Collaboration Features
Learn how to collaborate with team members in real-time within CodeNull
Collaboration
CodeNull makes team collaboration simple and efficient. Add team members to your project and work simultaneously on your website’s frontend using our intuitive customization toolbar.
What You Can Do
With CodeNull’s collaboration features, you can:
- Add team members to your projects with just a few clicks
- Edit simultaneously without conflicts or code merges
- Customize your website frontend using our intuitive toolbar
- See changes in real-time as team members make edits
- Comment directly on specific components and sections
- Track all versions of your project automatically
Getting Started with Team Collaboration
Invite Your Team
Go to the “Team” section and click “Invite Members.” Enter email addresses and assign roles based on what they need to access.
Set Permissions
Control what each team member can view and edit within your project.
Start Collaborating
Once team members join, they can immediately begin editing your website using the customization toolbar.
Use the Customization Toolbar
The toolbar provides all the tools needed to modify your website’s frontend elements collaboratively.
The Customization Toolbar
The customization toolbar is your team’s control center for editing the frontend:
- Component Library: Drag and drop components onto your pages
- Style Editor: Modify colors, fonts, and layouts
- Responsive Controls: Test how changes look on different devices
- Live Preview: See changes immediately as they’re made
- User Cursors: See where team members are currently working
Team Roles and Permissions
Real-Time Collaboration Features
Simultaneous Editing
Multiple team members can edit different parts of the same page
Component Comments
Leave feedback directly on specific elements
Version History
Track changes and revert if needed
Change Notifications
Get alerted when team members make changes
Collaboration Best Practices
Coordinate with your team on who’s working on which sections to avoid overlapping work, even though CodeNull handles simultaneous editing smoothly.
- Assign specific areas of the website to different team members
- Use comments to explain your design decisions
- Create named versions after completing major features
- Review changes together using the preview mode
- Set up regular check-ins to discuss progress
Real-Time Collaboration Architecture
The collaboration component is implemented to facilitate real-time data synchronization with durable storage and optimized socket handling. It uses a room-based architecture where one room can support several users working in tandem.
How It Works
Every user is linked through an exclusive WebSocket connection, providing uninterrupted communication with the system. A central Socket Manager is responsible for these connections, handling data transfer, user availability, and message broadcasting within the respective rooms.
When a user makes changes—such as editing content, moving their cursor, or sending a message—the data is propagated to the Socket Manager. The Socket Manager then broadcasts this update to all other users connected to the same room, maintaining real-time synchronization. Simultaneously, the Socket Manager sends these updates to a persistent storage solution such as MongoDB so that data can be stored reliably.
Technical Benefits
This architecture delivers two key advantages:
- Low-Latency Updates: All connected users receive changes immediately through WebSocket connections
- Data Persistence: All collaboration data is preserved in MongoDB for recovery after disconnections or system crashes
Through the use of WebSockets for real-time communication and MongoDB for long-term data storage, the system effectively handles collaborative features like live cursors, document editing, and user presence in shared workspaces. This efficient and scalable design is well-suited for multi-user collaboration environments.