# nstatxt — full reference

> Free, instant, ephemeral file and document sharing. Drop files onto a page, get one link, send it. No account, no email address, no ads, and no paid tier. Documents auto-delete on a schedule you choose.

Site: https://nstatxt.com/
Run by: Commanigy (https://commanigy.com)
Last generated: 2026-10-22

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## What nstatxt is

nstatxt is a web tool for sharing files and notes through a single link. You open the site, drag files onto the page, optionally write a Markdown note around them, and copy the link. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to install, on either end of the share.

The distinguishing property is that the link is live rather than a snapshot. Add, replace or remove files and the same URL keeps serving the current state, and anyone with the page open sees the change immediately over a websocket connection. Most sharing tools freeze the moment you send them, so correcting a mistake means sending a new link.

## Pricing

nstatxt is completely free. There is no paid plan, no free trial that ends, no advertising, and no feature withheld to make an upgrade attractive — there is nothing to upgrade to.

This is sustainable because nstatxt is not storage. Documents expire by default and their files are deleted with them, so the service never accumulates the ever-growing storage cost that pushes other free tools into charging.

## How it works

1. Open https://nstatxt.com/documents/new. A new empty document is created immediately.
2. Drag files onto the page. They upload directly to storage as you go.
3. Optionally write a note. Documents are Markdown, so headings, lists, tables, links and fenced code blocks all render.
4. Copy the view link and send it however you like — chat, email, a ticket, SMS.
5. Keep editing. Viewers see updates live.

## Links and access

Each document has two links:

- **Edit link** — private. Anyone holding it can change the document, add or remove files, and delete it. Keep this one.
- **View link** — read-only. This is the link you share. It lets people read the note, preview files and download them.

There is no account system, so access control is entirely "who has the link". Links are unguessable, and document pages are served with a `noindex, nofollow` robots directive so search engines do not list them. Treat the view link itself as the key and share it only with people who should see the files.

## Retention and deletion

When you create a document you choose how long it lives: 1, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days, or never. The default is 3 days. A background job deletes expired documents and their attached files automatically — there is no manual clean-up step.

## Files

Any file type can be attached. Files are listed individually and downloaded individually, never bundled into a zip archive. These preview directly in the browser without downloading:

- Images
- Video
- Audio
- PDFs
- Text files, including code, JSON, XML, CSV and logs

Each file shows its own download count, and each document shows a total view count, so you can tell whether what you sent was actually opened.

## Good uses

- Client deliverables that go through revisions, where the reviewer should always land on the current version.
- Bug reports: a log, a screenshot and an explanation in one link instead of three.
- Files email refuses — too large to attach, or with an extension a mail server strips.
- Handoffs that should not linger, such as signed forms, data exports or one-time credentials, set to delete in a day.
- Sharing with people outside your organisation, who have no account on your storage platform and should not need one.

## Not a good fit

- Long-term storage or syncing files across your own devices. Use cloud storage for that; nstatxt deletes things on purpose.
- Anything requiring per-person permissions, audit trails or revocable access for named users. There are no accounts, so there is no identity to grant or revoke.

## API

Programs can create a document without a browser. There is no account and no API key; requests are anonymous, like the website.

Upload one file (up to 100 MB) as multipart form data:

    curl -F "file=@screenshot.png" https://nstatxt.com/api/v1/documents

Send several files as `files[]` instead of `file`. The response is `201 Created` with JSON:

    {
      "view_url": "https://nstatxt.com/v/<view token>",
      "edit_url": "https://nstatxt.com/<edit token>",
      "expires_at": "2026-01-04T12:00:00Z"
    }

`view_url` is the read-only link to share; `edit_url` is private. API documents use the default 3-day retention, and `expires_at` is the document's creation time plus 3 days. The clean-up job runs daily at midnight, so the document disappears at the first run after that time.

Larger files (up to 5 GB) go straight to storage:

1. `POST https://nstatxt.com/api/v1/direct_uploads` with JSON `{"blob": {"filename": "...", "byte_size": 123, "checksum": "<base64 MD5>", "content_type": "video/mp4"}}`. The response contains `signed_id` and `direct_upload.url` and `direct_upload.headers`.
2. `PUT` the raw file bytes to `direct_upload.url` with exactly those headers.
3. `POST https://nstatxt.com/api/v1/documents` with JSON `{"signed_ids": ["<signed_id>"]}`.

Errors are JSON of the form `{"error": "..."}`: `422` for a missing, empty or not-yet-uploaded file, `413` for a file over the size limit, and `429` when an IP address sends more than 30 documents (or 60 direct uploads) in 10 minutes.

---

## Comparisons

### nstatxt vs WeTransfer

Page: https://nstatxt.com/vs/wetransfer

WeTransfer built the habit everyone knows: pick files, get a link, send it. nstatxt keeps that habit and removes the parts people quietly work around — handing over an email address, waiting on a zip download, and re-sending a whole new transfer every time one file changes.

