Real-Time Collaborative Canvas with Socket.IO and Cloud Deployment

[ekas-7]

Description

Enable real-time collaboration in the DevMux canvas so multiple users can draw, edit, and update simultaneously. This requires implementing a Socket.IO layer for bidirectional communication, ensuring low-latency updates across sessions. Additionally, deployment should support scalability on cloud providers such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.

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Expected Behavior

• Multiple users can interact with the same canvas in real-time.
• All connected clients see updates instantly without refreshing.
• Socket.IO server handles synchronization of canvas states.
• Application can scale horizontally on AWS/GCP/Azure.

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Current Behavior

• The canvas is static and does not support real-time collaboration.
• Updates are not synchronized across multiple users.
• No deployment setup for handling scalable real-time connections.

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Steps to Reproduce (for bugs)

1. Open the current canvas from two different clients.
2. Draw/update on one client.
3. Notice that the other client does not see the change.

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Possible Solution

• Integrate Socket.IO on the backend for WebSocket-based real-time communication.

• Maintain canvas state on the server and broadcast updates to all connected clients.

• Implement room or session handling to isolate different collaborative canvases.

• Deploy backend with real-time support using:

  • AWS ECS/EKS or Elastic Beanstalk with Load Balancer + Auto Scaling.
  • GCP GKE or Cloud Run with WebSocket support.
  • Azure AKS or App Service with scaling WebSockets enabled.

• Use a managed database (e.g., Redis, DynamoDB, Firestore) for persisting shared canvas state if needed.

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Additional Context

• Real-time collaboration is a key feature for an interactive code editor & canvas platform.
• Scaling WebSockets requires sticky sessions (or Socket.IO adapter like Redis).
• Cloud deployment should ensure reliability and auto-scaling.

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Contribution

• I am willing to work on this issue
• Help wanted