explaingit

ether/etherpad

Analysis updated 2026-06-21

★ 18,312TypeScriptAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

A self-hosted real-time collaborative document editor, like Google Docs but on your own server, where participants see changes instantly and every revision is saved forever.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Etherpad))
    What it does
      Real-time editing
      Self-hosted docs
      Full revision history
    Key Features
      Color-coded authors
      100 plus languages
      Plugin system
      Optional AI plugins
    Deployment
      Linux macOS Windows
      Docker container
      Single install command
    Audience
      Organizations
      Newsrooms
      Public sector
    License
      Apache 2.0
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Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Deploy a self-hosted document editor for a team that cannot use US-based cloud services for data-sovereignty reasons.

USE CASE 2

Set up collaborative writing sessions where each participant's contributions are color-coded and every revision is preserved.

USE CASE 3

Run a shared document environment on your own server and extend it with community plugins for your specific workflow.

USE CASE 4

Give investigative journalists or public-sector teams a fully controlled collaborative editing environment with no third-party access.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptNode.js

How does it compare?

ether/etherpadwasp-lang/waspelysiajs/elysia
Stars18,31218,31018,308
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultymoderatemoderateeasy
Complexity3/53/53/5
Audienceops devopsdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Easiest to start via the Docker container image, manual install requires Node.js and a configured database for persistence.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, with attribution required under the Apache 2.0 license.

In plain English

Etherpad is a real-time collaborative document editor that you run on your own server. Think of it like Google Docs, but self-hosted, meaning your data never leaves your own infrastructure, and no third-party company has access to your documents. Every character typed in a shared document is instantly visible to all participants, and each contributor's changes are color-coded so you can see at a glance who wrote what. The editor preserves every revision ever made, and a timeline feature lets you scrub back through the entire history of a document change by change. You control whether any AI tools are involved at all, AI support is an optional plugin you configure yourself, pointed at whatever model you choose. Etherpad is translated into over 100 languages and can be extended with hundreds of community-built plugins. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and can be started with a single install command or run via a container image. Organizations including the Wikimedia Foundation, public-sector institutions in the EU, universities, and investigative newsrooms rely on it, particularly those that cannot use US-based cloud services for legal or data-sovereignty reasons. The code is released under the Apache 2.0 open-source license, meaning anyone can freely use, modify, and distribute it.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I install Etherpad on a Linux server and make it accessible to my team over HTTPS?
Prompt 2
Show me how to run Etherpad using Docker so my team can start collaborating immediately.
Prompt 3
How do I configure Etherpad to use a specific AI model plugin pointed at my own API endpoint?
Prompt 4
I want to restore a specific past version of a document in Etherpad. How do I use the revision timeline feature?

Frequently asked questions

What is etherpad?

A self-hosted real-time collaborative document editor, like Google Docs but on your own server, where participants see changes instantly and every revision is saved forever.

What language is etherpad written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Node.js.

What license does etherpad use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, with attribution required under the Apache 2.0 license.

How hard is etherpad to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is etherpad for?

Mainly ops devops.

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