realtime collaborative database / OT sync
ShareDB is a JavaScript library that provides a realtime database backend using Operational Transformation to sync JSON documents across clients and servers.
Solves the same problem with a different architecture or at a different layer. Expect to rewrite the integration.
Choose for a hosted realtime backend with built-in auth and presence instead of self-hosting ShareDB.
Instant is the best backend for AI-coded apps. You get auth, permissions, storage, presence, and streams — everything you need to ship apps your users will love.
Choose if you want realtime sync built into a full graph/document database rather than a library plus your own DB.
A scalable, distributed, collaborative, document-graph database, for the realtime web
Choose for a local-first client-side database with replication instead of a server-side OT backend.
The local-first database that runs on every JS runtime and replicates with your existing backend - no vendor, no lock-in - https://rxdb.info/
Choose for CRDT-based collaboration that works peer-to-peer or with any transport, instead of OT.
Shared data types for building collaborative software
Choose for decentralized graph sync with offline-first support instead of a centralized OT backend.
An open source cybersecurity protocol for syncing decentralized graph data.
Choose for P2P database sync without a central server, different from ShareDB's server-centric OT.
Peer-to-Peer Databases for the Decentralized Web
Choose for a CRDT library with versioning for JSON, as a modern alternative to OT.
Make your JSON data collaborative and version-controlled with CRDTs
Choose if your data is in SQLite and you need CRDT replication, not JSON OT.
Convergent, Replicated SQLite. Multi-writer and CRDT support for SQLite
Choose for an all-in-one Go backend with realtime subscriptions instead of a Node.js library.
Open Source realtime backend in 1 file
Choose for a database with built-in realtime changefeeds instead of a separate sync layer.
The open-source database for the realtime web.
Choose for a complete realtime backend with RethinkDB, different from ShareDB's OT.
Horizon is a realtime, open-source backend for JavaScript apps.
Choose for realtime broadcast/presence on Postgres via WebSockets instead of OT on JSON documents.
Broadcast, Presence, and Postgres Changes via WebSockets
Choose for a Firebase-like serverless backend with realtime GraphQL, different from OT.
Open source Firebase + Heroku to develop, scale and secure serverless apps on Kubernetes
An earlier or more limited way to do the job. Still the right call when you need something small, proven, or CPU-only.
Choose if you only need the OT algorithm and will build the database backend yourself; unmaintained.
Choose for a standalone JSON OT library, not a full realtime backend; older.
JSON Operational Transformation (JOT)
Choose for a legacy realtime API toolkit, but unmaintained for years.
a toolkit for building realtime APIs
Does the same job, but ships as an app. Useful to a person, not swappable into a codebase.
Choose as a ready-made pair-programming service rather than building one on ShareDB.
A pair programming service using operational transforms
Choose as a ready-made collaborative document editor application rather than a backend library.
Docs is an open-source text editor: web-native, made for real-time collaboration, cleanly structured documents and sub-documents with full ownership of your data. Built to scale with Django and React.
These projects were analysed and named sharedb among their alternatives. The relationship is not symmetric — how sharedb rates them is a separate judgement, made when sharedb is analysed in its own right.
calls sharedb “Choose if you need server-backed OT collaboration and your app can rely on a central authority rather than P2P graph sync.”
An open source cybersecurity protocol for syncing decentralized graph data.
calls sharedb “OT-based realtime database backend; choose when you need collaborative editing/offline synchronization with your own persistence.”
Horizon is a realtime, open-source backend for JavaScript apps.