Together · File sharing
File sharing for teams and communities, right in the chat
Barside Spaces handles file sharing for teams and communities: attach files in chat, share notes with their pictures and video, and choose who can upload. In a paid Space, only members with access can open the files.
File sharing for teams and communities works best where the conversation already is. In Barside Spaces, files live next to the chat: attach them to a message, upload them to the Space's Files tab, or share a note with its pictures, video and audio. Only members can open them, and in a paid Space, access ends when a membership ends.
Here is how each way works, who can upload, how members open files safely, and the limits to plan around. If you are new to Spaces, start with team chat and paid communities.
How file sharing for teams and communities works in Barside
A Space gives you three ways to share a file:
- In the chat. Attach up to 12 files to a message with the paperclip, or paste a screenshot straight into the message box. Pictures (PNG, JPEG, WebP and GIF) show a preview in the chat, and animated GIFs keep moving.
- In the Files tab. Upload file shares a document on its own, so members find it in one list with a search instead of scrolling back through the chat.
- Inside a shared note. Share a note from your library, and the pictures, video and audio in it travel as private attachments of the shared copy.
Links belong in Resources: choose Add link, or share a bookmark from your bookmark manager.
How to share a file
Attach a file to a message
- Open the Space's Chat.
- Click the paperclip (Attach files), or paste a screenshot into the message box.
- Add a message if you like, then press
Enteror Send. The files upload when you send.
Upload a file to the Files tab
- Open the Files tab and choose Upload file.
- Pick a file on your computer, up to 20 MB, or 100 MB for a video.
- Check the sharing preview, with the file's name and size, then choose Share this copy.
Share a note with its media
- Open the note and click its share button, Share note to a Space.
- Pick the Destination Space, then choose Preview shared copy.
- Read the preview. It lists each attachment with its size and says when media linked from the web was left out.
- Choose Share this copy. Your own note stays yours, and your later edits do not change the shared copy.
Opening and saving shared files
A file in a Space opens only when you ask. Click it, choose where to save it in the Save shared file window, and Barside checks the download and says File saved. Barside never opens or runs a shared file by itself.
- On Windows, Barside marks each saved file as downloaded from the internet, the way a browser does, so Windows treats it with the same caution. Barside for Mac adds the same mark (macOS calls it quarantine), so Gatekeeper checks an app before it opens. Linux has no such mark.
- Save to my workspace copies a shared note or message into your library as an independent note, with its formatting and supported media, and a shared link into your workspace bookmarks.
- Members can save copies of anything shared, so share only what you are happy for them to keep.
Choose who can upload
In Manage Space → Space settings, under Sharing permissions, the owner chooses:
- Who can upload files? Everyone in the Space or Only me (the creator). It covers attachments in chat and media in shared notes.
- Who can share resources? The same choice for links and bookmarks in Resources.
Both start at Everyone. When only the creator can upload, members see "Files shared by the creator will appear here." in the Files tab, and the paperclip tells them that only the Space creator can attach files. Text messages and files already shared stay as they are.
The server enforces these rules, not just the app, so an older copy of Barside cannot get around them. Two more settings affect files:
- A read-only Space (Who can post? set to Only owners and moderators) lets members open and save files, but not upload them.
- Slow mode counts every kind of post, files included, so members wait between uploads as they wait between messages.
Members-only files in paid Spaces
In a paid Space, the files are part of what members pay for. The server checks membership on every download, so:
- People who have not joined, or who were removed, cannot open the files.
- When a paid membership ends, because a renewal was stopped and the period ran out, or because a full refund or a dispute ended access, file access ends with it.
- Stopping a renewal keeps access, files included, until the paid period ends.
One honest limit: a file a member already saved stays on their computer. Removing a post or a member cannot take back those copies. For pricing, payments and the rules for creators, see paid communities with Stripe.
What a shared copy leaves out
Sharing makes a separate copy after a preview, and leaves the private parts of your library behind:
- Bookmark account labels, reminders, passwords, saved API keys and your assistant's memory are never included.
- Media linked from the web, rather than stored in the note, is left out, and the preview says so.
- Drawings appear as their preview pictures, and links to your other notes become plain text.
Text you typed in the note is shared as written, so read the preview for anything private before you choose Share this copy.
Limits at a glance
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| One file in a Space | Up to 20 MB (a video up to 100 MB) |
| One video in a Space | Up to 100 MB |
| Files in one message | Up to 12 |
| Attachments in one shared note | Up to 12 |
| Uploads per account | 250 MB in total |
| Recording share link, free | Up to 50 MB, plays for 7 days |
| Recording share link, Barside Plus | Up to 2 GB, can play until you remove it |
A video up to 100 MB plays right in the chat: members press play, and it starts before it has all arrived. A long video lesson is usually bigger. Host it on a video site and post its link: a YouTube, Vimeo or Loom link shows its picture and title and plays in the chat. For your own screen recordings, you can also use a share link, keeping in mind that anyone with the link can watch.
