TeamVault User Guide
Everything you need to know — from signing in for the first time to advanced admin controls, verified downloads, and PDF watermarking.
🔐
Signing In
TeamVault uses Auth0 for secure single sign-on. No separate password required.
1
Go to teamvault.cloud and click Log in in the top navigation, or click Continue to Login in the hero panel.
2
You will be redirected to the Auth0 login screen. Sign in with your Google account or your email and password.
3
After authenticating, you are automatically redirected back to your vault. If you belong to multiple workspaces, a workspace selection screen appears — click the workspace you want to enter.
Tip: If you were invited by an admin, your account is automatically activated the first time you sign in. You do not need to do anything special.
Note: If you see a "No workspaces" screen after signing in, you either haven't started a trial yet or haven't accepted an invitation. Contact your workspace admin to be added.
🚀
Creating a Workspace
Create your team vault with instant provisioning. Self-hosted workspaces are ready immediately; cloud trials include 14 days full access.
1
From the homepage or workspaces screen, sign in with Auth0. If you do not have any workspaces yet, you will be prompted to create one.
2
In Community Edition, click Create Your First Workspace, enter your workspace name, and click create. Your workspace and encrypted root vault are provisioned instantly.
3
In Commercial Cloud, click Start 14-Day Trial to begin your trial on the Team plan (1 TB, unlimited users).
4
Once setup completes, you are taken directly into your new vault.
Tip: In Commercial Edition, you can manage or upgrade your plan anytime under Admin → Settings → Manage Subscription. In Community Edition, your quotas are managed directly by your server administrator.
📁
Creating Folders
Organise your vault with nested folders. Permissions can be set independently on each folder.
1
Inside your vault, navigate to the location where you want the new folder.
2
Click the + (New Folder) button in the top-right toolbar.
3
Enter a folder name and press Create.
4
The folder appears immediately in the file list. Click it to navigate inside.
Note: A folder named Verified Downloads is special — only PDF files are allowed inside it, and all downloads from that folder are governed by verified-download rules. See the Verified Downloads section for details.
⬆️
Uploading Files
Upload individual files or multiple files at once directly from your browser.
1
Navigate into the folder you want to upload files into. You cannot upload directly to the vault root — you must be inside a folder.
2
Click the Upload button in the top-right toolbar.
3
In the upload modal, click Choose Files or drag and drop files onto the upload area. You can select multiple files at once.
4
Each file shows an individual progress bar. Uploads go directly to encrypted cloud storage. When all files show a green checkmark, click Done.
Tip: Files up to 5 GB per file are supported. All file types are accepted unless your admin has restricted uploads to specific formats.
Note: You must have Upload permission for the workspace to see the Upload button. If you only have view access, contact your admin.
👁️
Viewing Files Inline
Many file types open directly in your browser without downloading.
1
In the file list, click the name of any file.
2
TeamVault opens a viewer panel on the right side of the screen. Supported formats include PDF, common image formats (PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP), and plain text files.
3
To close the viewer, press Escape or click the ✕ button in the viewer panel.
Tip: PDFs open with the browser's native PDF renderer, including zoom and page navigation controls. For large PDFs, the first render may take a few seconds while the secure download link is generated.
⬇️
Downloading Files
Download any file you have access to. Links expire after 120 seconds for security.
1
Hover over a file in the list to reveal the action icons on the right side of the row.
2
Click the ↓ Download icon, or click the file to open the inline viewer and then click Download in the viewer toolbar.
3
TeamVault generates a short-lived secure link and your browser begins the download immediately.
Note: Download links are valid for 120 seconds and are personal to your session. Do not share these URLs — they will expire and are not appropriate for sharing with others. Use File Sharing or Verified Downloads instead.
1
Click the name of a file to open it in the inline viewer panel.
2
In the viewer toolbar, click Copy URL. The link to this file is copied to your clipboard.
3
Send the link to your team member via Slack, email, or any messaging tool. The recipient must be a member of your workspace and signed in to TeamVault to open it.
Tip: Links open the file directly in the inline viewer. The recipient must have at least view permission on the folder the file lives in, otherwise they will see an access denied message.
Note: These links are internal vault links — they require the recipient to be logged into TeamVault. If you need to share a file with someone outside your workspace or with additional controls, use Verified Downloads.
💻
TeamVault Drive Desktop App
Sync your vault to a local folder on Windows, macOS, or Linux for offline access and background sync.
1
Download the installer from the TeamVault homepage via the Downloads menu in the navigation bar. Choose the version for your operating system.
2
Run the installer and follow the setup wizard. TeamVault Drive installs as a background service with a system tray icon.
3
On first launch, click Sign In in the TeamVault Drive window. Your browser opens an Auth0 login screen — sign in with the same account you use for the web vault.
4
TeamVault Drive lists all workspaces you belong to. For each workspace you want to sync, click Select Folder and choose a local directory on your machine. Each workspace must sync to a different local folder.
5
Click Start Sync. TeamVault Drive downloads your vault contents to the selected folder and begins watching for changes. Any file you add, edit, or delete locally is automatically synced to the vault.
