Platform
Everyone sees the same thing, now
Socket-based real-time sync runs through Openbook. Chat lands instantly, whiteboards are multiplayer, and retros happen live, with everyone looking at the same, current state of the work.
Openbook is built on real-time sync, so collaboration means actually working at the same time. Chat messages, presence, and typing indicators land instantly. Whiteboards are multiplayer canvases. Retro boards fill with cards live during the session. Nobody refreshes; nobody works on a stale copy.
This matters most for distributed teams. When the canvas, the retro, and the conversation all update live, a team spread across time zones and home offices can still have moments of genuinely working together, not just handing files back and forth.
What you get
Everything inside Real-time Collaboration
Built on sockets
Real-time sync is core infrastructure in Openbook, not a feature bolted onto one screen.
Instant chat
Messages, presence, and typing indicators update live, in channels, DMs, and the floating widget on every page.
Multiplayer whiteboards
The infinite canvas is shared: everyone's stickies, shapes, and pen strokes appear as they happen.
Live retros
Retro boards run in real time, with cards, votes, and grouping happening together during the session.
Notifications for the rest
When you're not in the room, in-app and email notifications carry what happened to you.
Made for remote teams
Async rooms plus real-time surfaces cover both modes of distributed work: on your own time, and genuinely together.
Made for moments like these
- Sketch on the whiteboard with a colleague on another continent, live
- Watch the retro board fill up as the whole team adds cards at once
- See presence and typing in chat during a fast-moving incident
- Follow along as edits land, without anyone hitting refresh
One less tool to pay for
Teams typically use Real-time Collaboration to replace:
See how Openbook stacks up in our comparison guides.
FAQ
Common questions
Which parts of Openbook are real-time?+
Chat is fully live, with presence and typing indicators. Whiteboards are multiplayer canvases, and retro boards run live sessions with real-time cards and votes. Real-time sync runs on sockets across the platform, with notifications covering whatever you miss.
Do people need to refresh to see changes?+
No. Real-time surfaces update as changes happen; that's the point of the socket-based sync. What you're looking at is the current state of the work.
How does this help remote teams?+
It gives distributed teams true same-time moments: a workshop on a shared canvas, a retro where cards appear live, a chat that feels present. Combined with async rooms like Check-in and Project Status, remote teams get both modes of working well.
What if I'm offline during the action?+
In-app and email notifications catch you up on what matters, and everything lives in rooms you can read when you're back. Real-time when you're there, recorded when you're not.
Add a Real-time Collaboration room in seconds
Every room type is included on the free plan. Compose the workspace your team deserves.