Originally published on tamiz.pro .

Building a collaborative editor like Google Docs or Notion is often perceived as a daunting task due to the 'concurrency problem.' When two users edit the same character at the same time, how do you ensure their screens eventually look identical without a central authority resolving conflicts? The modern answer lies in Conflict-free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) and peer-to-peer (P2P) networking via WebRTC. This tutorial will guide you through building a fully functional, zero-config collaborative editor that requires no backend database to synchronize state.

1. The Architecture of Decentralized Collaboration

2. Understanding the Tech Stack: Yjs and WebRTC

3. Project Setup and Prerequisites

4. Step-by-Step Implementation

4.1 Initializing the Yjs Document

4.2 Setting up the WebRTC Provider

4.3 Integrating the Monaco Editor

4.4 Implementing User Awareness (Cursors)

5. Handling Edge Cases and Production Considerations

6.…