Shelves
Shelves are collections of links organized by category. They help you gather, organize, and share the resources that matter to you — from social profiles to project documentation to inspiration galleries.
What Are Shelves?
Section titled “What Are Shelves?”A Shelf is a curated collection of links. Think of it as a bookmarks folder that you can share with others. Each Shelf has a theme or purpose, and contains links organized into categories.
Shelves appear as tiles on your canvas, providing quick access to your organized resources.
Shelf Structure
Section titled “Shelf Structure”Shelf Identity
Section titled “Shelf Identity”Each Shelf has:
- Title: A clear name that describes the Shelf’s purpose
- Description: Additional context about what the Shelf contains
- Icon: A visual identifier (optional)
- Color: For visual organization on the canvas (optional)
These elements help you quickly identify and navigate between Shelves.
Link Categories
Section titled “Link Categories”Shelves organize links into categories:
Social
Section titled “Social”Links to your social media profiles:
- Twitter/X
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Other social platforms
Use the social category to create a centralized hub for your online presence.
Portfolio
Section titled “Portfolio”Links to your professional work:
- Personal website
- Design portfolio
- GitHub repositories
- Behance or Dribbble profiles
- Published articles
- Case studies
Use the portfolio category to showcase your work and accomplishments.
Resource
Section titled “Resource”Links to useful tools, documentation, and references:
- Documentation sites
- Tutorial collections
- Tool dashboards
- Reference materials
- Research papers
- Inspiration galleries
Use the resource category to organize materials you reference frequently.
Custom
Section titled “Custom”Links that don’t fit the predefined categories:
- Project-specific resources
- Team collaboration tools
- Client deliverables
- Personal interests
- Anything else
Use custom categories to organize links in whatever way makes sense for your needs.
Creating and Managing Shelves
Section titled “Creating and Managing Shelves”Creating a Shelf
Section titled “Creating a Shelf”To create a new Shelf:
- Click “New Shelf” on your canvas
- Choose a title and description
- Optionally select an icon and color
- Start adding links
The Shelf appears immediately on your canvas.
Adding Links
Section titled “Adding Links”To add a link to a Shelf:
- Open the Shelf
- Choose a category (social, portfolio, resource, or custom)
- Enter the link details:
- Title: Display name for the link
- URL: The web address
- Description: What the link is for (optional)
- Save the link
Links appear in the Shelf organized by category.
Editing Links
Section titled “Editing Links”To update a link:
- Open the Shelf
- Find the link you want to edit
- Click the edit button
- Update the title, URL, or description
- Save your changes
Removing Links
Section titled “Removing Links”To remove a link:
- Open the Shelf
- Find the link you want to remove
- Click the delete button
- Confirm the deletion
Removed links are permanently deleted.
Reordering Links
Section titled “Reordering Links”Links within a category can be reordered:
- Open the Shelf
- Drag links to reorder them
- The new order is saved automatically
Use ordering to prioritize important links or create a logical flow.
Shelf Use Cases
Section titled “Shelf Use Cases”Personal Link Hub
Section titled “Personal Link Hub”Create a Shelf with all your important links:
- Social profiles in the social category
- Portfolio and work samples in the portfolio category
- Frequently used tools in the resource category
- Personal projects in custom categories
Share this Shelf when introducing yourself or networking.
Project Resources
Section titled “Project Resources”Create a Shelf for each project:
- Documentation links
- Design files
- Collaboration tools
- Client deliverables
- Reference materials
Share the Shelf with team members to ensure everyone has access to key resources.
Learning Collections
Section titled “Learning Collections”Create Shelves for topics you’re learning:
- Tutorial series
- Documentation sites
- Example projects
- Community forums
- Tool downloads
Organize learning resources so you can find them when you need them.
Team Onboarding
Section titled “Team Onboarding”Create a Shelf for new team members:
- Company handbook
- Tool access
- Team directories
- Process documentation
- Training materials
Share the Shelf with new hires to give them a centralized resource hub.
Client Handoff
Section titled “Client Handoff”Create a Shelf for client projects:
- Project deliverables
- Documentation
- Access credentials (via secure links)
- Support resources
- Future roadmap
Share the Shelf with clients to provide a single source of truth for project resources.
