Exclusive Content
Attach files to an artwork that only its holders can open on mallow, and see how holders unlock them.
Exclusive content is one or more files attached to an artwork that only the artwork's holders can open on mallow. Everyone else sees a preview image and a locked button.
Creators use it for things like a high-resolution file, a process video, a PDF book, an audio track or a 3D model that comes with the artwork.
For Creators
What You Can Attach
| Limit | |
|---|---|
| File types | Images (JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP), video (MP4, MOV, WebM), audio (MP3, WAV, OGG, M4A), 3D models (GLB), HTML and PDF |
| File size | 100 MB per file |
| Number of files | One or several. Several files are bundled into a single zip that holders download |
| Preview | Required. One image (JPEG, PNG, GIF or WebP), up to 5 MB |
Other file types, such as zip archives or design source files, aren't accepted.
The preview is public. Anyone who opens the artwork page can see it, so choose an image that shows what the content is without giving it away.
Which Artworks Support It
- Metaplex Core only. Once you add exclusive content, Metaplex Legacy is disabled on the details step and the note reads Exclusive content requires using Metaplex Core
- 1/1 artworks and editions. For an edition you attach the content to the master edition, and holders of any print can open it
- Not individual prints. A print always uses its master edition's content
Attaching It When You Mint
Exclusive content is the second step of minting a 1/1 or an edition, right after you upload the artwork. See minting for the full flow.
Sign In
If the step reads Please sign in to manage Exclusive Content, click Sign in and sign the message in your wallet. Signing is free and sends no transaction.
Add the Files
Under Add Exclusive Content, drop in your files. To reuse something you uploaded before, click Or select from previously uploaded.
Add the Preview
Under Add Preview, upload the public preview image.
Continue
Click Next. The files upload, and the rest of the mint continues as usual. If you leave the step empty, the button reads Skip and nothing is attached.
Changing It Later
Open the artwork's options menu, choose Edit artwork and go to the Exclusive content step. From there you can add content to a Core artwork that has none, or replace what is attached. The change is saved with the update transaction at the end of the edit.
You can only attach content that you uploaded yourself.
For Holders
An artwork with exclusive content shows a box on its page that reads Exclusive content available, next to the preview image.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Connect wallet | You aren't signed in |
| A locked View or Download button | You're signed in, but no wallet on your account holds the artwork |
| Authenticate and view or Authenticate and download | You hold the artwork. Sign a message with your wallet to prove it's yours |
| View or Download | You hold the artwork and have already signed |
A single file opens in mallow's full-screen viewer. Several files download as one zip.
What Proves You Hold It
mallow checks the blockchain for the current owner of the artwork and compares it with the wallets linked to your mallow account. You have access if:
- one of your wallets holds the artwork, or
- the artwork is an edition and one of your wallets holds any print of it, or
- one of your wallets is the artwork's update authority, which is normally its creator
Signing the message is free and proves you control the wallet. No transaction is sent.
Selling or Transferring
Access follows the artwork. When you sell or transfer it, the new holder can open the content and you no longer can. It can take a few minutes for mallow to notice a change of owner.
Anything you already downloaded stays on your device.
What "Locked" Means
- The files are not on the blockchain or on IPFS. They're stored privately by mallow. The artwork's on-chain data holds only a reference to them
- Access is checked by mallow. Each time a holder opens the content, mallow confirms they hold the artwork and issues a download link that expires after about a minute
- It works on mallow. Other marketplaces and wallets show the artwork but have no way to open the exclusive content
- It is not copy protection. A holder who has opened a file can save it and share it. Selling the artwork later doesn't remove their copy
- It depends on mallow. If mallow's storage is unavailable, the content can't be opened
Don't attach secrets
Treat exclusive content as a bonus for holders. Don't use it for passwords, private keys, redeem codes meant for one person, or anything that would cause harm if a past holder kept a copy.
If Something Goes Wrong
- A file is rejected. It's over the size limit or not one of the accepted types.
- Thumbnail required. You added files without a preview image.
- This exclusive content isn't available in your uploaded content library. The content was uploaded from a different wallet. Remove it or pick a replacement before continuing.
- The button stays locked after you buy. Wait a few minutes and reload. Make sure the wallet that holds the artwork is the one you're signed in with, or is linked to the same mallow account.
- Failed to fetch content. Reload the page and try again. Download links are short-lived, so an old tab can fail.
Airdrop
Print editions from a master edition straight into other wallets, or send a 1/1, without listing anything for sale.
Physical Artworks
How a sale on mallow can include a physical artwork: what the seller sets up, how the collector qualifies and sends shipping details, and who is responsible for delivery.