Collab Code
Collaborative Coding Rooms for Classrooms & Tutoring
A browser-based collaborative code editor built for tutoring sessions and CS education. Share a room link and start coding together in real time — no installs, no accounts. Features live cursors, a shared terminal, multi-file workspaces, and interactive Java and Python execution.
Collab Code is built for the "open a link and start coding" workflow. It feels more like a shared coding room than a demo editor: multiple files, a real explorer, a shared terminal, search, diagnostics, and live collaboration all sit in the same browser-first workspace.
I created Collab Code to support myself and my students during tutoring sessions for introductory programming classes in Java, C++, and Python. Setting up a local dev environment is a barrier for many beginners — this removes that friction entirely.
Key Features
- Live cursors, selections, and peer presence via Monaco + Yjs
- Shared terminal session with streamed stdin/stdout/stderr
- Multi-file workspace with folders, tabs, drag-and-drop, and search/replace
- Interactive Java and Python execution through a lightweight relay server
- Classroom-friendly room sharing — no account flow required
- Offline-friendly persistence via IndexedDB
- Responsive UI across desktop and smaller screens
The stack is React and Vite on the front end, Monaco Editor for the code editing experience, Yjs CRDTs for real-time sync, xterm.js for the terminal, and a small Node/WebSocket relay server for room coordination and sandboxed code execution.
GitHub Repository