Share recordings outside a Space
Files in a Space are for its members. To send a screen recording to anyone, open the recording in your note and choose Share a private link. It needs the free Spaces sign-in. Barside uploads the recording and copies a barside.space link that plays in a web browser:
- Free: files up to 50 MB, and the link plays for 7 days.
- Barside Plus: files up to 2 GB, links that can stay until you remove them, an optional password and view counts.
Anyone who has the link can watch, so a share link is not members-only, even when you post it in a paid Space. Remove a link at any time, and it stops playing. The free screen recorder guide covers recording, trimming and the webcam bubble.
Tips for a tidy Files tab
- Chat for the moment, Files for later. Screenshots and quick drafts can live in the chat. Put anything people will come back to, like a handbook, a template or a lesson, in the Files tab.
- Name files for search. The Files tab search matches names, so "Lesson 12, Grids.pdf" is easier to find than "final-v3.pdf".
- Keep course material clean. Set uploads to Only me (the creator) in a paid Space, and members can still talk about the files in the chat.
- One Space per project keeps each project's files together, and people only see the files of Spaces they belong to.
- Tell people what is new. Members who choose All new activity in their Spaces notifications get an alert for new files, not just messages.
Examples
- A course creator shares lesson PDFs and worksheets in the Files tab of a paid Space. A member who stops paying loses access when the paid period ends.
- A product team pastes screenshots into the chat during a design review, and keeps the spec as a shared note with its diagrams.
- A consultant gives each client a private Space for deliverables, with uploads set to Only me (the creator).
- A running club shares race photos in the chat and keeps the route maps in Files, where new members find them.
Privacy: where shared files live
Shared files are stored with Supabase, Barside's hosting provider, in private storage. Connections use HTTPS, and the server checks membership for every upload and download. Files are not end-to-end encrypted, so Barside's hosting administrators can access them.
- Removing a post hides it and blocks its files at once. The stored bytes stay on the server until an operator cleans them up.
- Shared files are not sent to an AI, with one exception: if the owner turns on the Space helper, it can read the text of up to 10 plain-text files to answer questions, with the owner's AI.
- Online Spaces are not part of your library's ZIP backup, so save copies of what you want to keep.
Read how shared files are stored on the privacy page.
How it compares
Barside is not a cloud drive. The Files tab is a simple list with a search, next to the chat, and each file can be up to 20 MB (a video up to 100 MB). If your team needs folders and very large files, keep a drive for those and share its links in Resources.
What Barside gives you instead is file sharing tied to membership: the people in the Space can open the files, people outside cannot (except the pictures and videos of a post whose link shows them), and in a paid Space access follows the payment. For the wider choice of tools, see the Slack alternative and the best community platforms, and for your own files, local-first storage and backups.
Works well with
FAQ
Questions and answers
How big can a shared file be?
Up to 20 MB per file, and up to 100 MB for a video (MP4, M4V, WebM or MOV), with up to 12 files per message or shared note and 250 MB of uploads per account. For screen recordings, a share link takes files up to 50 MB for 7 days, or up to 2 GB with Barside Plus.
Who can open files shared in a Space?
Only current members. The server checks membership for every download, so outsiders and removed members are refused, and in a paid Space access ends when the membership ends. Copies someone already saved stay on their computer.
Can I stop members from uploading files?
Yes. In Manage Space → Space settings, set Who can upload files? to Only me (the creator). It covers chat attachments and media in shared notes, and the server enforces it. Who can share resources? does the same for links.
Are files shared in Barside encrypted?
They travel over HTTPS and sit in private storage that checks membership, but they are not end-to-end encrypted: Barside's hosting administrators can access them. Share only what you are comfortable storing online. See how shared files are stored.
Can I delete a file I shared?
Yes. Remove post hides the post and blocks access to its files at once, and owners and moderators can remove any post. The stored bytes stay on the server until an operator cleans them up, and copies members already saved cannot be taken back.
Is it safe to open files from other members?
Barside never opens or runs a shared file by itself: you choose where to save it. On Windows, saved files carry the same downloaded-from-the-internet mark a browser adds, so Windows treats them with the same caution. As with any download, open only what you expect.
Can people outside my Space get a file?
Only pictures and videos, and only if the person who makes a link to their post chooses Show its pictures and videos on the link page: then anyone with that link sees them on barside.space, until the link stops working. Other files open only for members. To send a screen recording to anyone, use a share link, which plays for anyone who has it for 7 days, or until you remove it with Barside Plus.