> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://elephas.app/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Share Knowledge with Team Brains

> Create Team Brains to share your firm's documents in Elephas, pick who opens each one as Manager, Contributor or Reader, and compare them to Personal Brains.

A Team Brain is a Brain your colleagues can open too. Everyone you share it with asks the same documents and gets the same cited answers. You choose who can open each Team Brain and what they can do in it.

<Info>
  Available in **Team workspaces**. Owners and Admins create Team Brains. See [Roles and permissions](/docs/teams/team-roles-and-permissions).
</Info>

## Before you start

* You are in your Team workspace. Switch with the **Workspace** switcher at the top of the sidebar.
* To create a Team Brain, you are the Owner or an Admin.
* To share one, you are the Owner, an Admin, or that Brain's Manager.
* The people you share with have joined the Team. See [Invite members](/docs/teams/invite-team-members).

## Steps

### Create a Team Brain

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Team Brains">
    Go to **Team Settings › Team Brains**. In a Team workspace, **New Brain** (⌘B on Mac, Ctrl+B on Windows) opens this screen too.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name it">
    Under **New Team Brain**, type a **Brain name**, for example "Client Files" or "Smith v. Jones".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create it">
    Click **Create Team Brain**. You become its first Manager. The row shows "Ready. Open it from Brains to add files." once it is set up, which usually takes seconds.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add your documents">
    Open the Brain from **Brains** and add your files. See [Add files and folders](/docs/brains-and-documents/add-files-and-folders).
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Share a Team Brain

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open who has access">
    In **Team Settings › Team Brains**, open **Who has access** under the Brain's row.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a person">
    Under **Share with a member**, choose someone in **Choose a member…**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose their role">
    Click **Manager**, **Contributor** or **Reader**. Elephas confirms the share and delivers their key in the background.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Archive, restore or delete

Use the menu on the Brain's row:

* **Archive** hides the Brain from day-to-day use. Owners, Admins and the Brain's Managers can archive it, and **Restore** brings it back.
* **Delete Permanently** removes the Brain for everyone. Only the Owner can do this, and it cannot be undone.

## How it works

### Brain roles

| Role | Can do |
| - | - |
| **Reader** | Ask questions and open citations |
| **Contributor** | Everything a Reader can, plus add files |
| **Manager** | Everything a Contributor can, plus delete files, change the Brain, and share it with others |

Team roles do not give Brain access. An Owner or Admin who is not on a Brain's list can see its name in Team Brains, but cannot open its documents.

### Personal Brains and Team Brains

| | Personal Brain | Team Brain |
| - | - | - |
| **Lives in** | Your Personal workspace | Your Team workspace |
| **Who can open it** | Only you | People given a Brain role |
| **Created from** | **New Brain** in your Personal workspace | **Team Settings › Team Brains** |
| **Moves between workspaces** | No | No |

Your Personal Brains never move into the Team, and you can't ask a Personal Brain and a Team Brain in the same question. To share documents from a Personal Brain, add the files again to a Team Brain.

### Keys and new people

Every Team Brain is end-to-end encrypted with its own key. When you share a Brain, a Manager's computer delivers the key to the new person's approved computers. The row can show "Ready. Delivering the key to another device or member in the background…" while that happens. A Brain appears under **Brains** on their computer once its key arrives. The server never receives a Team Brain's name or its key.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Waiting for the identity provider to confirm this Brain">
    New Team Brains are confirmed by the sign-in service. "This usually takes seconds; it is retried in the background until it succeeds." If it stays stuck, Owners and Admins can click **Retry Stuck Provisioning**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A teammate can't see a Brain I shared">
    Their computer must be approved in **Team Devices**, and a Manager's computer must be online to deliver the key. Ask them to keep Elephas open for a minute.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="No other active members yet">
    You can only share with people who have joined. Invite them from **Members** first. See [Invite members](/docs/teams/invite-team-members).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

More fixes in [Team errors](/docs/troubleshooting/team-troubleshooting).

## Related articles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Roles and permissions" href="/docs/teams/team-roles-and-permissions" />

  <Card title="Create and manage Brains" href="/docs/brains-and-documents/create-and-manage-brains" />

  <Card title="Invite members" href="/docs/teams/invite-team-members" />

  <Card title="Ask questions about your documents" href="/docs/ask/ask-questions-about-your-documents" />
</CardGroup>


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