User Guide
Introduction
Who is Parsec for?
The Zero-Trust model
Key features
📂 Secure virtual drive on your computer
🗓️ Never lose your data
🔐 Client-side cryptographic security
✒️ Cryptographic signatures
🤝 Simplified enrollment
🧑💻 Easy to self-host
Install Parsec
Install Parsec app
Update Parsec app
Install an older version of Parsec
Create an organization
Create an organization on Parsec
Create an organization on Trial
Create an organization on my own Parsec server
First steps with Parsec
Manage your organization
Invite a user
Invite a user by email address
Invite a user by join request
Revoke a user
User profiles
External profile
Member profile
Administrator profile
Change the profile
Join an organization
Join an organization with an invitation link
Start the invitation process
Verify your identity with a code exchange
Set up your account
Join an organization with a join request
Request to join the organization
Parsec workspaces
Create a workspace
Share a workspace
Workspace roles
Copy user roles to another user
Browse workspace history and restore files
Archive a workspace
Delete a workspace
Files and folders
Importing files
Using the import button
Using drag and drop
The import window
Working with files and folders
Creating a folder
Deleting files
Renaming files
Copying files
Moving files
Share a link to a file
File explorer integration
Opening a file
Using an external application
Using Parsec preview
Recent documents
Manage your devices
Add a new device
Recovery files
Create a recovery files
Use a recovery file to get back access
Multi-factor authentication
Why enable MFA?
Trade-off: Security benefits and usability
How to enable MFA
Log in with MFA
Recovering access when the authenticator app is lost
Reset your MFA
Security best practices
How to prevent data loss
What is data loss?
How Parsec helps me reducing the risk of data loss
How can I reduce the risk of data loss?
How to prevent data leaks
What are data leaks?
How Parsec helps me reducing the risk of data leaks
How can I reduce the risk of data leaks?
How to verify a Parsec link
What is a Parsec link?
What should I verify in a Parsec link?
How to enable web browser storage
Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Troubleshooting
Cannot login to my Organization
Check your login method
Check your MFA setup
Recover your session using a Recovery file
Contact an administrator
Consider revocation and re-joining the organization
Cannot login to my Customer Area (Parsec SaaS)
MacOS Finder errors
Microsoft Word or similar software says the file name is too long
Where to find Parsec logs
Accessing logs from Parsec
Log files locations
Hosting Guide
Introduction
Parsec CLI
Application Architecture
Overview
Key Parsec components
Key Parsec concepts
Security Model
Data security perimeter
Client-side encryption
Server Deployment
Deployment options
Prerequisites
System Requirements
Preparation
TLS certificates
Set up the env files
Deploy with Docker
Additional Requirements
The Docker Compose file
Starting the services
Initial configuration
Deploy with Linux
Additional Requirements
Set up
Installation
Start the server
Start using Parsec Server
Create an Organization
Running behind a reverse proxy
TLS Recommendation
TLS Server configuration
Client Deployment
Parsec client applications
Distribution channels & updates
🖥️ Parsec Desktop App
🌐 Parsec Web App
Authentication
The device file
Supported authentication methods
MFA (TOTP)
Offline login
Release schedule
Privacy
Server Maintenance
Backup and restore
