@pdfrx/colab

Collaborative PDF editing for @pdfrx/react. It provides a ready-made React viewer plus the browser client, operation protocols, page-source adapter, and mixed-source export tools needed to synchronize page, annotation, and form changes through an application-hosted relay.

npm package · Local example · API reference · Detailed guide

Highlights

• Synchronizes page insertion, removal, movement, duplication, and rotation; annotations; and AcroForm values.
• Ordered, revision-checked semantic operations keep WebSocket traffic small and provide authoritative late-join snapshots.
• Page, annotation, and form changes use independent revision streams so one kind of edit does not block the others.
• Transient move/resize previews appear remotely without entering persistent snapshots, PDF state, or Undo/Redo history.
• Stable page-placement and source IDs support documents assembled from multiple immutable PDFs and images.
• The ready-made React viewer retains the standard @pdfrx/react toolbar, responsive layout, editing tools, and export UI.
• Lower-level clients, reducers, source adapters, and mixed-source PDF export are available for custom applications and relay implementations.
• Authentication, persistence, admission, retention, and deployment remain explicit application responsibilities rather than hidden hosted services.

Install

npm install @pdfrx/colab @pdfrx/react react react-dom

Minimal usage

import { CollaborativePdfViewer } from '@pdfrx/colab';
import '@pdfrx/react/styles.css';
import '@pdfrx/colab/styles.css';

export function ReviewRoom() {
  return (
    <CollaborativePdfViewer
      actorId="user-42"
      relayUrl="wss://relay.example.com/collaboration"
      sessionId="review-123"
      src="/documents/review.pdf"
      wasmModulesUrl="/pdfium/"
      className="review-room"
    />
  );
}

.review-room {
  height: 100dvh;
  min-height: 0;
}

Required relay

relayUrl must be an application-hosted WebSocket service implementing the exported collaboration protocol. This package does not include or operate a hosted production service. The relay must sequence revision-checked page, annotation, and form operations and expose immutable PDF/raster source PUT/GET endpoints.

Run npm run dev:colab in this repository to start the example application and reference relay for local development.

Next steps

• The Colab guide covers authentication hooks, synchronized state, lower-level clients, adapters, export, conflicts, and production responsibilities.
• The wire protocol specification is the authoritative relay contract.
• CollaborativePdfViewerProps documents all component inputs.
• The collaboration example documents local relay configuration, persistence, and deployment boundaries.
• Related packages: @pdfrx/engine · @pdfrx/viewer · @pdfrx/react

License

MIT