TogetherPad

A distraction-free, real-time collaborative notepad. Open a note by name, start typing — no accounts, no setup.

Features

• Instant notes — open any note by slug, it's created automatically if it doesn't exist
• Auto-save — content is saved 1 second after you stop typing
• Protected notes — password-protect a note with bcrypt hashing
• Stateless auth — short-lived signed access tokens (jose / HS256) for protected notes
• No accounts — zero sign-up friction

Tech Stack

Client

• React 19, Vite, Tailwind CSS
• React Router, Axios

Server

• Node.js, Express 5
• MongoDB, Mongoose
• bcrypt, jose, Zod, Helmet, Morgan

Project Structure

togetherPad/
├── client/          # React frontend
└── server/          # Express backend

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)

Server

cd server
npm install

Create server/.env:

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
NODE_ENV=development
CLIENT_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173
NOTE_ACCESS_SECRET=your_secret_key_min_32_chars

npm run dev

Client

cd client
npm install
npm run dev

App runs at http://localhost:5173.

API

Base URL: /api/v1

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/notes	Create a note
GET	/notes/:slug	Get note state
POST	/notes/:slug/open	Unlock a protected note
PATCH	/notes/:slug/content	Update note content

GET /notes/:slug always returns 200 with a state field:

State	Meaning
public	Note exists, content returned
password_required	Note is protected
not_found	Note doesn't exist yet

How It Works

                User Opens Website
                       │
                       ▼
                Landing Page (/)
                       │
                       ▼
            Enter Note Slug + Click Go
                       │
                       ▼
          GET /api/v1/notes/:slug
                       │
          ┌────────────┴────────────┐
          │                        │
          ▼                        ▼
     Note Exists?            Doesn't Exist
          │                        │
          ▼                        ▼
   Is Protected?           Show Create Dialog
          │                        │
     ┌────┴────┐                   ▼
     │         │           POST /api/v1/notes
     ▼         ▼                   │
  Public    Protected              ▼
     │         │           Redirect to Editor
     ▼         ▼
  Editor   Password Screen
               │
               ▼
  POST /api/v1/notes/:slug/open
               │
        Password Correct?
          ┌────┴────┐
          │         │
          ▼         ▼
         Yes        No
          │         │
          ▼         ▼
   Return Access  Show Error
       Token
          │
          ▼
       Editor
          │
          ▼
   Auto Save (Debounced)
          │
          ▼
  PATCH /api/v1/notes/:slug/content

Usage

1. Go to http://localhost:5173
2. Enter a note name and press Go to Note
3. If the note doesn't exist, choose public or protected and create it
4. Start typing — changes save automatically

License

MIT