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Etherpad

Etherpad

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Verified working Aug 7, 2026

A self-hosted collaborative editor with detailed authorship history.

Etherpad is an open-source real-time document editor designed for teams that want control over where their writing is stored and processed. It emphasizes visible authorship, complete revision history, and self-hosted operation, with plugins adding features such as comments, tables, authentication, media, and optional AI integrations.

Why it stands out

  • Authorship and edit history are central features rather than hidden audit logs.
  • Designed for self-hosting, with no required vendor cloud or built-in telemetry described by the project.
  • Large plugin ecosystem lets organizations extend the editor without maintaining a fork.
  • AI features are optional plugins that can be pointed at user-chosen infrastructure or omitted entirely.
  • Used in environments with strict sovereignty, legal, educational, or editorial requirements.

Good to know

  • Self-hosting requires server administration; the quick install notes require git and Node.js 24 or newer.
  • Public Etherpad instances are run by third parties, so reliability, retention, and privacy policies may differ by host.
  • Many richer document features depend on plugins, which adds selection and maintenance work for admins.
  • It is primarily a collaborative text editor, not a full office suite replacement for complex layouts or spreadsheets.

Under the radar: If you only want to evaluate the editing workflow, try a public community instance first; reserve self-hosting tests for checking your own authentication, plugin, export, and retention requirements.

Photos

Illustration for Etherpad