Collections

Group posts like folders, share a collection with one link, or collect posts together with other people.

Tags are for you. Collections are for sharing.

Where Collections Work

App	What you can do
Mobile app (2.4.0 or later)	Create collections, add posts, share, and collect together. Collections are in the drawer.
Desktop app (0.8.0 or later)	The same, from the Collections section of the sidebar, above Tags.
Obsidian plugin (4.8.0 or later)	The same, from the Collections button in the timeline header. See In Obsidian for what works differently there.
Web (social-archive.org)	Open shared collections, see public collections on profiles, and accept invite links.

Collections belong to your Social Archiver account, so you need to be signed in.

Collections and Tags

	Tags	Collections
Purpose	Sorting posts for yourself	A group of posts you can show to others
Who can see them	Only you	Your choice: Private, Anyone with the link, or Public
How you use them	As filters that narrow your library	As a space you open, like a folder
How posts get there	You, or automatic AI tagging	Only when you add them

A post can be in as many collections as you like. Removing a post from a collection never deletes it from your library.

Create a Collection

• Mobile: open the drawer and tap New collection under Collections.
• Desktop: click New collection (or the + button) in the Collections section of the sidebar.
• Obsidian: click the Collections button in the timeline header, type a name, and choose Create "name".
• While adding a post: type a new name in the Add to collection picker and choose Create "name".

Give it a name and, if you like, a description. Each collection needs its own name. A new collection is Private until you share it.

Add Posts

While archiving

Pick collections when you archive a link, and the post goes into them as soon as it's saved. This needs mobile app 2.4.1, desktop app 0.8.2, Obsidian plugin 4.9.0, browser extension 1.11.0 or CLI 0.1.20 or later.

• Mobile app and desktop app: choose Add to collection in the archive window, then archive.
• Share sheet (iPhone, iPad, Android) and the Safari extension on iPhone: tap Add to collection while the post is archiving. Your last choice is picked for you the next time you share, since you'll often save to the same place; tap it to change it. It's not shown when Auto-close closes the sheet right after sending.
• Browser extension (Chrome, Safari on Mac): choose Add to collection in the popup or the Clip side panel before you save.
• Obsidian: choose Add to collection under the tags in the archive window. It isn't offered for links the plugin archives on your device (Naver Cafe, Naver Blog, Brunch, Naver Webtoon).
• Command line: add --collection "Taiwan trip" to social-archiver archive, or collection="Taiwan trip" to the Obsidian CLI's archive command. See Command line.

Only collections you can add to are listed, most recently used first. If a collection can no longer take the post when the archive finishes (you became a viewer, or it's full), the post is still archived, just not added.

One post

1. Open the post's menu and choose Add to Collection.
2. Check one or more collections. Use Search or create to find one or to make a new one.
3. Choose Done.

A message confirms where the post went; Change in that message reopens the picker.

In Obsidian, Add to collection is a button on each card (on a phone, it's in the card's ⋯ menu). You can also run Add current note to collection from the command palette, or choose Add to collection in an archive note's file menu.

Several posts at once

Choose Select posts, pick the posts, then choose Add to Collection in the selection bar. A collection that holds only some of the selected posts is marked "In some of the selected posts". The Obsidian plugin's selection bar has the same Add to collection button.

Drag and drop (desktop)

Drag a post by its grip handle (the six dots) onto a collection in the sidebar. If the post is part of a selection, the whole selection comes along. The handle appears once you have at least one collection.

Remove a post

Open the collection, open the post's menu, and choose Remove from Collection. The post stays in your library.

In Obsidian, uncheck the collection in the card's Add to collection picker, or run Remove current note from a collection.

Browse a Collection

• Mobile: the drawer lists your collections with an icon for who can see each one (a lock, a link, or a globe). See all opens the full list.
• Desktop: click a collection in the sidebar. The search box and filters at the top work inside the collection.
• Obsidian: click the Collections button in the timeline header and choose a collection. The bar above the posts shows who can see it and how many posts it holds, and its ⋯ button opens the collection's actions. Search, platform, tag and date filters work inside the collection; the tabs and quick filters are hidden while it's open.

Posts are ordered by when they were added, newest first. In the mobile and desktop apps and on the shared page, the time under the author shows when the post was added (for example, 3d ago · added 2h ago), not when it was archived. Post cards show which collections a post is in; select a name to open that collection.

Share a Collection

Copy a link

• Mobile: tap the Share button at the top of the collection.
• Desktop: right-click the collection in the sidebar (or click its ⋯ button) and choose Copy link.
• Obsidian: click the link button on the collection's bar, or choose Copy link from its ⋯ menu. The first time, the plugin reminds you that a shared collection shows posts in full: your Preview share mode applies only to single posts.

If the collection is Private, this switches it to Anyone with the link and copies the link. A collection never becomes Public unless you choose it.

