Collaboration
Collaboration is a Pro feature for the project owner. People you invite can join and edit for free — only the owner needs Pro.
Collaboration turns a project into a shared workspace: invite people, leave comments on the circuit, and edit it together in real time. For a quick read-only view instead, use a share link.
Roles
Every collaborator has one of three roles:
| Role | Can do |
|---|---|
| Owner | Everything an editor can, plus invite people, change roles, remove members, transfer ownership, and delete the project. There is exactly one owner. |
| Editor | Edit the circuit, save, restore versions, and add or resolve comments. |
| Viewer | Open the project, run the simulation, export a PNG, and add or resolve comments — but not change the circuit. The canvas is read-only and a banner makes that clear. |
The owner’s plan governs the project. Because the owner is on Pro, every member — including a Hobby editor — gets Pro-level treatment inside that project: the larger component limit, version history, and exports all apply.
Inviting people
Open the Members & invites dialog from a project — via the project card on your dashboard or the Members / Share control in the editor toolbar. Pick a role (Editor or Viewer), then invite by either method:
- Email invite — enter an address and de:volt emails them a link.
- Copy link — copy an invite link and send it however you like.
An invitee opens the link, signs in (or creates a Hobby account), and is taken straight into the project with the role you chose. Pending invites appear in the dialog and can be revoked before they are accepted.
Transferring ownership
An owner can hand a project to another member with Make owner. The new owner must already be on Pro (the project will count toward their projects), and the previous owner becomes an editor.
Comments and review
Turn on Comments in the toolbar (the button shows a badge with the number of unresolved comments). To add one, right-click a spot on the canvas and choose Add comment here — the comment anchors to that component, wire, or pin and shows up both as a pin on the canvas and as a thread in the comments panel.
- Resolve a comment when it is handled; reopen it if it comes back.
- Editors and owners can resolve any comment and delete their own; viewers can comment and resolve too.
Comments are a flat list (no nested replies) and each is limited to 4000 characters.
Live co-editing
When a second person opens a shared project, de:volt connects everyone live:
- A presence row shows who is in the project (avatar chips and a “live” count).
- You see other people’s cursors and selections move in real time.
- Edits merge live — two people can work on different parts of the same circuit at once. Viewers watch along read-only.
Up to 4 people can be in the live session at once. Beyond that, the project shows a “full” indicator and the next person to open it joins read-only until a slot frees up.
Hobby, Pro, and access
- A Hobby or signed-out user cannot start collaboration — inviting people and sharing projects requires Pro.
- A Hobby user who is invited to a Pro owner’s project can join and edit for free; their role (editor or viewer) is what limits them, not their plan.
- Shared projects do not count toward your own 5-project Hobby limit — they belong to the owner.
- If an owner’s Pro lapses, existing collaborators keep their access, but the owner cannot create new invites until they resubscribe.
Accounts enrolled as students in a de:volt Learn class cannot send or accept simulator collaboration invites. Classroom work happens inside Learn, where teachers control sharing.