feat: invitation links no longer bound to an e-mail addressHEADmain

A link is redeemable by whoever opens it first, so it can be sent by any
messaging app. The address is optional (mail + label only); a link lives
7 days, fixed. Adds a Share button; see MESHBAY_DESIGN.md §3.4.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

6 files changed, 32 insertions, 28 deletions

diff --git a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/cli/members.py b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/cli/members.py
index ba68056..5d26bd0 100644
--- a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/cli/members.py
+++ b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/cli/members.py
@@ -62,18 +62,15 @@ def member(args) -> None:
         print("which is what turning the old switch off meant.")
         sys.exit(1)
 
-    if not args.target:
-        print(f"usage: meshbay-node member {sub} <username>")
-        sys.exit(1)
-
     if sub == "invite" and args.link:
-        # A link for someone who may have no account yet, bound to their
-        # address on the hub. The code and the ticket are both in it, so
-        # it goes to them and to nobody else — the CLI mails nothing.
+        # A link for someone who may have no account yet, redeemable by the
+        # first account that opens it. The code and the ticket are both in
+        # it, so it goes to them and to nobody else — the CLI mails nothing.
+        # The address, if given, only labels the link in the owner's list.
         group_id = _resolve_group(cfg, args.group)
+        query = f"?email={quote(args.target)}" if args.target else ""
         out = _daemon_api(
-            cfg, f"/api/groups/{group_id}/invite-links?email={quote(args.target)}",
-            method="POST")
+            cfg, f"/api/groups/{group_id}/invite-links{query}", method="POST")
         from meshbay_node.roster import write_code_file
         write_code_file(cfg.data_dir, out["link"], out.get("expires_at", ""),
                         name="invite-link")
@@ -81,11 +78,15 @@ def member(args) -> None:
         print(f"valid until      {out.get('expires_at', '?')}")
         print(f"cancel with      meshbay-node member cancel {out['invite_id']}")
         print()
-        print(f"Send it to {args.target} yourself. It works once, and only for an")
-        print("account registered with that address: they open it, create their")
-        print("account or sign in, and land in the group without typing a code.")
+        print("Send it yourself, by any messaging app. It works once, for seven")
+        print("days, for whoever opens it first: they create their account or")
+        print("sign in, and land in the group without typing a code.")
         return
 
+    if not args.target:
+        print(f"usage: meshbay-node member {sub} <username>")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
     if sub == "invite":
         group_id = _resolve_group(cfg, args.group)
         out = _daemon_api(
diff --git a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/cli/parser.py b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/cli/parser.py
index c1f15be..29a9f63 100644
--- a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/cli/parser.py
+++ b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/cli/parser.py
@@ -52,8 +52,8 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
                              "install|remove|start|stop|status for autostart and "
                              "for service")
     parser.add_argument("target", nargs="?",
-                        help="username for member invite|revoke|unpin (an e-mail address with "
-                             "--link, a link id for member cancel); group name "
+                        help="username for member invite|revoke|unpin (an optional e-mail label "
+                             "with --link, a link id for member cancel); group name "
                              "for group add; file id for file rm; identifier for "
                              "denylist clear; download cap for transfers set; "
                              "size in GB for transfers max-size")
@@ -73,8 +73,8 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     parser.add_argument("--group", default=None,
                         help="group id (optional if only one is configured)")
     parser.add_argument("--link", action="store_true",
-                        help="member invite: an invitation link for this e-mail "
-                             "address, for someone who may have no account yet")
+                        help="member invite: an invitation link, for someone who "
+                             "may have no account yet (valid 7 days, single use)")
     parser.add_argument("--writable", action="store_true", default=None,
                         dest="writable",
                         help="root accepts member uploads (root add/set)")
diff --git a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/hub_client.py b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/hub_client.py
index 06d3503..49bb920 100644
--- a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/hub_client.py
+++ b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/hub_client.py
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ class HubClient:
     async def create_invite_link(self, group_id: str, email: str, expires_at: str,
                                  node_invite_id: str) -> dict:
         """
-        The hub's half of an invitation link: a ticket bound to `email`.
+        The hub's half of an invitation link: a ticket, labelled `email` if any.
 