Sharing Shelves
Section titled “Sharing Shelves”Shelves can be shared with others:
Public Shelves
Section titled “Public Shelves”Make a Shelf public to share it with anyone:
- The Shelf is visible to anyone with the link
- No login required to view
- Useful for portfolios, resource collections, and public profiles
Private Shelves
Section titled “Private Shelves”Keep a Shelf private for personal use:
- Only you can see the Shelf
- Useful for personal bookmarks, work-in-progress collections, and sensitive resources
Shared with Specific People
Section titled “Shared with Specific People”Share a Shelf with specific individuals or teams:
- Choose who can view the Shelf
- Useful for project resources, team onboarding, and collaboration
Embedding
Section titled “Embedding”Shelves can be embedded in other contexts:
- Office canvases (shared team resources)
- Room descriptions (relevant links for discussion topics)
- External websites (via embed code)
This makes Shelves a flexible tool for organizing and sharing links across contexts.
Best Practices
Section titled “Best Practices”Name Shelves Clearly
Section titled “Name Shelves Clearly”Choose titles that make the Shelf’s purpose obvious. “Design Resources” is better than “Links.” “Client Project - Acme Corp” is better than “Acme.”
Use Categories Intentionally
Section titled “Use Categories Intentionally”Don’t dump all links into custom categories. Use the predefined categories (social, portfolio, resource) when they fit. This makes Shelves easier to scan.
Add Descriptions
Section titled “Add Descriptions”Include descriptions for links, especially if the title isn’t self-explanatory. “Figma file” is less helpful than “Figma file - Homepage redesign mockups.”
Keep Shelves Focused
Section titled “Keep Shelves Focused”Don’t try to put everything in one Shelf. Create separate Shelves for distinct purposes. It’s easier to navigate multiple focused Shelves than one cluttered Shelf.
Review and Prune
Section titled “Review and Prune”Periodically review your Shelves and remove outdated links. Dead links and irrelevant resources reduce the value of a Shelf.
Use Ordering
Section titled “Use Ordering”Put the most important or frequently accessed links at the top of each category. This saves time and makes Shelves more useful.
Share Generously
Section titled “Share Generously”Don’t hoard useful Shelves. If you’ve organized resources that would help others, share them. Shelves are most valuable when they’re shared.
Technical Details
Section titled “Technical Details”Data Model
Section titled “Data Model”Each Shelf includes:
- Unique identifier
- Title and description
- Icon and color (optional)
- Owner user ID
- Visibility setting (public, private, shared)
- Position on canvas (x, y coordinates)
- Links array, each containing:
- Title
- URL
- Description (optional)
- Category (social, portfolio, resource, custom)
- Order within category
- Timestamps (created, updated)
Link Validation
Section titled “Link Validation”When adding links, Flowstate validates:
- URL format (must be a valid web address)
- URL accessibility (checks if the link is reachable)
- Title presence (required field)
Invalid links are flagged and must be corrected before saving.
Storage
Section titled “Storage”Shelf data is stored in MongoDB:
- Shelf metadata (title, description, settings)
- Links as embedded array within the Shelf document
This structure allows fast retrieval and flexible querying.
Sharing and Permissions
Section titled “Sharing and Permissions”Shelf sharing is controlled by:
- Visibility setting (public, private, shared)
- Share list (user IDs with access)
- Embed settings (allow/disallow embedding)
Permissions are checked on every access to ensure security.
Integration with Other Features
Section titled “Integration with Other Features”Shelves integrate with other Flowstate features:
Canvas
Section titled “Canvas”Shelves appear as tiles on your personal canvas and can be positioned anywhere.
Offices
Section titled “Offices”Shelves can be added to Office canvases, providing shared resource collections for teams.
Passport
Section titled “Passport”Link your Shelves in your Passport to showcase your work and resources.
Reference Shelves in Room discussions to share relevant resources with participants.
Future Enhancements
Section titled “Future Enhancements”Planned improvements to Shelves include:
- Link previews with thumbnails and metadata
- Automatic link categorization using AI
- Duplicate link detection
- Link health monitoring (detect broken links)
- Import from browser bookmarks
- Export to various formats (HTML, JSON, CSV)
- Collaborative Shelves with multiple editors
- Link analytics (track views and clicks)
- Tags and advanced filtering
- Search across all Shelves
Shelves are a simple but powerful tool for organizing and sharing links. By providing structure and shareability, they turn scattered bookmarks into valuable, organized resources.