Real-time collaboration

RBS includes a complete set of collaboration features built into every branch server. Edit files together in real-time, join video calls, share your screen, and chat with your team — all without leaving your code editor or installing third-party tools.

Collaborative editing

Google Docs–style real-time code editing. Multiple developers edit the same file simultaneously with multi-cursor support.

Video meetings

Peer-to-peer video calls with camera and screen sharing. Data stays on your network — no third-party servers.

Team chat

Real-time chat rooms with code snippet sharing, file references, typing indicators, and full message history.

Presence tracking

See who’s online, what file they’re viewing, who’s in a meeting, and who’s in a chat session — across all features.

Collaborative editing

Multiple developers can edit the same file simultaneously. Changes appear in real-time, with each user getting a distinct cursor color. Conflicts are resolved automatically using Operational Transformation (OT) — the same technique used by Google Docs.

How it works

Open a file in your editor while connected to a branch server.
A teammate opens the same file on the same branch.
Both of you edit freely — changes sync instantly. No manual merging.
Cursors and selections from other users are visible in your editor with distinct colors.

Features

Feature	Description
Multi-cursor	See every collaborator’s cursor position and color in real-time.
Selections	See highlighted selections from other users.
Editing regions	Visual indicators show which lines each user is actively editing.
Conflict awareness	The system warns when two users edit overlapping regions.
Auto-save	Changes are saved to the server automatically.
Split-view support	Multiple panes editing the same file are supported — each pane is an independent participant.

Conflict handling

RBS uses a server-authoritative model:

The server maintains the canonical version of each file.
All edits are transformed server-side to maintain consistency.
Cursor and selection positions are updated automatically when remote edits shift content.
In the rare case of overlapping edits, you’ll see a visual conflict warning — but the document remains consistent.

Collaborative editing works automatically when multiple developers are connected to the same branch server. No configuration required.

Video meetings

Start a peer-to-peer video call directly from your editor. No Zoom, no Google Meet, no external tools. Video and audio are transmitted directly between participants — the RBS server only handles the initial connection setup (signaling).

Starting a meeting

From the editor:

Open the Tools menu in the top navigation bar.
Click Meeting to open the meeting panel.
Create a new meeting and give it a name (e.g., “Sprint Planning” or “Debug Session”).
Teammates on the same branch can join from their editor.

Features

Feature	Description
Camera video	Share your webcam feed with participants.
Screen sharing	Share your entire screen or a specific window.
Dual stream	Share camera and screen simultaneously.
Peer-to-peer	Video goes directly between participants — low latency, no third-party servers.
Encrypted	All media streams are encrypted by default (DTLS-SRTP).
In-editor	Meetings run inside your code editor — no browser tabs or separate apps.

Controls

Action	Description
Toggle camera	Turn your camera on/off.
Toggle microphone	Mute/unmute yourself.
Share screen	Start or stop screen sharing.
Leave meeting	Leave the meeting (others continue).
End meeting	End the meeting for all participants.

Team chat

Real-time chat rooms built into the editor. Discuss code, share snippets, reference files, and keep a searchable history — all without context-switching to Slack or Teams.

Chat rooms

Chat rooms are tied to the branch server. Every developer connected to a branch can join the default chat room or create topic-specific rooms. Create a chat room from the Tools → Chat panel, or via the REST API:

# Create a chat room via the RBS Server API
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/chat \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "API Design", "user_name": "Alice"}'

Features

Feature	Description
Real-time messaging	Messages appear instantly for all participants.
Code snippets	Share syntax-highlighted code blocks with language detection.
File references	Link to specific files in the workspace (clickable in the editor).
Typing indicators	See when teammates are typing.
Message history	Full message history persisted on the server with pagination.

In the chat panel, you can:

Send code snippets — use the code button to share syntax-highlighted code blocks with language selection.
Share files — share a file reference that teammates can click to open in their editor.

Presence tracking

Presence tracking gives your team unified awareness across all collaboration features. See who’s online, what they’re working on, and how to reach them.

