colanode: Collaborate in a Local-First Team Workspace

Overview

Colanode brings team communication and shared knowledge into one workspace, combining chat with pages, databases, and file management. It is designed for people who want an alternative to separate chat and documentation tools, with the option to host the service themselves.

The clients save changes locally and sync them to a server in the background, so users can keep working when offline. Yjs-based CRDTs merge concurrent edits to pages and database records. This approach is a fit for teams that value local access and data control, provided they are comfortable with a self-hosted setup or the project's beta cloud service.

Key Features

• Team and individual real-time messaging.
• Rich-text pages for documents, notes, and wikis.
• Custom databases with fields and table, kanban, and calendar views.
• File storage and sharing within workspaces.
• Local SQLite data with background synchronization for offline work.
• Concurrent page and database-record editing using Yjs CRDTs.
• Web and desktop clients that can connect to multiple servers.
• Self-hosted server with filesystem or configurable cloud storage backends.

Use Cases

• Small teams that want chat and project documentation in a shared workspace.
• Organizations replacing separate collaboration tools with a self-hosted option to retain control of their data.
• Distributed collaborators who need access to local content while offline and synchronization when connectivity returns.
• Individuals or groups organizing notes, structured records, and files alongside team conversations.

Getting Started

For local development, clone the repository, install dependencies, and consult the README for setup details:

git clone https://github.com/colanode/colanode.git
cd colanode
npm install

Alternatives

• AppFlowy: AppFlowy centers on notes, wikis, projects, and tasks, while Colanode also includes team chat and file sharing.
• docs: La Suite Docs focuses on collaborative writing and organized documents, rather than Colanode's broader workspace with chat, databases, and file sharing.

Considerations

• The web app is described as an early preview and may have bugs or browser compatibility issues; the cloud servers are also in beta.
• Self-hosting requires PostgreSQL with pgvector, Redis or a compatible service, and a storage backend. The server is provided as a Docker image, with Docker Compose and Kubernetes deployment materials.
• Local-first operation does not mean the server is unnecessary: synchronization and shared workspaces use a server.
• Concurrent editing is supported for pages and database records, but messages and file operations do not support concurrent edits.