Tip: The tray icon shows sync status — a spinning icon means a sync is in progress, a checkmark means everything is up to date. Right-click the tray icon to pause sync, view recent activity, or sign out.
Note: Files synced through TeamVault Drive are still subject to your workspace's permission rules. If your access to a folder is removed in the web vault, those files are removed from your local sync on the next sync cycle.
Admin Features
The following sections cover features only available to workspace administrators. Access admin settings via the Admin link in the sidebar of your vault.
✉️
Inviting Users
Add team members, clients, or contractors to your workspace by email.
1
In your vault, click Admin in the left sidebar.
2
Go to the Users tab and scroll to the Invite User panel at the bottom.
3
Enter the person's email address. Choose their role:
- Admin — full control: can invite users, manage permissions, and access all admin settings.
- Member — standard access: can view and (if enabled) upload files, but cannot manage the workspace.
4
Optionally enable Can Upload to grant the member upload permission without making them an admin.
5
Click Invite. The person's account is pre-created. The next time they sign in to TeamVault with that email address, they are automatically added to your workspace as an active member.
Tip: You do not need to send a separate invitation email — just tell the person to visit teamvault.cloud and sign in. Their account is waiting for them.
👥
Managing Users
Change roles, toggle upload access, and remove or disable users.
Changing a user's role
1
In Admin → Users, find the user in the list.
2
Click the role badge (Admin or Member) next to their name to toggle it.
Toggling upload permission
1
Find the user in Admin → Users.
2
Click the Upload toggle switch in their row to grant or revoke upload access without changing their role.
Disabling a user
1
Find the user in Admin → Users.
2
Click the Disable button next to their name. This immediately suspends their access while keeping their account record in the workspace.
3
To re-enable them later, click Enable in the same location.
Note: Disabling a user takes effect immediately — their active sessions are invalidated on the next request. Synced files on their local TeamVault Drive are removed on the next sync cycle.
🏷️
Group Permissions
Organise users into groups to manage folder access at scale.
1
In Admin, go to the Groups tab.
2
Click Create Group, enter a name (e.g. "Engineering", "Legal", "Contractors"), and confirm.
3
Click Manage Members on the new group. Search for users by name or email and click Add to include them.
4
Once your groups are set up, assign them to folders in the Folder Permissions tab (see next section). All members of the group inherit those folder permissions automatically.
Tip: Groups are the recommended way to manage access for teams larger than a few people. Instead of adding individual users to each folder, add the group once and manage membership centrally.
🔒
Folder Permissions
Control exactly which users and groups can see each folder. Permissions inherit downward through nested folders.
How it works: By default, if no access rules exist anywhere in the vault, all workspace members can see everything. The moment you add a rule to any folder, TeamVault switches to explicit-only mode for that folder and its children — only users or groups you explicitly grant access to can see that content.
1
In Admin, go to the Folder Permissions tab.
2
Select the folder you want to restrict from the folder tree on the left.
3
Click Add Rule. Choose whether to grant access to an individual User or a Group.
4
Search for the user or group by name and click Grant Access.
5
The rule is saved immediately. Any user not explicitly listed (or in a listed group) will no longer see this folder or any of its contents.
6
To remove a rule, click the ✕ button next to it in the rules list.
Tip: Permissions cascade downward. If you grant a group access to a parent folder, they automatically have access to all sub-folders inside it, unless a sub-folder has its own more restrictive rules.
Note: Admins always have access to all folders, regardless of permission rules.
🛡️
Verified Downloads
Distribute sensitive files with controlled access, download limits, expiry dates, and optional PDF watermarking.
What is a Verified Download? A Verified Download is a controlled share link for a PDF file. You define the rules — who can open it, how many times, until when — and TeamVault enforces them. Every download attempt is permanently logged with the recipient's email, IP address, and timestamp. Optionally, a personalised cover page is prepended to the PDF identifying the downloader.
Creating a Verified Download link
1
Place the PDF file inside a folder named Verified Downloads (or any sub-folder inside it). Only PDF files are supported for verified downloads.
2
Hover over the file and click the 🛡️ Share (verified link) icon, or select Create Verified Link from the ⋯ menu.
3
In the options panel, configure:
- Expiry date — the link stops working after this date.
- Max downloads — the total number of successful downloads allowed.
- Email allowlist — only these email addresses can open the link. Leave blank to allow any signed-in user.
- IP allowlist — restrict access to specific IP addresses or ranges. Leave blank to allow any IP.
- Watermark PDF — when enabled, a personalised cover page is automatically prepended to the PDF at download time (see below).
4
Click Generate Link. Copy the link and send it to the recipient by email or any other channel. The recipient does not need a TeamVault account if they are on the email allowlist — the link itself authenticates them.
PDF Watermarking
When Watermark PDF is enabled, TeamVault prepends a personalised cover page to the PDF at the moment of download. The original file is never altered. The cover page includes:
- The workspace name, folder path, and file name
- The downloader's email address
- The exact timestamp and IP address of the download
- A unique session ID for forensic tracking
- A SHA-256 checksum of the original file for integrity verification
Tip: The watermark cover page cannot be removed by the recipient — it is prepended as a separate page. Even if the cover page is deleted from a printed or exported copy, the session ID recorded in your audit log still ties the download to the recipient.
