An open-source, block-based collaborative document editor for individuals and teams.

Getting Started · Architecture · Roadmap

Overview

Platforms like Notion for document editing are powerful — until you realize you don't own your data. Centralized document platforms create vendor lock-in and reduce your control over how information is stored, shared, and governed.

This is where NextDocs becomes relevant.

For privacy-conscious individuals and organizations handling sensitive information, it's fully self-hostable, runs entirely on open technologies, and requires zero dependency on proprietary services. You deploy it. You control it. You own your data — end to end.

Own your documents. Not just access them.

Block-Based Editing

A structured, Notion-like editing experience powered by BlockNote. Compose documents using rich block types — paragraphs, headings, quotes, bullet and numbered lists, checklists, toggle lists, code blocks, tables, and embedded media. Inline formatting includes bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, text color, and links.

Real-Time Collaboration

Multiple people edit the same document simultaneously with live cursors, presence indicators, and conflict-free merging — powered by Yjs CRDTs over a dedicated WebSocket server. See who's editing, where they're focused, and what they're typing, all in real time.

Access Control

Per-collaborator access levels (Owner, Edit, Comment, View), link-based sharing with configurable permissions, and the ability to restrict access to specific collaborators only.

Threaded Comments

Add contextual, threaded comments directly on document blocks. Comments are stored collaboratively in the Yjs document itself — no separate backend needed — so they sync in real time alongside content. Filter by open, resolved, or all; sort by position or date.

Offline-First

Every document is persisted locally in IndexedDB. Edit anywhere, anytime — even without connectivity. When you're back online, changes sync to the cloud automatically with conflict resolution. Bulk-import local documents when you sign in — means you can start creating documents without even signing up.

Important

This project is currently unreleased and not yet hosted online. It is under active development and not ready for production use.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 24.14.1 (LTS)
• Java 21
• Docker & Docker Compose (for PostgreSQL)
• npm (comes with Node.js)

Quick Start

Use Node.js version 24.14.1 (LTS):

nvm use

The fastest way to get NextDocs running locally:

# Build all services
./nd build

# Start all services — API, web, realtime server, and PostgreSQL
./nd dev

That's it. The ./nd CLI auto-starts a PostgreSQL container, generates ephemeral dev keys if needed, and launches all services with hot-reload.

Service	URL
Web app	http://localhost:3000
API	http://localhost:8080
Realtime WebSocket	ws://localhost:1234

Development Commands

Use the ./nd CLI for all development tasks:

./nd dev              # Start all services (auto-manages PostgreSQL)
./nd dev api          # Start only the API
./nd dev web          # Start only the web frontend

./nd test             # Run all tests
./nd test api         # Run API tests only

./nd lint             # Lint all code
./nd lint web --fix   # Lint + auto-fix frontend

./nd format           # Format all code (Prettier + Spotless)
./nd build            # Build all packages

./nd db               # Open a psql shell to the database
./nd --help           # See all available commands

Tip

If ./nd doesn't have permission to execute, run chmod +x nd first. On Windows, use nd.cmd instead.

Manual Setup

If you prefer to run services manually without the ./nd CLI:

# 1. Start PostgreSQL
docker compose up -d postgres

# 2. Copy and configure environment variables
cp .env.example .env

# 3. Install JS workspace dependencies (from repository root)
npm ci

# 4. Start the API (from api/ directory)
./mvnw spring-boot:run

# 5. Start the web + realtime servers (uses Turborepo)
npm run dev

The npm run dev command at the root uses Turborepo to run both the web frontend and realtime WebSocket server in parallel with a single command. To start them individually:

npm run dev -- --filter=web       # Web frontend only
npm run dev -- --filter=realtime  # Realtime server only

Architecture

NextDocs is a monorepo with three core services:

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                 NextDocs                                      │
├────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┤
│          Web           │          API           │          Realtime           │
│────────────────────────│────────────────────────│─────────────────────────────│
│ Next.js 16             │ Spring Boot (Java 21)  │ Node.js + Yjs               │
│ React 19               │ Flyway (Migrations)    │ WebSocket                   │
│ BlockNote Editor       │ Bucket4j (Rate limit)  │ CRDT Sync                   │
│ Redux Toolkit          │ ┌────────────────────┐ │                             │
│ IndexedDB (Offline)    │ │      In-Memory     │ │                             │
│                        │ │────────────────────│ │                             │
│                        │ │ Caffeine (Cache)   │ │                             │
│                        │ └────────────────────┘ │                             │
│ :3000                  │ :8080                  │ :1234                       │
└────────────────────────┴───────────┬────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
                                     │
                                     │
                            ┌────────▼────────┐
                            │   PostgreSQL    │
                            │     :5433       │
                            └─────────────────┘

1. Web frontend serves the UI and BlockNote editor. Documents are cached locally in IndexedDB for offline access.
2. API server handles authentication, document metadata, sharing permissions, and persistent Yjs state in PostgreSQL.
3. Realtime server manages WebSocket connections for live collaborative editing using Yjs CRDTs — ensuring conflict-free concurrent edits. When multiple users edit a document, changes flow through the WebSocket server in real time, while periodic snapshots are saved to the database via the API.
4. Caffeine cache provides in-memory caching with TTL and bounded size — keeping rate limiter buckets and hot data fast. Optimized for single-instance, self-hosted deployments, with a swappable interface that allows seamless migration to Redis for multi-instance setups.
5. Bucket4j enforces rate limiting on the API using the token bucket algorithm. Also optimized for single-instance deployments (since buckets are kept in Caffeine), with a swappable interface — simple by default, adaptable as scaling needs evolve.

More detailed architecture will be available via Documentation soon before V1 release.

Roadmap

Planned for initial release:

• Core features listed in overview.
• Trash documents with recovery and auto-delete after 30 days.
• Search Documents by content.
• Polish blocknote editor.
• OAuth login (Google, GitHub).
• Document options like Export, font-options, etc.
• Responsive design for all screen sizes.

Not planned for initial release:

• Document version history and snapshots (Coming soon in blocknote itself).
• Workspace and team permission management.