Share settings

Open Share settings from the collection's ⋯ menu (mobile and Obsidian) or from its sidebar menu (desktop).

Who can see it

Option	Who can open it	On your profile and in search
Private	Only you	No
Anyone with the link	People you give the link to	No
Public	Anyone	Yes, in the Collections tab of your profile

What viewers see sets the view people get first: Timeline, List, Media, Mosaic, Text, or Reader. It starts as the view you were using, and visitors can still switch views.

Include my notes and highlights shows your notes and highlights on the shared page. For collections it's on by default.

From the same panel you can Copy link, Share…, Reset link (the current link stops working and a new one is made), or Stop sharing (the link stops working until you share again).

How the link behaves

• The link looks like https://social-archive.org/{username}/c/{code}. It stays the same when you switch between Anyone with the link and Public.
• The shared page is live: posts you add or remove show up there without sharing again.
• Switching back to Private turns the link off. Share again later and the same link works again; choose Reset link if you want a new one.
• After you switch from Public to Anyone with the link, the collection leaves your profile right away, but it can take a while to disappear from search engines.

What's on the shared page

• The collection's posts in full, including photos and videos, most recently added first. Opening a post shows it in the reader.
• Your notes and highlights, if you include them, and the AI comments on those posts.
• Left out: posts that weren't public on their original platform (for example, a friends-only post) and posts you've deleted. Share settings tells you how many posts won't appear.

Share responsibly

A shared collection shows posts in full. Share only content you have permission to share.

Share Settings for a Single Post

Shared posts have the same kind of settings. Open the post's menu and choose Share Settings, or tap Settings in the message that appears right after you share. In Obsidian, click a shared post's share button and choose Share settings…; the same menu has Copy share link and Stop sharing.

• Who can see it: Public (shown on your profile) or Anyone with the link (kept off your profile and out of search).
• What viewers see: Post (opens as the post card) or Reader (opens straight into the reader).
• Include my notes and highlights.

Posts you shared before these settings existed keep notes and highlights hidden until you turn the option on. Shares made without the settings panel, such as automatic sharing, use Public, Post, and no notes. For the basics of sharing posts, see Web Sharing.

Collaborative Collections

Invite people to view a collection or to collect posts in it with you. This is separate from Who can see it: members can collect privately, and the owner can still share the result by link or publicly.

Roles

	Owner	Editor	Viewer
See the collection, even when it's Private	✓	✓	✓
Add their own posts	✓	✓
Remove posts	✓	✓
Leave collection notes and highlights	✓	✓
Delete other members' collection notes and highlights	✓	✓
Rename and edit the description	✓	✓
Change Share settings	✓
Create invite links, change roles, remove members	✓
Delete the collection	✓
Leave the collection		✓	✓

Invite people

1. Open Members from the collection's ⋯ menu (mobile and Obsidian) or from its sidebar menu (desktop).
2. Pick a Role (Editor or Viewer) and when the link Expires after (1 day, 7 days, or 30 days), then choose Create invite link.
3. The link is copied. Send it however you like.

Anyone with the link can join after signing in. Active links are listed with their expiry date and how many times they've been used. Revoke a link to stop new people from joining with it; people who already joined stay.

Join a collection

1. Open the invite link. On a phone with the app, it opens the app's invite screen; in a messenger's built-in browser (KakaoTalk, for example), choose Open in the app on the page. On a Mac with the desktop app, choose Open in the desktop app. The screen shows who invited you and your role. Choose Accept invite: you're already signed in, so there's no email to confirm.
2. Without the app, choose Accept invite on the page. If you aren't signed in yet, choose Sign in to accept (or Create an account) first. The sign-in email's link brings you back to the invite, even when it opens in the app.
3. The collection appears in your Collections, marked Collaborative. After accepting on a phone's browser, choose Open the app; no app yet? Choose Get the app.

Opening invites in the app needs mobile app 2.4.3 or desktop app 0.8.4 or later.

Members need mobile app 2.4.0, desktop app 0.8.0 or Obsidian plugin 4.8.0 or later; older versions don't show collaborative collections. Other members' posts aren't stored on your device, so a collaborative collection needs an internet connection to open.

Inside a collaborative collection

• Your own posts work as they do everywhere else: star, share, tags, delete and Remove from Collection (mobile app 2.4.4 or desktop app 0.8.5 or later). Posts that other members added are read-only and show Added by @username.
• When other members add posts after you last opened the collection, its row in the drawer (mobile) or the sidebar (desktop) shows how many are new. Opening the collection clears the count on all your devices. This needs mobile app 2.4.4 or desktop app 0.8.5 or later.
• The owner's personal notes and highlights appear when Include my notes and highlights is on in Share settings.
• Every other member decides for themselves with Show my notes and highlights in Members. It's off by default and covers the posts that member added, both in the collection and on its shared page.

