# Letters

> Exchange letters and files with another person, work on a letter with Kin, and keep your correspondence.

**Private access. Public signup is not open.**

<!-- SOURCE: src/lib/LettersDoor.svelte, src/lib/LetterDrawer.svelte, src/lib/LetterPeople.svelte, src/lib/ConnectPerson.svelte, src/lib/LetterAsk.svelte, src/lib/LetterDesk.svelte, src/lib/DeskEnclosures.svelte, src/lib/LetterReading.svelte, src/lib/LetterEnclosures.svelte, src/lib/LetterEnclosure.svelte, src/lib/LetterProposal.svelte, src/lib/letter.ts, src/lib/letterChoices.ts, src/lib/letterProposal.ts, src/lib/letters.svelte.ts, src/lib/transcript.ts, src/lib/WorkspaceSessions.svelte, src/lib/commands.ts, src/routes/+page.svelte, internal/home/people.go, internal/home/post.go, internal/home/letters.go, internal/home/custody.go, internal/people/, docs/letters.md -->

Letters carry your words and files from your Space to another person's Space.
Both homes need a version that supports them, and you first agree to exchange
letters. **Delivered** means their Space has kept the letter. There are no read
receipts: opening a letter, viewing an enclosure or throwing it away does not
tell its sender.

Open **Letters**, the envelope under Chat in the sidebar. A highlighted envelope
means a letter or an ask waits; on a phone the navigation control also tells
you what is waiting. The drawer keeps your correspondence newest first.

## Ask someone to exchange letters

1. Open **People** at the foot of Letters, then **Write to someone new…**.
   The same action is in **Search or ask Kin**.
2. Enter **Their Space's name**: the part of their address before `.kinra.space`.
3. Choose **Ask** and wait while the homes check the request.
4. Once they choose **Say yes** in their Space, either of you can write.

An incoming ask shows the person's name and Space address. Check both before
choosing **Say yes** or **No thanks**. Declining removes the ask without telling
the other person. Asking someone who already asked you accepts their ask.

People shows whether an ask arrived, needs an update, lapsed, or is still
waiting for the other home. Follow the reason it gives. **Ask again** restores
an exchange that ended or that the other Space no longer remembers.

## Write and seal a letter

Choose **Write to …** in Letters or the palette, or **Write back** beneath a
letter. Your desk keeps a separate draft for each person. Words save after a
short pause and when you leave the desk. A failed save says so; keep the page
open and retry before reloading.

**Enclose a file** offers **A file from your Space…** and **A file from this
device…**. Each file is copied onto the desk, so later edits to the original
do not change what you send. You can remove an enclosure before sealing.
A letter needs words and can carry up to seven files, 25 MB together. Wait for
any **Adding…** row to finish. Hidden files, Kin's memory and files in a
[workspace under custody](/docs/space/conversations/#servers-and-customer-records)
cannot be enclosed from your Space, including through linked folders.

Review the address, words and files, then choose **Seal the letter**. Enter
makes a new line; it never seals. The letter shows where it stands:

| State | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **On its way** | Your Space is delivering the sealed letter. |
| **Waiting to go** | Delivery cannot finish yet. The reason says whether the other home is unreachable, needs an update or has another problem. Your Space keeps trying. |
| **Delivered** | The other Space has kept it; the displayed time is delivery time. |
| **Not delivered** | Read the reason, such as an exchange that ended or a smaller size limit at the other home. |

**Take it back** returns an undelivered letter to your desk. If the other home
already accepted it, delivery is in progress or another draft occupies that
desk, Space explains why it cannot be taken back. Check the letter again when
you return to it for its latest delivery state.

## Read, reply and work with Kin

Open a letter from the drawer. Its **Enclosed** rows open the files; each also
offers **Download**. **Back** returns to the letter or drawer. **Write back**
opens your desk with the reply addressed to that person.

A letter that shares a workspace shows it after its words and files, with
**Add to my Space**, which brings the workspace into your Space, kept in sync
from the start; once it is there, **Open** goes to it
([Shared workspaces](/docs/space/sharing/#share-a-workspace)).

**Work on this with Kin** copies a received letter and its enclosures into a
folder under **Correspondence**, then opens a session there with a draft and
the copied files attached. Review and send the draft to begin. Throwing away
the original letter later leaves those working copies in place.

You can also ask Kin to help write to someone you exchange letters with. Her
letter card offers **Put it on your desk**. If a draft already waits there,
you can put her words after yours. Read the result and seal it yourself; Kin
does not send the letter for you. Any file that could not be added is named
with its reason.

To include a conversation, open it and choose **Enclose in a letter to …**
from its Live menu, or **Enclose this conversation in a letter to …** in the
palette. The document contains your words and Kin's, with attached filenames;
it leaves out tool output and reasoning. A partial history says it begins
partway. If you switch sessions while it is being prepared, try again from
the conversation you mean to send. Conversations under custody cannot be
exported this way.

## Stop exchanging or remove a letter

In **People**, open the person's **…** menu and choose **Stop exchanging
letters…**. Confirmation keeps both people's existing letters, prevents more
writing until one of you asks again, and stops letters still waiting to go.
You can withdraw an unanswered ask from that menu too.

**Throw away…** beneath a kept letter removes it from your drawer after
confirmation. The other person keeps their copy and receives no notice.

## Write to Kin for the night

When your Space offers **Write to Kin**, it opens a separate desk for words
Kin will read during the night. Review and choose **Seal the letter**. You can
**Take it back** until the night collects it. If Kin cannot read it yet, the
sealed page explains the next step, such as opening her panel and answering
her workspace-trust question. A letter to Kin does not promise a reply.

_Source authority: Kinra Site (src/content/docs/space/letters.md)._
