> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://paperplane-justin-winter-s-projects.vercel.app/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cancel & track

> Cancel a letter before it prints, and track it live with a shareable link.

## Cancel a letter

You can cancel before the letter is handed to the carrier — i.e. while the status is `pending_payment`, `screening`, `held_for_review`, or `draft`. A cancel releases any payment hold; nothing prints.

### The rule: order-id alone is not enough

Because there are no accounts, cancellation needs the signed **cancel\_token** minted at order creation (see [Core concepts](/docs/concepts)). Two options:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash API — DELETE /v1/orders/{id} theme={null}
  curl -X DELETE https://sendpaperplane.com/v1/orders/ord_123 \
    -H 'X-Capability-Token: ppc_...'      # from order creation's capability
  ```

  ```bash Web — order page theme={null}
  Open your order page, select Cancel this letter, confirm.
  The button only appears while the order is cancelable, and only on
  the device that sent it (the token lives in local storage).
  ```
</CodeGroup>

When it's already `submitted`/`mailed`/`delivered`, cancellation returns `409 too_late` — the letter is in the pipe.

## Track a letter

Every mailed order has a USPS tracking number. Two ways to view the timeline:

* **Order page** (`/orders/{id}`) — the sender's private view.
* **Public tracking** (`/track/{trackingNumber}`) — a clean, no-login timeline + flight path you can share with the recipient or your lawyer. Certified pieces show the same proof page.

```bash theme={null}
curl https://sendpaperplane.com/track/9400111111111111111111
# public HTML page — the timeline of pending_payment → screening → submitted → mailed → delivered
```

## Combine with webhooks

For programmatic status, prefer a **webhook** (see [Delivery webhooks](/docs/guides/webhooks)): pass `webhook_url` at order creation and get pushed on each transition instead of polling.