What sharing on nstatxt looks like:

- **Getting started:** Open the page and drop files in. Nothing to sign up for, no email address to type.
- **What the recipient gets:** A web page with your files listed individually. Images, video, audio, PDFs and text preview right in the browser.
- **Downloading:** Files download one at a time, so nobody has to pull down a zip archive to read a single PDF.
- **Adding a file later:** Drop it into the same document. The link never changes and everyone watching sees it appear live.
- **Notes alongside files:** Every share is a real document. Write context in Markdown above the files instead of squeezing it into a message field.
- **Expiry:** You choose: 1, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days, or never. The default is 3 days, and deletion is automatic.
- **Price:** Free. There is no paid tier, so there is no size limit to unlock or feature held back.

Why people switch from WeTransfer:

- **You never re-send a transfer** — A WeTransfer link is a snapshot: change one file and you start a new transfer and send a new link. An nstatxt link is live. Add, replace or remove files and the same URL stays correct, which matters when you are iterating with a client over a few days.
- **Recipients skip the zip** — Bundling everything into one archive is fine for a whole project handoff and annoying for everything else. nstatxt lists files individually and previews the common ones in the browser, so a reviewer can read your PDF without downloading and unzipping anything.
- **No email address, on either end** — You do not enter yours and you do not need to know theirs. You get a link and decide yourself how to send it — chat, ticket, SMS, wherever the conversation already is.
- **Free means free** — There is no paid plan here, which is the point. Nothing is deliberately limited to nudge you toward an upgrade, because there is nothing to upgrade to.

### nstatxt vs Dropbox

Page: https://nstatxt.com/vs/dropbox

Dropbox is built to store your files permanently and sync them across your machines. That is a genuinely different job from "here, look at these five files". nstatxt is built only for the second job, which is why it needs no account, no app and no storage quota.

What sharing on nstatxt looks like:

- **What it is for:** One-off shares. Files you want someone to see now, not a filing cabinet you maintain.
- **Account:** None. There is nothing to create, verify or log into.
- **Install:** Nothing. It runs in the browser on any device, including a phone.
- **Storage quota:** No quota to fill up, because documents delete themselves instead of accumulating.
- **Sharing permissions:** Two links per document: an edit link you keep and a view link you hand out.
- **Live updates:** Viewers see new files and edits appear without refreshing the page.
- **Price:** Free, with no paid tier.

Why people switch from Dropbox:

- **Nothing to maintain** — Cloud storage rewards you for keeping things. That is the right trade for documents you need next year and the wrong one for a screenshot you needed to send this afternoon. nstatxt documents expire on a schedule you set, so your quick shares never become housekeeping.
- **The recipient has no barrier** — No prompt to sign in, no prompt to install an app, no request-access dialog to answer. They open a link and see the files.
- **Sharing is the default, not a setting** — Every nstatxt document is a link from the moment it exists. There is no permissions screen to get wrong, and no chance of accidentally sharing a folder you did not mean to.
- **Good for the things you should not keep** — A signed form, an export with customer data, a one-time credential handoff. Automatic deletion means you do not have to remember to clean up afterwards.

### nstatxt vs Google Drive

Page: https://nstatxt.com/vs/google-drive

Almost everyone has hit the same Google Drive moment: you send a link, and the person on the other end gets a sign-in wall or a "request access" button instead of your file. nstatxt has no permission model to get wrong, because it has no accounts at all.

What sharing on nstatxt looks like:

- **Recipient sign-in:** Never. There is no account system, so there is nobody to sign in as.
- **Request-access emails:** Impossible. Anyone holding the view link sees the document.
- **Your account:** You do not have one either. Nothing is tied to a personal identity.
- **Link sharing setup:** Automatic. Every document has a view link from the moment you create it.
- **Previews:** Images, video, audio, PDFs and text render in the browser without downloading.
- **Retention:** Set 1 to 30 days, or never. The default is 3 days, and deletion is automatic.
- **Price:** Free, with no storage plan to buy.

Why people switch from Google Drive:

- **The access dialog cannot happen** — Drive's sharing is powerful and easy to misconfigure, and the cost of getting it wrong lands on your recipient. With one view link and no accounts, there is no state to misconfigure.
- **Nothing is attached to your identity** — Sharing from Drive means sharing from an account with your name on it. nstatxt documents are not tied to a person, which is often what you want when sharing outside your organisation.
- **It works for people outside your workspace** — Contractors, clients and people on other platforms all just open a link. No domain restrictions, no guest accounts to provision.
- **Temporary by design** — Drive keeps files until you delete them. nstatxt deletes them for you, which is the safer default for anything you only needed to hand over once.

### nstatxt vs email attachments

Page: https://nstatxt.com/vs/email-attachments

Mail servers reject large attachments, silently strip some file types, and copy everything you send into an inbox that keeps it forever. A link avoids all three, and gives you something an attachment can never do: the ability to update what you sent.

What sharing on nstatxt looks like:

- **Size limits:** No mail server sits in the middle rejecting your file for being too big.
- **Blocked file types:** Nothing is stripped for having the wrong extension.
- **Correcting a mistake:** Replace the file in the document. The link people already have now shows the right version.
- **Multiple recipients:** One link works for everyone, and you can see how many times it has been viewed.
- **Inbox clutter:** Recipients get a link, not a permanent copy in their mail storage.
- **Retention:** The document deletes itself on your schedule instead of living in everyone's archive.
- **Price:** Free.

