Joining a shared book

You got here from an invite link. A few short steps and this device will be working on the same book as the person who invited you — including offline; changes merge when you reconnect.

Joining creates a new book on this device. Nothing you already have is touched or overwritten.

Checking the server

Before anything else the app contacts the sync service named in the invite and shows you its fingerprint — a short identity check, like recognising a voice on the phone.

• First time connecting — normal. The identity is remembered now, and every future connection is checked against it.
• Matches the one you trusted before — nothing to do.
• The identity changed — joining is stopped. Usually this means the invite didn't come from where it claims to. Don't work around it: tell the person who invited you, and only try again with a fresh invite once they confirm they moved their server on purpose.

If the server can't be reached at all, it's usually offline or you're not connected. Try again later with the same link, as long as it hasn't expired.

Naming the book

The name is yours alone — it's how this book shows up in your book list, and the other people on it never see it. Something like "Household" or "Shared with Sam" works well.

Pick a name you're not already using on this device, or you'll be asked for a different one.

The shared password

Enter the book password the other person gave you. This is not a password you invent — it's theirs, and it has to match exactly. Show password lets you check it before you commit.

The password does the real work here: it decrypts the book's contents. The link alone can't open anything.

Got it wrong? Nothing is lost. The invite stays valid and you can correct it and try again.

Waiting for approval

Your request goes to the person who invited you, and they have to approve it on their device. This is deliberate — it's what stops a leaked link being enough on its own.

If they approve while you're on this screen, you go straight into the book. If they're slow, you'll see a Waiting for approval card and you can close the app; the join finishes by itself once they approve. Tap Open book to look around in the meantime — it'll be empty until the approval lands.

Approval has to happen within an hour of the invite being made. After that, ask for a new one.

What you can and can't do

Once you're in, you have the full book: view and add and edit and delete anything, exactly like the person who shared it.

Two things stay with the owner: backing up or exporting the book, and managing devices (inviting new ones, removing existing ones). You'll see a note on those screens rather than a broken button.

The owner can remove your device later. If that happens you're told, syncing stops, and your local copy of the book stays on your device.

Tips

• Ask for the password before you tap the link — it's the one step you can't complete alone.
• Both people being awake and online makes the first pairing take seconds instead of minutes.
• If you're rebuilding your own book after losing a device, this isn't the screen — use More → Restore a shared book with your owner recovery code.