Multiplayer Canvas is here

One of our most requested features is out of beta. Multiplayer Canvas is now enabled by default and available on all plans, including Free.

Share a folder, open a Canvas, and think together visually—a real Obsidian Canvas.

One live board

Work on the same Canvas at the same time. Relay brings CRDT-backed, real-time collaboration to the board’s cards, text, and connections, merging changes as you and your collaborators work.

Write in a card while a collaborator connects it to another idea. Rearrange the board while someone adds the next thought. You can build on each other’s work directly, with changes appearing on the Canvas you each have open in Obsidian.

People have asked us for Canvas collaboration to plan campaigns, connect research, develop stories, and map complex topics with a friend. With Relay, you can work directly on the Canvas together.

A foundation for shared ideas

Relay 0.8.12 brings a significantly upgraded sync engine out of beta. As we covered in yesterday’s release post, it merges changes made directly to files on disk and keeps Shared Folders updated in the background.

Canvas collaboration is backed by CRDTs—data structures designed to merge changes from multiple collaborators. Relay represents the board’s cards, connections, and text as shared data, allowing edits to be synchronized while you work together.

Your Canvas is still a .canvas file in your vault, alongside the notes you already use. Relay adds collaboration to that workspace.

Share a folder. Open a Canvas. Think together, visually.

Each collaborator needs Obsidian with Relay installed. Create a Shared Folder, invite your collaborator, and add that folder to both vaults. Then open a Canvas inside it.

A Canvas diagram showing collaborators across Shared Folders inside a Relay server.

Create a new Canvas in the Shared Folder. Add a card, move it, and have your collaborator make a change of their own. Keep any notes and attachments you want to share inside the Shared Folder too.

Canvas sync is free. Images and other attachments used in a Canvas require storage to sync.

Try it

Update Relay to 0.8.12 through Obsidian’s community plugin settings. Canvas collaboration is enabled by default, with no separate beta flag to turn on.

If you’ve been waiting for Canvas support before bringing someone into your workspace, take another look.

Join us on Discord if you have questions or feedback.

Thank you to everyone who tried the beta, reported problems, and told us what they wanted to do together.