What you can see

Information	Description
Online status	Who is currently connected to the branch server.
Active file	Which file each teammate is currently viewing.
Editing sessions	Which files are being collaboratively edited and by whom.
Meeting status	Who is in a video meeting and which meeting.
Chat activity	Who is in which chat room.
Screen sharing	Who is currently sharing their screen.

Presence in the editor

Presence information is displayed throughout your editor:

File explorer: Colored dots next to files show which teammates are viewing or editing them.
Editor tabs: Small avatars indicate when a file is being collaboratively edited.
Status bar: Shows the number of connected teammates and current activity.
Gutter: In collaborative editing sessions, colored markers show which lines each user is editing.

Status updates

Your status is automatically managed:

Status	When
Online	Actively using the editor.
Idle	Editor is open but no activity for 5 minutes.
Away	Editor is minimized or not focused for 15 minutes.
In meeting	Currently in a video meeting.

Privacy and security

All collaboration features are designed with security in mind:

Video/audio: Peer-to-peer encrypted (DTLS-SRTP). Media never passes through RBS servers — only signaling data does.
Chat messages: Stored on your branch server, not on external infrastructure.
Collaborative edits: Processed on your branch server. No data leaves your workspace.
Presence data: Only shared with teammates who have access to the same branch.

Building custom integrations

A public API and SDK for building custom integrations with the collaboration system are coming soon. If you’re interested in early access, reach out to support@reasonos.dev.

The RBS Server exposes WebSocket and REST endpoints for all collaboration features. These are used internally by the built-in code editor:

Endpoints

Feature	Protocol	Endpoint
Presence	WebSocket	`/ws/presence`
Collaborative editing	WebSocket	`/ws/collab/{session_id}`
Meeting signaling	WebSocket	`/ws/meeting/{meeting_id}`
Chat	WebSocket	`/ws/chat/{room_id}`
List connections	REST	`GET /api/collab/connections`
Create collab session	REST	`POST /api/collab/sessions`
List collab sessions	REST	`GET /api/collab/sessions`
Create meeting	REST	`POST /api/meetings`
List meetings	REST	`GET /api/meetings`
Create chat room	REST	`POST /api/chat`
List chat rooms	REST	`GET /api/chat`

Getting started

Collaboration features work automatically when multiple developers are connected to the same branch server. No configuration needed.

Open the code editor in your browser — connect to your branch server.
Have a teammate connect to the same branch.
Open the same file to start collaborative editing.
Open a meeting from the Tools menu for video calls.
Open the chat panel from the Tools menu to message your team.

Learn about the code editor

See all the features of the built-in code editor, including how to access collaboration tools.

Coding Agent

Agent Builder SDK

Code Editor

Git Server

Real-time collaboration

Real-time collaboration

Collaborative editing

Video meetings

Team chat

Presence tracking

Collaborative editing

How it works

Features

Conflict handling

Video meetings

Starting a meeting

Features

Controls

Team chat

Chat rooms

Features

Presence tracking

What you can see

Presence in the editor

Status updates

Privacy and security

Building custom integrations

Endpoints

Getting started

Learn about the code editor

​Real-time collaboration

Collaborative editing

Video meetings

Team chat

Presence tracking

​Collaborative editing

​How it works

​Features

​Conflict handling

​Video meetings

​Starting a meeting

​Features

​Controls

​Team chat

​Chat rooms

​Features

​Sharing code in chat

​Presence tracking

​What you can see

​Presence in the editor

​Status updates

​Privacy and security

​Building custom integrations

​Endpoints

​Getting started

Learn about the code editor

Real-time collaboration

Collaborative editing

How it works

Features

Conflict handling

Video meetings

Starting a meeting

Features

Controls

Team chat

Chat rooms

Features

Sharing code in chat

Presence tracking

What you can see

Presence in the editor

Status updates

Privacy and security

Building custom integrations

Endpoints

Getting started