Notes on consistency
PostgreSQL database
Object storage (S3)
Upgrade Parsec Server
Downgrade Parsec Server
Server Administration
Server usage statistics
Organization usage statistics
Freeze users
HTTP
/users
route
HTTP
/users/freeze
route
HTTP Error handling
Note on user identification
Shared recovery
Overview
Shared recovery creation
Recover access with shared recovery
An example scenario
MFA setup reset
Sequester service
Security considerations
Requirements
Authority key
Create and bootstrap organization with sequester authority
Sequester service key and certificate
Enable sequester service
Exporting data with sequester service
Using exported data
Parsec customization
Native app
Web app
Images
Texts
Server emails & HTML pages
Development
History
Parsec v3.x
Parsec v3.9.0 (2026-05-21)
Parsec v3.8.1 (2026-03-17)
Parsec v3.8.0 (2026-03-09)
Parsec v3.7.10 (2026-04-23)
Parsec v3.7.1 (2025-12-11)
Parsec v3.7.0 (2025-11-28)
Parsec v3.6.1 (2025-11-14)
Parsec v3.5.2 (2025-10-21)
Parsec v3.5.1 (2025-10-21)
Parsec v3.5.0 (2025-09-18)
Parsec v3.4.0 (2025-06-11)
Parsec v3.3.2 (2025-03-04)
Parsec v3.3.1 (2025-03-04)
Parsec v3.3.0 (2025-02-25)
Parsec v3.2.4 (2025-01-21)
Parsec v3.2.3 (2024-12-18)
Parsec v3.2.2 (2024-12-16)
Parsec v3.2.1 (2024-12-03)
Parsec v3.2.0 (2024-11-22)
Parsec v3.1.0 (2024-10-15)
Parsec v3.0.3 (2024-10-03)
Parsec v3.0.2 (2024-10-01)
Parsec v3.0.1 (2024-09-26)
Parsec v3.0.0 (2024-09-18)
Parsec v2.x
Parsec v2.17.0 (2024-02-13)
Parsec v2.16.3 (2023-12-01)
Parsec v2.16.2 (2023-11-28)
Parsec v2.16.1 (2023-11-13)
Parsec v2.16.0 (2023-10-31)
Parsec v2.15.0 (2022-12-12)
Parsec v2.14.1 (2022-11-24)
Parsec v2.14.0 (2022-11-10)
Parsec v2.13.0 (2022-10-19)
Parsec v2.12.1 (2022-09-13)
Parsec v2.12.0 (2022-09-08)
Parsec v2.11.1 (2022-08-16)
Parsec v2.11.0 (2022-08-01)
Parsec v2.10.0 (2022-06-30)
Parsec v2.9.2 (2022-05-23)
Parsec v2.9.1 (2022-05-23)
Parsec v2.9.0 (2022-05-20)
Parsec v2.8.1 (2022-04-08)
Parsec v2.8.0 (2022-04-06)
Parsec v2.7.0 (2022-04-01)
Parsec v2.6.0 (2021-11-09)
Parsec v2.5.5 (2021-09-30)
Parsec v2.5.4 (2021-09-21)
Parsec v2.5.3 (2021-09-10)
Parsec v2.5.2 (2021-09-08)
Parsec v2.5.1 (2021-09-02)
Parsec v2.5.0 (2021-09-02)
Parsec v2.4.2 (2021-07-06)
Parsec v2.4.1 (2021-06-29)
Parsec v2.4.0 (2021-06-29)
Parsec v2.3.1 (2021-05-10)
Parsec v2.3.0 (2021-05-04)
Parsec v2.2.4 (2021-03-18)
Parsec v2.2.3 (2021-01-29)
Parsec v2.2.2 (2020-12-15)
Parsec v2.2.1 (2020-12-15)
Parsec v2.2.0 (2020-12-14)
Parsec v2.1.0 (2020-10-08)
Parsec v2.0.0 (2020-09-03)
Parsec v1.x
Parsec v1.15.2 (2020-09-02)
Parsec v1.15.0 (2020-08-29)
Parsec v1.14.0 (2020-08-06)
Parsec 1.13.0 (2020-04-29)
Parsec 1.12.0 (2020-04-14)
Parsec 1.11.4 (2020-03-31)
Parsec 1.11.3 (2020-03-31)
Parsec 1.11.2 (2020-03-31)
Parsec 1.11.1 (2020-03-31)
Parsec 1.11.0 (2020-03-30)
Parsec 1.10.0 (2020-03-26)
Parsec 1.9.1 (2020-03-13)
Parsec 1.9.0 (2020-03-06)
Parsec 1.8.0 (2020-03-03)
Parsec 1.7.2 (2020-02-24)
Parsec 1.7.1 (2020-02-24)
Parsec 1.7.0 (2020-02-22)
Parsec 1.6.0 (2020-02-12)
Parsec 1.5.0 (2020-01-20)
Parsec 1.4.0 (2019-12-06)
Parsec 1.3.0 (2019-11-28)
Parsec 1.2.1 (2019-11-20)
Parsec 1.2.0 (2019-11-15)
Parsec 1.1.2 (2019-10-22)
Parsec 1.1.1 (2019-10-21)
Parsec 1.1.0 (2019-10-21)
Parsec 1.0.2 (2019-10-01)
Parsec 1.0.1 (2019-09-25)
Parsec 1.0.0 (2019-09-10)
Parsec Documentation
Troubleshooting
Edit on GitHub
Troubleshooting
Cannot login to my Organization
Cannot login to my Customer Area (Parsec SaaS)
MacOS Finder errors
Microsoft Word or similar software says the file name is too long
Where to find Parsec logs