Collection notes and highlights

Owners and editors can leave Collection notes and highlights on any post in a collaborative collection, their own and other members' alike. Everyone in the collection sees them with the author's name, and they never change anyone's library.

• Note: choose the note button on a post. In a collaborative collection it writes a collection note; personal notes are written from your library.
• Highlight: open the post in the reader and select text.
• Only the author can edit a note or highlight. The author, the owner or an editor can delete it. Viewers can read them.
• They're for members only and never appear on the collection's shared page. When someone leaves or is removed, their collection notes and highlights are hidden.
• The Obsidian plugin shows collection notes read-only.

Collection notes and highlights need mobile app 2.4.4 or desktop app 0.8.5 or later.

Change roles, remove members, or leave

• The owner can Change role or Remove from collection in Members. Posts the person added stay in the collection.
• Editors and viewers can Leave collection at any time. Posts they added stay; to take one out, they delete it from their own library.
• When someone leaves or is removed, their notes and highlights are hidden right away.
• If the owner deletes the collection, members lose access and the posts they added leave the collection. Everyone's posts stay in their own libraries.
• Ownership can't be transferred. If the owner deletes their account, the collection is deleted too.

Notifications

You get a notification when:

• someone else adds posts to a collaborative collection you're in;
• the owner shares a collaborative collection with Anyone with the link or makes it Public (members are notified);
• someone joins with an invite link (the owner is notified).

The first activity is sent right away. Further activity is grouped into one notification at most every 15 minutes. On your phone, notifications that come in during your Quiet hours are sent when they end. When your phone isn't receiving push notifications, the desktop app shows them instead, or the Obsidian plugin when the desktop app isn't open. Tapping or clicking a notification opens the collection.

To turn them off, go to Settings › Notifications in the mobile or desktop app, or Settings › Collections in the Obsidian plugin, and switch off Collaborative collection activity. The setting belongs to your account, so it applies everywhere.

In Obsidian

The plugin works with the same collections as the apps, with a few differences that come from how Obsidian works.

• Your notes aren't changed. Which posts are in which collection is kept on this device and synced with your account, not written into your notes, so vault sync never conflicts over it.
• Only uploaded notes can join. A note can be added once it's uploaded to your Social Archiver account. A note that exists only in this vault asks you to upload it first.
• Posts that aren't in this vault. A collection can hold your posts whose notes aren't in this vault, for example ones archived on another device and not synced here. The collection tells you how many there are.
• Other members' posts in a collaborative collection appear below yours as read-only cards, with Added by @username. Owners and editors can take one out with its remove button. Collection notes show under each post, read-only.
• Notifications appear as an Obsidian notice; click it to open the collection.

Collections in Bases

Bases, Dataview and search work with note properties, so the plugin can write collections into your notes if you want:

1. Turn on Write collections to note properties in Settings › Collections. Your archive notes get an archiveCollections list with the names of their collections, kept up to date as collections change. Editing the property doesn't change a collection.
2. Run Create base from collection from the command palette, or choose it in the collection's ⋯ menu. It makes Collections/<name>.base in your archive folder, with cards, table and media gallery views of that collection. If the property option is off, the plugin asks to turn it on first.

The option is off by default because every change writes to your notes and your vault sync carries it. Turning it off removes the property it wrote.

Commands

Command	What it does
Add current note to collection	Opens the Add to collection picker for the open archive note
Remove current note from a collection	Takes the open note out of a collection you choose
Open collection	Opens a collection in the timeline
Copy collection link	Copies a collection's share link
Create base from collection	Makes a .base file for a collection

The commands have no default hotkeys. Set them in Settings › Hotkeys.

Scripts and coding agents can do the same through the Obsidian CLI with social-archiver:collections (Obsidian Plugin CLI), or without Obsidian through the standalone CLI's social-archiver collections (Collections).

Limits

• Up to 1,000 collections per account
• Up to 5,000 posts per collection, counting every member's posts
• Up to 50 members per collection
• Up to 20 active invite links per collection

Troubleshooting

"N posts won't appear on the shared page"

Those posts weren't public on their original platform, so the shared page leaves them out. You still see them in the collection.

"You can't add posts to this collection"

You're a Viewer in that collaborative collection. Ask the owner to make you an Editor.

A collaborative collection doesn't show up

• Update the app (mobile 2.4.0 or later, desktop 0.8.0 or later, Obsidian plugin 4.8.0 or later).
• Make sure you accepted the invite with the same account you use in the app.
• Check your internet connection.

The invite link has expired, was revoked, or was already used

Ask the owner for a new invite link.

A collection still appears in search after you stopped making it public

Search engines can take a while to drop a page. If the old link must stop working right away, choose Reset link.

Next Steps

• Share single posts to the web
• Organize posts with tags
• Desktop App
• Timeline View
• Mobile App