Instashare
Live team chat, code snippets, and file sharing — inside VS Code. Teams,
channels, direct messages, and large file transfers, without switching to a
browser or a separate desktop app.
Features
- Teams, channels, and direct messages. Create a team, add channels,
invite teammates with a single-use code, or start a 1:1 DM with anyone who
shares a team with you.
- Live messaging. Text and code messages, edits, soft deletes, and typing
indicators arrive in real time.
- Online presence. See at a glance which teammates are currently online.
- Unread badges. A numbered badge on the Activity Bar icon keeps counting
while the view is hidden, so you don't miss a mention because a panel was
collapsed.
- Share code instantly. Right-click an editor selection and send it —
language and file path included — straight into a channel or DM.
- Share files and folders. Right-click any file or folder in the Explorer,
or drag it onto a conversation. Folders are archived first.
- Big-file transfers. Files above 20 MB go peer-to-peer over WebRTC
between the two machines. If a direct connection can't be established, they
fall back to a temporary encrypted-at-rest server copy that is deleted as
soon as the recipient receives it (or after 7 days, whichever comes first).
- Safe downloads. Every received file goes through a Save As dialog.
Nothing opens, extracts, or runs on its own.
Getting started
- Click the Instashare icon in the Activity Bar.
- Run Instashare: Sign In — or Instashare: Create Account (email
confirmation required).
- Create a team, add a channel, and invite teammates from the
… menu on the
Teams view, or right-click a team for channel and invite options.
- Press
Cmd+Alt+K / Ctrl+Alt+K to jump to any channel or DM.
Commands
| Command |
What it does |
Instashare: Sign In |
Sign in with email and password. |
Instashare: Create Account |
Register a new account. |
Instashare: Sign Out |
Sign out on this machine. |
Instashare: Create Team |
Start a new team you own. |
Instashare: Join Team |
Join a team with an invite code. |
Instashare: Start Direct Message |
Open a 1:1 conversation. |
Instashare: Go to Channel or Direct Message... |
Quick-switch conversations. |
Instashare: Share Selection |
Send the current editor selection. |
Instashare: Share File |
Send a file from the Explorer. |
Instashare: Refresh |
Re-fetch teams, channels, and invitations. |
Channel, invite, and member commands appear on right-click in the Teams view.
Settings
| Setting |
What it does |
instashare.transfers.stunServers |
STUN servers used to discover a direct peer-to-peer route for large transfers. Only address discovery goes through them — no file data does. Point it at your own server if you'd rather not use a public one. |
Privacy and security model
Instashare is not end-to-end encrypted. Content is protected in transit
(TLS) and at rest (server-side encryption plus row-level access control), and
every read and write is authorized per user — but it is built for trusted team
collaboration, not for content the operator should never be able to see. If
that is a hard requirement for you, this isn't the right tool yet.
- Large peer-to-peer transfers move directly between the two machines; the
server sees only the connection setup and the transfer metadata.
- Relay-fallback copies are deleted once the recipient acknowledges receipt,
and in all cases after 7 days.
- Transfer metadata (who shared what, how big, and when) stays in the
conversation permanently, even after the bytes are gone.
- Received files are always written through a Save As dialog you control.
Requirements
- VS Code 1.125 or newer.
- An internet connection — Instashare is a hosted service, not a local-only
tool.
- An Instashare account (free; created from inside the extension).
Known limitations
- No end-to-end encryption (see above).
- No message reactions yet.
- No message pagination — only the most recent 50 messages load per
conversation.
- Peer-to-peer transfers are limited to direct messages; channel shares use
the relay path.
Support
Instashare is developed and maintained by Mohammad Joynul Abedin (Shokal).
This is an early build — expect rough edges, and please report them.
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