Revoking a Verified Download
1
In Admin → Verified Downloads, find the rule for the file.
2
Click Revoke. The link is immediately disabled — any future attempt to use it returns an access denied error.
🔍
Verifying Watermarks
Confirm the authenticity of a watermarked PDF and trace it back to the original download event.
If a watermarked PDF is shared externally or you receive a document and need to verify its origin, use the Verify Download tool.
1
Go to teamvault.cloud/verify or click Verify Download in the footer of the homepage.
2
Click Choose File and select the PDF you want to verify. The file is never uploaded — your browser computes its SHA-256 checksum locally and only that checksum is sent to TeamVault.
3
TeamVault looks up the checksum against all records in the verified download log.
4
If a match is found, the verify page confirms that the file is authentic and unchanged — showing the workspace and file name it originated from. This is sufficient to confirm the file is identical to what was originally distributed.
5
If no match is found, either the file was not distributed through TeamVault's verified download system, or the file was altered after download (which invalidates the checksum).
Note: The verify tool compares the watermarked version's checksum. If the cover page is removed or the PDF is modified in any way, the checksum will not match. This is by design — any tampering is detectable.
Tip: The full download record — including the recipient's email, IP address, timestamp, and session ID — is only visible to workspace admins in Admin → Verified Downloads. The public verify page only confirms authenticity, not who downloaded the file.
🗑️
Recycle Bin
Recover accidentally deleted files and folders. Items are retained for a period based on your plan before permanent deletion.
How it works: When you delete a file or folder in TeamVault, it is soft-deleted — moved to the Recycle Bin rather than immediately destroyed. Items remain recoverable until they either expire (based on your plan's retention period) or are permanently purged by an admin.
Accessing the Recycle Bin
1
In your vault, click Recycle Bin in the left sidebar. This is visible to all workspace admins.
2
Deleted items are displayed grouped by when they were deleted: Today, Yesterday, This Week, This Month, and Older.
3
Use the Search box to filter by file name, or use the type filter to show only files or only folders.
Restoring deleted items
1
Find the item you want to restore in the Recycle Bin list. Each row shows the item's original folder path, when it was deleted, and who deleted it.
2
Click the Restore button on the right side of the row.
3
The item is moved back to its original location. If a file with the same name already exists at that location, TeamVault automatically renames the restored file (e.g. report (restored).pdf) to avoid overwriting it.
Tip: When you restore a folder, all the files inside it are restored at the same time. The entire sub-tree is recovered in one operation.
Permanently deleting (purging) items
1
To free up storage space immediately, click the Delete (purge) button next to an item in the Recycle Bin. This permanently removes the file from cloud storage and cannot be undone.
2
To purge all items at once, click Empty Recycle Bin at the top of the page.
Note: Purged files are permanently destroyed from cloud storage — they cannot be recovered after this action. All version history for a purged file is also removed.
Retention periods by plan
| Plan | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Team | 30 days |
| Pro | 90 days |
| Business | 365 days |
| Enterprise | Indefinite (custom) |
| Internal | Indefinite |
Tip: Items approaching their expiry date are highlighted with a warning indicator in the Recycle Bin. Restore them before the deadline if you need to keep them.
🕐
Version History
View and restore previous versions of any file. Every upload to an existing file automatically creates a new version.
How versioning works: When a file is uploaded with the same name as an existing file in the same folder, TeamVault preserves the previous copy as a version rather than overwriting it. You can view the full history of any file, compare versions by size and checksum, and roll back to any previous version at any time.
Viewing version history
1
There are two ways to open a file's version history:
- In the file list, hover over the file, click the ⋯ (More Options) menu, and select Version History.
- In the Recycle Bin, click the History button next to a deleted file.
2
A panel slides in from the right showing all versions of the file. The current version is highlighted at the top. Each previous version shows:
- The version number (e.g. v3, v2, v1)
- The file size at that version
- The name and email of the user who uploaded it
- The upload timestamp
- The first 12 characters of the SHA-256 checksum for integrity verification
Restoring a previous version
1
In the Version History panel, find the version you want to restore.
2
Click Restore this version. The selected version becomes the new current version of the file. The previous current version is saved as a version entry, so nothing is permanently lost by a restore.
3
The file list updates immediately to reflect the restored content. Anyone who downloads the file will now receive the restored version.
Tip: Restoring a version does not delete any other versions. The full history is always preserved until you manually delete individual versions or the file is purged from the Recycle Bin.
Deleting a specific version
1
In the Version History panel, click the Delete button next to the version you want to remove.
2
The version is permanently deleted and its storage is freed. The remaining versions and the current file are unaffected.
Note: Deleting an individual version is permanent and irreversible. Only delete old versions when you are certain you no longer need them, such as when cleaning up large superseded files to reclaim storage.
Tip: The SHA-256 checksum shown on each version can be used to independently verify that a downloaded copy of the file is byte-for-byte identical to what is stored in TeamVault — useful for audit and compliance purposes.