Overview
A real-time collaborative document editor bridging the gap between traditional word processing and AI-assisted creation.
Scope
Full Stack Architecture, Real-time Systems Engineering
Tech Stack
Languages: JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML/CSS
Frontend: React 19, Vite, Slate.js (Rich Text), Socket.IO Client, Apollo Client, Lucide React
Backend: Bun (Runtime), Express 5, Apollo Server (GraphQL), Socket.IO, Mongoose
Databases: MongoDB
Services: Groq AI, SendGrid
Developer Tools: Docker, GraphQL Codegen, ESLint, Concurrently
Challenge
The core engineering challenge was synchronizing complex rich-text state across multiple clients in real-time. Integrating Slate.js with Socket.IO required developing custom state management logic to prevent write conflicts and ensure consistency. Additionally, orchestrating low-latency AI streaming responses without blocking the main collaboration thread required careful optimization of the backend event loop and frontend state updates.
Objective
The primary objective was to engineer a production-grade full-stack application that rivals commercial real-time editors like Google Docs. Key goals included mastering the Bun runtime, implementing a robust real-time collaboration protocol, and creating a modern, distraction-free UI that effectively integrates AI tools without disrupting the user's creative flow.
Results
The final result is a robust, performant application where multiple users can edit documents simultaneously with sub-second latency. The platform successfully bridges the gap between human creativity and AI support, offering features like instant content generation and smart formatting in a secure, polished environment.