# Assets and visibility

> Every upload and generation in Endless is an asset. Who can see it, who can change it, how sharing and un-sharing work, and how long trash keeps it.

Source: https://endless.okinawa/docs/concepts/assets-and-visibility

An **asset** is any media the workspace holds: an uploaded or imported file, a generated image,
video or audio, a document, a piece of text, a transcript. All of them go to the **Library**,
where you can filter by project, type, creator, date, source and model.

**Assets are private by default.** Only the person who uploaded or generated one can see it until
they share it or put it somewhere shared.

## Who can see an asset

A workspace member can open an asset if **any one** of these is true:

| Reason                          | Details                                                                                                                                                                              |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| They made it                    | The uploader or generator always sees it.                                                                                                                                            |
| It's shared with them           | Added by name, or general access set to **"Workspace"** at **"Can view"** or **"Can edit"**. There are only two tiers, Private and Workspace: never public. |
| It's in a chat they can open    | Generated in the chat, or attached by the asset's owner. If someone else attaches your asset, it gives nobody new access.                                                            |
| It's on a canvas they can open  | Everything on the canvas is visible to whoever can open it.                                                                                                                          |
| It's in a project they can open | Visible on the project's **Assets** tab and in their own Library. Only the owner can file an asset into a project. See [Projects](/docs/concepts/projects).                          |

Rules that follow from this:

* **Your workspace role grants no access.** Admins can't read a member's private assets; no role
  or setting allows it. To see someone's work, ask them to share it.
* **Access through a chat, canvas or project is view-only.** A person added by name keeps the role
  they were given, even if the workspace's is higher.
* **Sharing a chat or canvas shares every asset in it**, without changing the assets. Check what
  is attached before you share a long chat.
* **Access is worked out each time** someone opens the asset; it is never copied. Access through a
  chat, canvas or project ends when the asset is removed from it or that chat, canvas or project
  is deleted.

## Who can change an asset

| Who                        | Can                                                                                 |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Can view**               | Open the asset                                                                      |
| **Can edit**               | Also rename it or edit a document, if their workspace role lets them create content |
| Owner (whoever created it) | Also decide who has access, file it into projects and move it to the trash          |

Anyone it was shared with can **"Leave"** to drop their own access, unless leaving would give them
more access than they had (for example, they hold **"Can view"** while the workspace has
**"Can edit"**).

## Sharing and un-sharing

Open the asset and use the pill that reads **"Private"** or **"Shared"**:

* **"General access"**: Private (*"Only you, and wherever it's attached"*) or Workspace
  (*"Everyone in the workspace"*) at **"Can view"** or **"Can edit"**.
* **"Has access"**: the owner, people added by name and, when shared, the
  **"Everyone in the workspace"** row.
* **"Appears in"**: the projects, chats and canvases it is in. A project reached through a chat or
  canvas is marked **"Linked from chat"** or **"On this canvas"**.
* **"Copy link"**: the link opens only for people who have access.

Switching back to Private removes workspace-wide access at once. People added by name keep theirs
until you remove them.

## Trash

Deleting an asset moves it to **Settings → Trash**. It stays there for **30 days**, still private
to you, and you can restore it unchanged. After 30 days the item and its file are deleted for
good. Deleting it permanently from the trash skips the wait and can't be undone.

## Related

* [Models](/docs/concepts/models): generated images, video and audio land in the Library tagged with
  the model that made them.
* [Transcripts](/docs/transcripts): a transcript is an asset and follows the same rules.