downloaded-file mark, so the drop asks. | Accept or decline as usual. |
| “Asks because Floe couldn't check the connection” | On a link made with Auto-accept, Floe could not tell whether this drop comes through the relay, so it asks. | Accept or decline as usual. |
| “Request links open in a web browser” | Under **Receive**, when a request link is pasted into **Code or link**. | Click **Open in browser**. |
In these messages, a network is everyone who shares one internet address, such as one home or office.
When a drop stops, the card reads **DROP STOPPED** with one of these, and **Make another link** under it:
| Message | What it means | What to do |
| - | - | - |
| “The drive ran out of space · 4 of 12 files saved” | The save drive filled up, or the next file would have left less than 2 GB free. | Free some space or choose another folder, then send the sender a new link for the rest. |
| “A file didn't match what was sent and was deleted” | A file's SHA-256 on your PC did not match the sender's. | Send a new link; they can send the rest again. |
| “A file name or folder path was too long for Windows” | A file's name or path in the drop was too long, or too deep, to save. One long file name is enough. | Ask the sender to shorten the name, or to zip deeply nested folders first. |
| “More data arrived than you accepted” | The sender sent more than the count and size you accepted, often because files changed after they chose them. It is also the sentence for a drop that announces more than 10,000 files, which stops before any request appears. | Send a new link; they choose the files again. |
| “Over the 2 GB relay limit” | The drop went through the relay and would have gone past 2 GB. Files saved before the limit stay. | Turn off Hide my IP if it is on, or ask for 2 GB or less per drop. |
| “A file is too large for this drive” | The save drive cannot hold a file that large, such as 4 GB or more on FAT32. | Save to an NTFS or exFAT drive. |
| “Windows couldn't write to the folder” | Windows refused a write into the drop's folder. | Check the save folder, then send a new link. |
| “Windows blocked Floe from saving a file” | Floe could not move a finished file into place, often because another program held it. Floe retried for 5 minutes first. | A second line says "The complete file was kept with a .part ending". The file is complete: remove the `.part` ending to use it. |
| “You stopped this drop · 4 of 12 files saved” | You clicked **Cancel drop**. | Nothing, or send a new link for the rest. |
| “The sender stopped this drop · 4 of 12 files saved” | The sender stopped sending. | Nothing, unless they want to send the rest. |
| “The drop reached the 24-hour limit · 4 of 12 files saved” | A single drop stops at 24 hours. | Send a new link for the rest. |
| “Floe was closed · 4 of 12 files saved” | Shown the next time Floe starts: Floe was closed, by you or by Windows, while the drop arrived. | Send a new link for the rest. |
| “4 of 12 files saved” | The drop stopped for another reason, such as a lost connection. | Send a new link for the rest. |
Every stop sentence on the card ends with the count after a middle dot, such as “· 4 of 12 files saved”. With
a single file it reads “1 of 1 file saved”, and with none “Nothing saved”. The one exception is “Windows
blocked Floe from saving a file” with no other file saved, which shows no count, because its kept `.part`
file is complete.
On the sender's page
Every message the sender's page can show is listed in
[Sending through a request link](/docs/web-app/request-links#messages).
Self-hosted servers
A [self-hosted](/docs/glossary#self-hosted) server offers request links only when its policy file, a small settings
file its operator writes, turns them on,
and until then **Make link** says "Request links are off on this server". See [Turn on request links](/docs/self-hosting/request-links).
If something goes wrong
* **Make link** says "Request links are off on this server": the server has request links turned off. See
[Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting#request-links-are-turned-off-on-this-server).
* **Make link** says "This Floe server doesn't offer request links": the server is older than 1.11.0. See
[Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting#this-floe-server-doesnt-offer-request-links).
* The link shows "The sender couldn't connect": their browser and your PC could not finish connecting. See
[Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting#the-sender-could-not-connect).
* The sender sees "Their computer is not connected right now": Floe has to be open on your PC, awake and
online. See [Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting#their-computer-is-not-connected-right-now).
## Related topics
- [Send your first file](/docs/quickstart.md)
- [Send files peer-to-peer with Floe](/docs/introduction.md)
- [Troubleshooting: fixes by error message](/docs/troubleshooting.md)
- [Send files from your browser](/docs/web-app/sending.md)
- [Receive files in your browser](/docs/web-app/receiving.md)
This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.
Send the whole link, and only to one person, through a channel you trust: whoever has it can send you files,
and a link can be forwarded. Click **Copy link** to put it on your clipboard.
Floe's [terms of use](https://www.floe.one/terms#acceptable-use) make you responsible for who you send a link
to and what you ask them to send. They also rule out asking for files under false pretenses, and
impersonating a person or an organization.
The part after the `#` is the key that connects their browser to your PC. Browsers do not send it when they
load a page, so the web server behind floe.one never sees it. The sender's page uses it only when they click
**Send**, to reach your PC through Floe's [signaling server](/docs/glossary#signaling-server).
While the link waits, Floe reads "Waiting for files". Floe cannot tell when the link is opened, so a chat
app's preview of it changes nothing. Floe hears from the sender only when they click **Send**.
The preview gives nothing away. In a chat or mail app, every request link shows the same one: "Floe request
link" with "Send files [peer](/docs/glossary#peer) to peer. Nothing is stored on a Floe server.". Every link also
has the same tab title, "Send files - Floe". Neither ever holds the link id or the key, and search engines are
told not to list the page.
**Close link** ends the link at any time before a drop is accepted. Once files are arriving, **Cancel drop**
takes its place.
A request gets your attention in three ways that have no switch, and a fourth you can turn off:
* The taskbar button flashes until Floe comes to the front.
* The window title reads `(1) Floe`.
* Everywhere else in Floe, a notice reads "Someone wants to send you files" with **Review**, which opens the
request.
* With notifications on, Windows shows "Someone wants to send you files".
Floe sends no Windows notification, this one or any other on this page, while it is the window in front on a
PC in use: see [When Floe is in front](/docs/desktop/settings#when-floe-is-in-front).
The request shows four things:
| Part | What it tells you |
| - | - |
| Your label | The label you gave the link, in the heading, such as **ACME FOOTAGE WANTS TO SEND YOU FILES**. It is your own label, not the sender's name. With no label it reads **SOMEONE WANTS TO SEND YOU FILES**. |
| How much | The number of files and their total size, as the sender's browser announced them, such as "12 files, 38.0 GB". |
| Where it saves | **Into**, then your **Save to** folder's name and the new folder the files will go into, such as `Floe\Acme footage 2026-09-14 1405`. |
| How long you have | **Accept** counts down the time left, in minutes and seconds, such as **Accept (9:45)**. |
It never shows a file name or any other text the sender chose. Names appear only as files arrive, with
hidden characters replaced. Floe holds the sender to the count and size you accepted: more data stops the
drop.
The request also warns you, in amber, when something would stop the drop: too little free space, or more than
2 GB through the relay. Both lines are under [Messages](#messages-on-your-pc). On a link made with
Auto-accept, a drop that asks for another reason says why in a gray line (see [Auto-accept](#auto-accept)). A
laptop needs one more precaution: see [On a laptop](#on-a-laptop).
History keeps one row per drop. See [History](#history).