CoLive - Real-Time Collaboration for VS Code 🚀
Next-generation, real-time collaboration extension for VS Code-compatible editors (VS Code, Cursor, VSCodium).
Work together in the same workspace on one machine's files anywhere in the world: live co-editing, remote cursors & selections, inline code comments, follow mode, session chat, shared diagnostics, and shared terminal.
⚡ Features at a Glance
- Yjs State-Based CRDTs: Offline-safe real-time collaborative text editing with instant conflict-free resolution.
- Host-Authoritative Persistence: Atomic file writes (
.tmp + rename) with fast-diff 3-way merge on external disk modifications.
- Native Virtual FileSystem (
colive:/): Remote guests explore the workspace seamlessly via VS Code's native FileSystemProvider.
- Presence & Remote Cursors: Live color-coded carets, alpha-blended selections, and accessible name tags.
- Follow Mode: Seamlessly follow another developer's editor viewport with automatic un-follow on manual caret movement.
- Threaded Inline Comments: VS Code Comments controller integration anchored with CRDT
RelativePosition to prevent comment drift.
- Integrated Sidebar Chat: Team chat with slash commands (
/who, /leave, /clear, /help) and clickable file links.
- Shared Diagnostics & Terminal: Broadcast host language diagnostics and share terminal sessions with permission control.
- End-to-End Encryption (E2EE): Authenticated WebCrypto AES-256-GCM encryption with HKDF-SHA256 key derivation.
- Zero Telemetry: No trackers, no telemetry beacons, and zero code retained on servers.
🚀 Quick Start
For Hosts (Sharing a Workspace)
- Open your project folder in VS Code, Cursor, or VSCodium.
- Click "Share" in the status bar (or press
Ctrl+Alt+L S / Cmd+Alt+L S, or run CoLive: Share Workspace (Start Session)).
- Choose guest permission: Read-Write (collaborative) or Read-Only (review mode).
- An invite link is copied to your clipboard (e.g.
colive://join/<sessionId>#secret=...). Share it with your peers!
For Guests (Joining a Session)
- Open your editor and click "Join" in the status bar (or press
Ctrl+Alt+L J / Cmd+Alt+L J, or run CoLive: Join Collaboration Session).
- Paste the invite link or Session ID.
- Once approved by the host, the shared workspace immediately opens in your editor under
colive:/!
⌨️ Default Keybindings
CoLive registers a dedicated chord prefix: Ctrl+Alt+L (Linux/Windows) or Cmd+Alt+L (macOS):
| Command |
Chord |
Action |
colive.startSession |
Ctrl+Alt+L S |
Start sharing current workspace |
colive.joinSession |
Ctrl+Alt+L J |
Join a session with link or ID |
colive.stopSession |
Ctrl+Alt+L X |
Stop hosting or leave session |
colive.followParticipant |
Ctrl+Alt+L F |
Toggle Follow Mode on selected peer |
colive.openChat |
Ctrl+Alt+L C |
Focus CoLive Team Chat |
colive.copyInviteLink |
Ctrl+Alt+L I |
Copy session invite link to clipboard |
⚙️ Configuration Settings
Customize CoLive via Settings (settings.json):
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
colive.serverUrl |
ws://localhost:8787/ws |
WebSocket URL of the CoLive relay server |
colive.displayName |
"" (System username) |
Display name visible to participants |
colive.cursorColor |
"" (Auto-assigned) |
Preferred cursor color (hex) |
colive.defaultPermission |
"readWrite" |
Default permission for joined guests (readWrite | readOnly) |
colive.followMode |
true |
Enable following when invited |
colive.showRemoteSelection |
true |
Render semi-transparent remote selections |
colive.showRemoteCursorLabels |
true |
Render name tags above remote carets |
colive.e2ee |
true |
Enable End-to-End Encryption for document & awareness updates |
colive.autoSaveHost |
true |
Persist Yjs document changes to host disk |
colive.saveDebounceMs |
500 |
Milliseconds to debounce disk writes on the host |
colive.excludePatterns |
[".env*", "**/.git/**", "**/id_rsa*", "**/node_modules/**"] |
Glob patterns strictly blocked from guest access |
🔒 Security & Privacy
- End-to-End Encryption: Document updates, awareness, and chat are encrypted using AES-256-GCM. The relay server is zero-knowledge.
- Strict Path Sandboxing: Path traversal attacks (
../) and out-of-workspace symlinks are strictly blocked by host verification.
- Sensitive File Exclusions: Excluded files (
.env*, .git, private keys) cannot be read, listed, or edited by guests.
- Zero Code Retention: Sessions run in memory; when closed, all buffers are cleared.
📄 License
MIT © CoLive Authors
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