Building Together: Introducing Real-Time Collaboration in CodeTorch

Today, we are thrilled to announce the public release of Real-Time Collaboration, a powerful new service built directly into the CodeTorch platform. From the beginning, CodeTorch was designed to push the boundaries of visual coding with the TurboWarp engine, expanded limits, and an optional AI assistant. Now, we're taking the next major step by transforming creation from a solo activity into a shared, live experience.

This release marks a significant milestone in our mission to build the most powerful and accessible platform for creators of all skill levels.

A Seamless Collaborative Environment

CodeTorch’s Real-Time Collaboration connects multiple users in a single, feature-rich workspace, boosting productivity and making teamwork seamless. Whether you're pair-programming, teaching a class, or just building a project with a friend, you can now work together in the same editor, at the same time.

Key collaboration features include:

• Live Cursors and Presence: See your collaborators’ cursors move in real-time. User icons appear on sprites and tabs, so you always know who is working on what, and where.
• Synchronized Block Editing: Drag, drop, and edit block scripts together. All changes are instantly reflected for every participant in the session.
• Shared Asset Editing: For the first time, you can co-create costumes and sounds. Our system includes intelligent asset-locking, so when one person opens the Paint or Sound Editor, others see the changes live without creating conflicts.
• Integrated In-Editor Chat: Communicate instantly without leaving the editor. Simply start typing to display a temporary chat bubble next to your cursor for quick questions and coordination.
  

Availability and Getting Started

We believe collaboration should be a core part of the creative process. That's why we're making this feature accessible to everyone.

⭐ Real-Time Collaboration is built directly into CodeTorch and is available for all users, for free, starting today.

Getting started is simple:

1. Open Your Project: Start by opening an existing project or creating a new one on CodeTorch.
2. Navigate to the Project Page: From the editor, go to the project's community page.
3. Add Collaborators: Click the "Update Collaborators" button and add your friends by their CodeTorch usernames. This grants them permission to edit.
4. Build Together: Your friends can now access the project using its regular URL. Once they join, their cursors will appear in the editor and you can start creating together live!

There are no special plans or plugins required.

The Technical Foundation

To deliver a smooth and reliable experience, our collaboration service is built on a powerful technical foundation. We use Yjs, a high-performance CRDT framework, to merge edits from multiple users without conflicts or data loss. Communication is handled via a low-latency WebSocket connection, ensuring that all actions—from moving a block to drawing a pixel—are synchronized instantly across all sessions.

What's Next?

This release is just the beginning for collaboration in CodeTorch. Our team is already working on the next wave of improvements, including:

• Further performance optimizations for large, multi-user sessions.
• More granular presence indicators and session management tools.
• Deeper integration with project sharing and community features.

We are committed to making CodeTorch the best place to create, learn, and now, collaborate. We're incredibly excited to see what you will build together.

Try it now and let us know what you think!

• Try the Editor: https://codetorch.net/projects/editor
• Join the Community:
  • Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CodeTorch/
  • Discord: https://discord.gg/pnjD8GGcY6