Spaces

Spaces are where collaboration happens in webAI. A space is a shared environment where you and others can work together in real time — editing documents, drawing on whiteboards, sharing files, chatting, and voice calling — all over direct peer-to-peer connections.

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How spaces work

• Create or join in seconds. Host a space and share the 6-character code, or browse public spaces and nearby devices to find one. Optionally add a password.
• Work on a shared canvas. Every space starts with a Document and a Whiteboard. Open or add apps and everyone in the space sees them — state syncs automatically across all peers.
• Talk, chat, and react. Voice chat runs over direct peer connections with live transcripts. Space chat supports typing indicators and emoji reactions. Send encrypted direct messages to anyone in the space for private threads.
• Share files directly. Drop files into the space for everyone, or send them privately in a DM. Transfers are chunked with progress tracking — no file server in between.
• See what everyone’s doing. Presence shows which app or tab each person is viewing. Click “Join” to jump to where they are.

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What happens when you join

Once you’re in a space, several things happen right away:

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Edit locking

When someone is editing a specific field or element — like a document title or a whiteboard property — webAI locks that field for other users to prevent conflicts. Locks are lightweight and automatic:

• Locks last up to 30 seconds and release as soon as the editor moves on.
• Other participants see who is editing what, so they can work on something else in the meantime.

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Local discovery

In addition to joining by code, you can find spaces on your local network:

• mDNS — The app broadcasts and discovers spaces on your local network automatically. If someone in the same office or home network hosts a space, it appears in your discovery list without needing a code.
• Bluetooth — On supported devices, nearby spaces and contacts can be discovered via Bluetooth Low Energy.

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Moderation

Space hosts have moderation capabilities to manage participants. This helps maintain productive collaboration in larger groups.

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Leaving and coming back

When you leave a space, the space keeps going — it’s peer-to-peer, so it doesn’t depend on any one person.

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Host transfer

If the original host disconnects, the space doesn’t shut down. Instead:

• Relay takeover — If a relay node is present, it automatically becomes the new host and re-announces the space.
• Peer election — If no relay exists, the remaining participants elect a new host deterministically. The new host broadcasts the transfer and re-announces the space in the public directory.

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Rejoining previously hosted spaces

Spaces you’ve hosted or joined are saved to your recent rooms list. If a relay or another peer has taken over hosting, the space reappears in your discovery list and you can rejoin with one click. The system tracks the current host’s peer ID so you connect to whoever is hosting now, not just the original host.

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