Open Pair

Real-time collaborative editing between VS Code and Neovim (or VS Code and VS Code) with no Microsoft account required. Uses direct TCP connections with AES-256-GCM end-to-end encryption — optionally exposed over the internet via SSH tunnels (localhost.run, serveo) or ngrok. Neovim interop via live-share.nvim.

Supported combinations

Features

Compatible editors

Works in any VS Code-compatible editor:

• VS Code 1.85+
• VSCodium (open-source build without telemetry)
• Cursor
• Windsurf
• Google Antigravity

Requirements

• A compatible editor (see above)
• To join a Neovim session: live-share.nvim running as host
• To use a tunnel: ssh in PATH (for localhost.run / serveo) or ngrok CLI

Usage

Joining a session (VS Code as guest)

Works when the host is either another VS Code instance or a Neovim session running live-share.nvim.

1. Get the share URL from the host (e.g. tcp://1.2.3.4:9876#key=... or host.example.com:80#key=...)
2. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Open Pair: Join Session
3. Paste the URL and enter your display name
4. Use Open Pair: Open Workspace File to browse the remote file tree
5. Use Open Pair: Toggle Follow Mode to follow a peer's cursor
6. Use Open Pair: Show Peers to see who is connected
7. Run Open Pair: Stop Session to disconnect

Hosting a session (VS Code as host)

VS Code and Neovim guests can join the same session simultaneously.

1. Open a folder or workspace in VS Code
2. Run Open Pair: Start Hosting from the Command Palette
3. Enter your display name and port (default: 9876)
4. Choose a tunnel provider or None for local network only
5. The share URL is automatically copied to your clipboard
6. Share the URL — guests can join from VS Code or Neovim
7. Approve or deny each incoming connection (read-write or read-only)
8. Run Open Pair: Stop Session to end the session

URL formats

Tunnel providers

Limitations

• Neovim compatibility: requires live-share.nvim with protocol version 3+
• Single workspace folder: only the first workspace folder is shared when hosting
• No offline mode: an active network connection is required
• Tunnel reliability: third-party tunnels (serveo, localhost.run) may be unreliable or unavailable; for stable use prefer ngrok or a direct connection

Troubleshooting

Connection times out or never connects

• Check that the port is open in any firewall on the host machine
• If using a tunnel, wait a few seconds for it to establish before sharing the URL
• Try a different tunnel provider — serveo and localhost.run can be flaky

"No encryption key found in URL"

• The #key=... fragment must be present in the URL. Make sure it wasn't stripped by your messaging app (some apps remove URL fragments)

Files appear garbled (wrong encoding)

• This can happen with UTF-16 LE files on Windows. Update to v0.1.8+

Cursor of remote peer doesn't appear

• The remote file must be open in an editor tab (not just in the file tree)

Debug info

• Run Open Pair: Debug Info from the Command Palette to dump session state, transport mode, and peer list to an output channel

Development

git clone https://github.com/darkerthanblack2000/open-pair
cd open-pair
npm install
npm run compile   # single build
npm run watch     # rebuild on save
npm run typecheck # type-check without building
npm run lint      # ESLint
npm run format    # Prettier

Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for more details.

License

MIT — see LICENSE