         Never with `send_email`: the hub refuses mail to a node token, and the
         CLI mails nothing — the operator sends the link (docs/USERGUIDE.md §7).
diff --git a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/ops/members.py b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/ops/members.py
index 2fd3899..b5da9c0 100644
--- a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/ops/members.py
+++ b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/ops/members.py
@@ -159,15 +159,13 @@ async def create_link_invite(state: dict, group_id: str, *,
 
     Nothing is registered on the hub here, unlike `create_invite`: there is no
     account to register yet. The hub half is a ticket the inviter's client asks
-    the hub for, bound to the invitee's address (docs/MESHBAY_DESIGN.md §7.3).
+    the hub for, redeemable by the first account that opens the link
+    (docs/MESHBAY_DESIGN.md §7.3). Seven days, whatever `invite_ttl_hours` says.
     """
     roster = _roster(state)
     _group_ctx(state, group_id)
-    config = state.get("config")
-    ttl = (config.node.invite_ttl_hours if config else 168) * 3600
     try:
-        code, invite_id, expires = await roster.create_link_invite(
-            group_id, created_by, ttl=ttl)
+        code, invite_id, expires = await roster.create_link_invite(group_id, created_by)
     except LinkInviteLimit as e:
         raise OpError(str(e), status=429) from e
     log.info("Invitation link issued: group=%s invite=%s", group_id[:8], invite_id[:8])
@@ -199,11 +197,12 @@ def _invite_url(hub_url: str, group_id: str, ticket: str, node_pk_b64: str, code
     return f"{origin}/#/invite?v=1&g={group_id}&t={ticket}&n={n}&c={code}"
 
 
-async def create_link_invitation(state: dict, group_id: str, email: str, *,
+async def create_link_invitation(state: dict, group_id: str, email: str = "", *,
                                  created_by: str = "local-cli") -> dict:
     """
     A whole invitation link, from the operator's own machine: the node's code,
-    then the hub's ticket bound to `email`, then the link.
+    then the hub's ticket, then the link. `email` is optional and only labels
+    the link in the owner's list.
 
     In that order because the ticket names the code's handle. A ticket the hub
     refuses takes the code back with it — a code nobody can reach the node with
@@ -211,8 +210,8 @@ async def create_link_invitation(state: dict, group_id: str, email: str, *,
     the operator sends the link.
     """
     email = (email or "").strip()
-    if "@" not in email:
-        raise OpError("An invitation link is bound to an e-mail address", status=422)
+    if email and "@" not in email:
+        raise OpError("Not an e-mail address", status=422)
     hub = _hub(state)
     sk_node = state.get("sk_node")
     if sk_node is None:
diff --git a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/roster.py b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/roster.py
index 80bf16d..8144373 100644
--- a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/roster.py
+++ b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/roster.py
@@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ CODE_LEN = 8                      # 8 × 5 bits = 40 bits of entropy
 # node-wide lockout.
 DEFAULT_INVITE_TTL = 7 * 24 * 3600   # seconds — member invitations
 DEFAULT_PAIR_TTL = 24 * 3600         # seconds — operator pairing
+# An invitation link is a bearer secret that may travel through any messaging
+# service, so its lifetime is fixed rather than the operator's setting: the
+# hub clamps its ticket to the same seven days.
+LINK_INVITE_TTL = 7 * 24 * 3600
 # A device-add code is read off one screen and typed into another, in one
 # sitting. An hour is comfort, not security: the code is bound to the requesting
 # keys by its hash, so a longer window widens nothing an attacker can use.
@@ -1109,7 +1113,7 @@ class Roster:
         return code
 
     async def create_link_invite(
-        self, group_id: str, created_by: str, ttl: int = DEFAULT_INVITE_TTL,
+        self, group_id: str, created_by: str, ttl: int = LINK_INVITE_TTL,
     ) -> tuple[str, str, str]:
         """
         Issue a code bound to no account: `(code, invite_id, expires_at)`.
diff --git a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/ui/app.py b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/ui/app.py
index eabe97a..090eb21 100644
--- a/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/ui/app.py
+++ b/packages/meshbay-node/src/meshbay_node/ui/app.py
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ def create_ui_app(state: dict) -> FastAPI:
     # Both halves, node and hub, for the CLI: an operator at the machine gets a
     # whole link, not a code without a ticket.
     @app.post("/api/groups/{group_id}/invite-links")
-    async def create_link_invite(group_id: str, email: str):
+    async def create_link_invite(group_id: str, email: str = ""):
         return await _op(lambda: ops.create_link_invitation(state, group_id, email))
 
     @app.delete("/api/groups/{group_id}/invite-links/{invite_id}")