Exploring the Best Tools for Real-Time Code Collaboration

Introduction

Pair programming is a software development technique where two programmers work together at one workstation on a single task. Pair programming is one of the common practices in enterprises and organizations. Even students do this when they are collaborating on academic projects. It can be used for writing together, refactoring, or code reviews.

For pair programming, we are definitely going to need an application to be able to share with the other person. In today’s article, we are going to look into some of the best tools that you can use for code collaboration in real-time.

Now, let’s get started.

1. Live Share

Real-time collaborative development from the comfort of your favorite tools.

It is a Visual Studio Code extension that lets you share your project in real-time. Regardless of the programming language you are using, you will be able to share your project for edit and debugging. It allows sharing of debugging sessions, terminal instances, localhost web apps, and more!

You can allow permission to either read/write or read-only. It requires you to sign in using GitHub or a Microsoft account. Once you share, it will create a shareable link. It can be opened as a web page or in a VS code editor on your desktop. You need to accept participants who prohibit unauthorized access.

It is easy to use when everyone is familiar with VS Code. It doesn’t require participants to have VS Code installed as they can access it on the web.

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2. CodeTogether

Live share IDEs and coding sessions with CodeTogether Live. Available for VS Code, Eclipse, and IntelliJ. Plans for Free, On-Premises and more.

While Live Share is only for VS Code, CodeTogether provides cross-IDE support for VS Code, IntelliJ, and Eclipse. It allows guests to join from the browser or through IDE. It also has source-to-source encryption.

When you host a session, you will have the following options:

• Approval: Automatically allow participants or prompt
• Editing: Read/Write or Read-Only
• Test: You, Everyone, or You and Team

It provides the URL that can be used to join the session via IDE or Web.

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3. CodeSandbox

Get always consistent development environments that boost productivity and empower collaboration.

CodeSandbox provides an online IDE to write code. It has a variety of templates for web development that you can choose to start writing code without setting up the whole environment. Along with that, I can also be used for collaboration purposes.

Using the share feature, you can invite people or directly provide the URL for collaboration. Since it is Web application, it can be accessed without the requirement of any tool to install. You can go live to share your workspace with several participants.

Classroom Mode is a specific mode of Live Sessions that allows you to define who can edit the sandbox. This is especially useful when working with large groups. You will only see the cursors of the users that have an 'editor' role.

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4. GitPod

The developer platform for on-demand cloud development environments. Create software faster and more securely.

GitPod is a Chrome extension that provides a cloud development environment directly from GitHub directly. This comes in quite handy when making quick changes or reviewing PR. It quickly opens VS Code-based IDE directly in the browser.

It also has it’s website where you can create a workspace. You can import your repository from GitHub and choose the favorite IDE that you like among VS Code, IntelliJ, Pycham, and others. You can install an extension and using that you can share or directly give the URL to share your workspace.

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5. StackBlitz

StackBlitz is a collaborative browser-based IDE for web developers. StackBlitz eliminates time-consuming local configuration and lets developers spend more time building.

Collaborate on web development without the hassle of setting up local environments. StackBlitz lets you write, run, and debug frontend code directly in your browser.

You can either create a fresh project using a template or import it from GitHub. With the Share button, you can copy a URL to share with other people to grant permission to your workspace.

Conclusion

Pair programming and real-time code collaboration have become essential practices in both professional and educational settings. Choosing the right tool can significantly enhance productivity and streamline the development process. Each tool mentioned in this article offers unique features and capabilities that cater to different needs and preferences.

By leveraging these tools, teams can enhance their collaborative workflows, improve code quality, and accelerate project timelines. Whether you are working on complex enterprise applications or simple academic projects, there is a code collaboration tool that fits your needs, helping you to work smarter and more efficiently.

I hope this article has helped you in finding some awesome collaborating tools. Thanks for reading the article.