Time Capsules

Learn how to create, view, and manage your digital time capsules.

Create Capsule Interface

Creating a Capsule

Navigate to Create Page

From your dashboard, click "Create Capsule" or visit /capsule_create/

Fill Out the Form

Required Fields:

Title - Name your capsule (max 255 characters)
Content - Your message to the future
Unlock Date - When the capsule should unlock
Recipient Email - Who receives the email

Optional Fields:

Image - Attach a photo or image

Submit

Click "Create Capsule" to save. You'll be redirected to your dashboard.

When you create a capsule, an email is automatically scheduled for the unlock date!

Capsule Fields

Title

Maximum 255 characters
Displayed in dashboard and emails
Should be descriptive

Content

Unlimited text length
Supports line breaks
Displayed in capsule details and emails

Unlock Date

Date and time picker
Must be in the future (recommended)
Timezone-aware

Recipient Email

Valid email address required
Receives notification when capsule unlocks
Can be your own email or someone else's

Image (Optional)

Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF
Stored securely on server
Displayed in capsule details

Viewing Capsules

Dashboard View

Your dashboard shows all capsules with:

Title
Status (🔒 Locked or 🔓 Unlocked)
Creation date
Quick actions

Detail View

Click any capsule to see:

Full content
Unlock date and time
Current status
Recipient email
Attached image (if any)

Content is only visible after the unlock date passes

Capsule Status

Capsules have two states:

Locked 🔒

Before unlock date
Content hidden from view
Email not yet sent
Status shown in red/orange

Unlocked 🔓

After unlock date
Content fully visible
Email sent to recipient
Status shown in green

The status is calculated in real-time based on:

if unlock_date > current_time:
    status = "Locked"
else:
    status = "Unlocked"

Deleting Capsules

Navigate to Capsule

Go to the capsule detail page

Click Delete

Click the "Delete" button

Confirm

Confirm the deletion on the confirmation page

Deletion is permanent! The capsule, image, and recipient data will be removed.

Email Delivery

When a capsule unlocks:

Scheduled Email - Sent automatically at unlock date
Custom Template - Beautiful HTML email design
Content Included - Title, content, and link to view
Fallback - Direct send if Redis unavailable

Email Contents

The recipient receives:

Capsule title
Full content
Link to view online
Timestamp
Custom styling

Best Practices

Choose meaningful titles - Help identify capsules later
Write thoughtful content - This is for the future!
Set realistic dates - Consider when you want it delivered
Verify recipient email - Double-check the address
Add images - Make it more personal

Time Capsules

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