etherpadEtherpad: A modern really-real-time collaborative document editor.

etherpad

Etherpad is a real-time collaborative document editor that preserves every keystroke with author attribution and complete revision history. It runs on your own server under your control, with no telemetry or forced features, making it ideal for organizations prioritizing data sovereignty and transparency.

Key Features

• Real-time Collaborative Editing: Multiple users can edit simultaneously with every keystroke attributed to its author and visible through author colors
• Complete Revision History: Full document history accessible through a timeslider allowing character-by-character scrubbing through edits
• Self-Hosted Control: Runs entirely on your infrastructure with no cloud dependency, telemetry, or vendor lock-in
• Plugin Extensibility: Hundreds of plugins available for customization and feature enhancement, including optional AI integrations you control
• Multi-language Support: Translated into 105 languages with 98% translation coverage
• Scalability: Proven to handle thousands of simultaneous editors per document
• Full Data Export: Built-in export capabilities ensure your data remains accessible and portable
• Open Data Format: Transparent, documented data format prevents vendor lock-in

Use Cases

• Institutional Collaboration: Government and public-sector organizations requiring GDPR compliance and data sovereignty
• Academic Research: Universities and schools worldwide conducting collaborative document drafting and research
• Journalistic Work: Newsrooms and investigative teams where authorship attribution and legal editing history are critical
• Democratic Processes: Citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, and public consultations requiring transparent collaborative input
• Knowledge Management: Wikimedia and similar organizations managing collaborative documentation across distributed editor communities

Who Is It For

Etherpad serves organizations and teams that prioritize data control, transparency, and collaborative integrity over convenience. It's ideal for institutions bound by data residency requirements, teams needing complete edit history and attribution, and anyone seeking collaborative tools that respect user privacy and organizational sovereignty.