CollabCode brings invite-only collaborative coding to VS Code with shared scratch documents, room chat, live cursors, and teacher-led session controls.
Best Fit
Classroom labs and live teaching sessions
Mentoring, interview practice, and code walkthroughs
Pair programming in temporary rooms
Lightweight collaboration without leaving VS Code
What You Get
Hosted-first setup with no backend configuration required for the default experience
Invite-only rooms with separate teacher and student tokens
Shared scratch documents seeded from the active editor's file name, language, and contents
Live cursor and selection sharing
Room chat inside VS Code
Teacher mode for read-only sessions and collaboration mode for shared editing
Automatic reconnect behavior when the network drops temporarily
Install
Install CollabCode from the VS Code Marketplace or from a VSIX package.
Optionally set your display name in collabCode.userName.
Run CollabCode: Create Room to start a session or CollabCode: Join Room to enter one.
Create a Session
Open the file you want to use as the starting point for the room.
Run CollabCode: Create Room.
Enter a room ID and your display name.
CollabCode copies the student invite token to your clipboard and shows both invite tokens in a document.
Share only the student invite token with collaborators.
Join a Session
Run CollabCode: Join Room.
Paste the teacher or student invite token.
Enter your display name.
CollabCode opens the shared session in a dedicated scratch document and connects you to the room sidebar.
Commands
CollabCode: Create Room - Create a new collaboration room from the current editor context.
CollabCode: Join Room - Join an existing room with a teacher or student invite token.
CollabCode: Leave Room - Disconnect from the active room.
CollabCode: Set Teacher Mode - Make the room read-only for students.
CollabCode: Set Collaboration Mode - Allow everyone in the room to edit.
CollabCode: Copy Room ID - Copy the current room ID to the clipboard.
CollabCode: Send Chat Message - Send a message to the room chat.
CollabCode: Open Getting Started - Open the built-in onboarding panel.
Settings
collabCode.serverUrl - Override the default hosted backend URL for self-hosted deployments.
collabCode.userName - Persist your preferred display name.
collabCode.lastRoomId - Store the last room ID used as a convenience for future sessions.
collabCode.shareCursor - Enable or disable cursor sharing.
Hosted and Self-Hosted Use
CollabCode points to the hosted backend by default:
https://code-collab-5qo3.onrender.com
If you self-host the backend, update collabCode.serverUrl to your deployment URL. Keep the extension and backend on compatible major versions so the collaboration protocol matches.