Why people switch from email attachments:

- **You can fix what you sent** — This is the real advantage. An attachment is final the moment it leaves your outbox — the wrong version is in their inbox forever. Update the file behind an nstatxt link and everyone who opens it gets the current one.
- **Nothing gets silently mangled** — Mail systems rewrite, compress and block attachments according to rules you cannot see. Files behind a link arrive exactly as you uploaded them.
- **It stops being everyone's problem** — Attachments multiply: ten recipients means ten copies sitting in ten mailboxes indefinitely. A link that expires leaves nothing behind.
- **You know it arrived** — Every document shows view and download counts, so you can tell whether your file was actually opened rather than asking.

### nstatxt vs Pastebin

Page: https://nstatxt.com/vs/pastebin

Paste sites are great until the thing you need to share is not only text — a log plus the screenshot of the error, a config plus the export it produced. nstatxt handles both in one document, so you send one link instead of three.

What sharing on nstatxt looks like:

- **Text:** A full Markdown document: headings, lists, tables, code blocks and links.
- **Files:** Attach them to the same document. Images, video, audio, PDFs and text preview inline.
- **Editing after posting:** Keep editing. Your edit link stays valid and viewers see changes live.
- **Account:** None needed.
- **Expiry:** 1 to 30 days, or never. Defaults to 3 days.
- **Price:** Free, with no ads.

Why people switch from Pastebin:

- **One link instead of three** — The stack trace, the screenshot and the config file belong together. Splitting them across a paste site and an image host makes whoever is helping you reassemble the context by hand.
- **It updates while they are reading** — When someone is debugging with you, appending the next log to the same document beats pasting a new link into chat every few minutes. Their page updates in place.
- **Markdown, not a wall of text** — Explain what you are showing. Headings, code blocks and lists render properly, so the person reading knows which part matters.
- **It disappears on schedule** — Logs and configs pick up more than you intend. Auto-deletion means a debugging session does not leave a permanent public artefact.

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## Frequently asked questions

### The basics

**What is nstatxt?**

nstatxt is a free tool for sharing files and notes through a single link. You drop files onto a page, optionally write something around them, and send the link. Anyone who opens it sees your files and any changes you make, live.

**Is nstatxt free?**

Completely free. There is no paid plan, no trial, no ads and no upsell. It is run as a free service by Commanigy.

**Do I need an account?**

No. There is no sign-up, no login and no email address to enter. Open the site and start sharing.

**Does the person I share with need an account?**

No. They open the link in any modern browser and see the document.

### Sharing files

**What kinds of files can I share?**

Any file type. Images, video, audio, PDFs and text files preview directly in the browser; everything else downloads.

**Do files download as a zip?**

No. Each file is listed and downloaded individually, so nobody has to unpack an archive to open one document.

**Can I add more files after sharing the link?**

Yes. Add files to the same document at any time using your edit link. The view link never changes, and anyone with the page open sees the new files appear immediately.

**Can I share text as well as files?**

Yes. Every document is a Markdown document, so you can write headings, lists, tables and code blocks around your files.

### Privacy and retention

**How long do documents last?**

You choose when you create one: 1, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days, or never. The default is 3 days. Expired documents and their files are deleted automatically.

**Who can see my document?**

Anyone holding the link. Links are unguessable, and document pages are marked so search engines do not index them, but treat the link itself as the key — share it only with people who should see the files.

**What is the difference between the two links?**

Each document has an edit link, which lets you change the document, and a view link, which is read-only. Keep the edit link and share the view link.

**Is anything tracked?**

Documents show their own view and download counts so you can tell whether your file was opened. There are no user accounts, so nothing is tied to a personal identity.

### Using it in practice

**Can I use nstatxt instead of email attachments?**

Yes, and it avoids attachment size limits and blocked file types. Paste the view link into your email instead of attaching the file.

**Can I replace a file I already sent?**

Yes. Swap the file in the document and the link people already have serves the corrected version.

**Does it work on a phone?**

Yes. It runs in the browser on any device, with no app to install.

---

## All pages

- https://nstatxt.com/ — home
- https://nstatxt.com/documents/new — create a document
- https://nstatxt.com/free-file-sharing — what free means here
- https://nstatxt.com/send-large-files — sending large files without email limits
- https://nstatxt.com/faq — frequently asked questions
- https://nstatxt.com/compare — comparison hub
- https://nstatxt.com/vs/wetransfer — nstatxt vs WeTransfer
- https://nstatxt.com/vs/dropbox — nstatxt vs Dropbox
- https://nstatxt.com/vs/google-drive — nstatxt vs Google Drive
- https://nstatxt.com/vs/email-attachments — nstatxt vs email attachments
- https://nstatxt.com/vs/pastebin — nstatxt vs Pastebin
- https://nstatxt.com/privacy — privacy policy
- https://nstatxt.com/terms — terms of service

## Contact

support+nstatxt@commanigy.com