Collab Edit - Real-Time Collaboration via Aitun Tunnel

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• You need to co-edit code, a document, or a configuration file with a user in real time
• You want to set up a shared whiteboard or drawing canvas accessible via browser
• You are pair-programming with a user and need a shared code editor
• You want to collaboratively draft content (markdown, notes, specifications) with live updates
• You need to review and annotate a document together with the user

Do NOT use this skill when:

• Only one person is editing (no collaboration needed)
• The content is finalized and just needs to be shared (use sendfile instead)
• You want to share a read-only preview (use aitun-tunnel or live-preview instead)

Instructions

Step 1: Install aitun

pip install aitun

Or verify it is already installed:

which aitun || pip show aitun

Step 2: Start a collaborative editing server

Choose and start a collaboration tool. Here are common options:

# Option A: Code-server (VS Code in browser) for pair programming
# Install: curl -fsSL https://code-server.dev/install.sh | sh
code-server --bind-addr 0.0.0.0:8080 --auth none &
COLLAB_PID=$!

# Option B: Hedgedoc / Etherpad-like tool for document collaboration
# (install per project instructions, then start on port 8080)

# Option C: Simple shared notepad (Python)
pip install collaborative-notepad
collaborative-notepad --port 8080 &
COLLAB_PID=$!

# Option D: Whiteboard (excalidraw self-hosted or similar)
npx excalidraw-room --port 8080 &
COLLAB_PID=$!

Step 3: Create a tunnel

Expose the collaboration server to the internet:

aitun -p 8080 &
AITUN_PID=$!
sleep 3

The output will contain the public URL, e.g.:

• https://aitun.cc/abc123

Step 4: Share the collaboration link

Send the link to the user so they can join:

Let's work on this together! Open the shared editor:
https://aitun.cc/abc123

I can see your changes in real time, and you can see mine.
This session is active while we're working.

Step 5: Collaborate in real time

• Edit content together — both you and the user see changes instantly
• Use the chat or comment features of the collaboration tool for discussion
• Take turns editing, or work on different sections simultaneously
• Save or export the final result when collaboration is complete

Step 6: Clean up

When the collaboration session is over, stop the servers:

kill $AITUN_PID 2>/dev/null
kill $COLLAB_PID 2>/dev/null

CLI Reference

The aitun command (installed via pip install aitun) accepts these flags:

Notes

• Free tunnels use proxy address mode (path-based URL like aitun.cc/abc123), NOT subdomains
• Free tunnels expire after 24 hours, auto-renewed on restart
• For a permanent collaboration endpoint, register at https://aitun.cc to get a custom subdomain
• Collaboration tools that use WebSocket work well through the tunnel
• For security, consider enabling authentication on the collaboration tool itself (most support password or token auth)
• All traffic is encrypted end-to-end
• Multiple users can open the same link simultaneously for group collaboration
• Export or save the final document before stopping the tunnel