Invite someone to collaborate

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To collaborate with someone in Relay, you put your work in a Shared Folder on a Relay Server, then invite them to that Relay Server with a Share Key. They paste the key into Relay to join, add the Shared Folder to their vault, and your edits sync in real time.

You do not need Discord, a separate account system, or an email invite. Everything happens inside Relay's settings.

Watch the flow

This video shows the whole flow: an owner copies the Share Key, and a collaborator joins and adds the Shared Folder.

Before you start

You and your collaborator each need Obsidian with the Relay plugin installed. New to Relay? Start with the Introduction.
You need a Relay Server with at least one Shared Folder. If you have not made one yet, see Create a Shared Folder with private access.
Relay's free tier supports up to 3 users per Relay Server. For larger teams, or to sync images, PDFs, and other file types, see Upgrade to Relay for teams.

Put your work in a Shared Folder

Anything inside a Shared Folder on your Relay Server is shared with the people on that server — unless the folder uses private access, which limits it to selected people. Drag the notes or Canvas you want to collaborate on into a Shared Folder.

Because real-time collaboration is powerful, keep a backup copy of anything important before you share it, especially when you are trying a beta feature like Canvas multiplayer.

Invite your collaborator

1. Open your Relay Server

Open Relay settings with the Relay ribbon icon in Obsidian's far-left sidebar. Under Relay Servers, click the gear icon for the server you want to share.

Click the gear icon next to your Relay Server.

On the server's settings page, scroll to the Sharing section and make sure Enable key sharing is on. Then click the eye icon next to the Share Key to reveal it, and copy it.

Click the eye icon to reveal the Share Key, then copy it. Treat it like a password — anyone who has it can join your Relay Server. Turn Enable key sharing off once everyone has joined, or use Rotate key to replace it.

Send the key to your collaborator any way you like — a message, an email, however you normally reach them. They do not need Discord or any other account to join your Relay Server.

Your collaborator joins

Your collaborator does these steps on their own device.

1. Install Obsidian and Relay

If they are new to Relay, they install Obsidian and the Relay plugin first. See the Introduction for the full setup.

In Relay settings, under Join a Relay Server, they paste the key into the Enter share key field and click Join.

The Join a Relay Server section is at the top of Relay settings. Paste the Share Key and click Join.

3. Add the Shared Folder to the vault

After joining, your collaborator opens the Relay Server from their Relay Servers list. The Shared Folder is listed there — they click the Download button next to it to add it to their vault. Relay syncs the folder locally, and you are collaborating in real time.

Click the Download button next to the Shared Folder to add it to your vault. Both people now appear under Users on the Relay Server.

Troubleshooting

My collaborator joined, but our edits aren't showing up

First, make sure each person has actually added the Shared Folder to their own vault — joining the Relay Server is not enough on its own. On the Relay Server's settings page, the Shared Folder has a Download button to add it locally.

If the folder is added on both sides and edits still aren't syncing, a few things can jog it into action:

Both people reload Obsidian: open the command palette and run Reload app without saving.
Right-click the Shared Folder in your file list and choose Relay: Sync.
Make a fresh copy of the file from your vault and drag the copy into the Shared Folder.

Do we need Discord to collaborate?

No. The Relay Discord is our community and support server, and it is a great place to ask questions, but it has nothing to do with joining a Relay Server. Your collaborator joins entirely inside Relay using the Share Key.

We're collaborating on a Canvas

Real-time Canvas collaboration is currently a beta feature and needs to be enabled. See Canvas multiplayer for how to turn it on and what to expect.

I want to control who can see each folder

By default, everyone on a Relay Server can access its Shared Folders. To limit a folder to specific people, use a Shared Folder with private access — see Create a Shared Folder with private access.