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home / methods / multiplayer
Cross-cutting method

Collaboration is a URL, not a feature.

Every container service is reachable by multiple clients at once. Terminals have colored cursors. Displays share live state. Files edit concurrently. The platform is multiplayer by default — locking it down is the opt-in.

URL = collaboration · colored cursors · any device · humans + AI agents as peers

Share URL = share accessColored live cursorsAny device with a browserHumans and agents as peers
home / methods / multiplayer / url-share
URL = collaboration

No setup. No screen share. Just a URL.

Every container service — terminal, display, files, code editor, browser — has a URL. Paste it into someone's browser and they're in. They see the live state, not a snapshot. They interact with the same process, not a replica.

1

Open the URL yourself

Start typing in a terminal, arranging files, running commands. Your state is live at its URL.

2

Share the URL

DM, email, Slack, QR code. Anyone with the URL can open it.

3

They join the same session

Not a mirror. Not a snapshot. The same session. Their cursor is live next to yours.

The unauthorized alternative is screen sharing. That has a host, a sharer, a latency penalty, and no concurrent input. Hoody multiplayer has neither role nor latency nor exclusivity.

home / methods / multiplayer / cursors
Shared state

Simultaneous control. Colored cursors. No handoffs.

Multiple users can type in the same terminal, scroll the same display, drag the same files. Each user has a cursor color. There is no 'who has control' gesture because nobody has exclusive control.

Terminals

Multiple cursors in the same shell. Both users see the same output. Both can type. Commands interleave — perfect for pair debugging.

Displays

Share a Firefox window, a VS Code instance, any X11 app. Everyone sees the same pixels; everyone can interact. Legacy apps become multiplayer without code changes.

Files

Two users in the same filesystem browser see the same tree. Edits from one appear in the other's view immediately.

Code editor

VS Code with Live Share-class collaboration baked in. Open from a URL; collaborators open the same URL.

home / methods / multiplayer / open-by-default
Security posture

Open by default. Lock it when you need to.

A brand-new container URL is accessible to anyone who has the URL. That is the correct starting state for collaboration. When you need to close it, the auth layer is a single API call — JWT, HTTP Basic password, IP CIDR, or bearer token.

Default

Open on first spawn

  • URL shared with teammate → they're in
  • No invitation flow, no account creation, no seat billing
  • Works from any browser on any device immediately
lock

When you lock it

Gated by auth group

  • PATCH /proxy-permissions — add a JWT / Password / IP group
  • Unauthorized requests get a 401 at the proxy, not the app
  • Revoke: remove the auth group, or delete the container
JWTPasswordIP CIDRBearer
home / methods / multiplayer / humans-agents
Humans + AI

AI agents are peers, not operators.

An AI agent opens the same URL you do. It types in the same terminal. It sees the same output. It edits the same file. Multiplayer mechanics that make pair programming work for humans also make human-in-the-loop AI operation natural.

Review-in-loop

Agent runs. You watch in real time. Pause it at will by interrupting its typing in the same terminal.

Pair on a task

You start; agent takes over; you grab back control. The session state is shared, not duplicated.

Silent observation

Read-only mode on a shared display lets you watch multiple agents run in parallel without touching them.

Cross-device signals

Agent pushes a notification to your phone when it needs approval. You tap the URL; you're back in the same session.

home / methods / multiplayer / legacy
Legacy applications

Make any app multiplayer — without changing it.

Apps that were never designed for collaboration — VS Code, Figma-alternatives, proprietary tools, old desktop software — become multiplayer through display sharing. The environment is shared; the app inside it is incidental.

VS Code running in a shared display — all collaborators see and edit

Legacy Electron / Win / Linux app — multiplayer through the display URL

Design tools with no collab features — shared via browser display

Single-player games in a shared display for couch-co-op-over-internet

home / methods / multiplayer / devices
Any device

Phone. Tablet. Laptop. TV. Smartwatch. VR.

The access layer is HTTP + SSH. Both are universal. Every device with a browser can join a collaboration URL. Every device with an SSH client can join a terminal. The set of supported devices is the set of devices that exist.

Phone

Full browser · virtual keyboard · SSH client

Tablet

Touch-first browsing · file mounts via WebDAV

Laptop

Native dev workflow · SSH / VS Code Remote

TV

Shared-screen browser for team review

Smartwatch

Notifications · quick approvals on small URLs

VR headset

Vision Pro, Quest Browser — browser-capable, same URLs

Not a mobile app. Not a VR app. Not a desktop client. The URL is the interface; the browser renders it.

home / methods / multiplayer / start
Start

Collaboration without installing anything.

Spin up a container. Share a URL. Your teammate is in — on any device, with no account, in under a second.

Multiplayer guide

See also — /platform/proxy for URL auth groups, /kit/terminal for session mechanics, /kit/display for shared X11 desktops.