Doodleup — A Real-Time Collaborative Whiteboard for Teams

When you're in the flow of brainstorming, designing, or teaching — you don't want clunky tools or laggy interfaces getting in the way. That’s exactly why I built Doodleup, a real-time whiteboard app designed for smooth, live collaboration.

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🚀 The Idea Behind Doodleup

We've all used whiteboards — either physical or digital. But most online tools either feel too bloated or are locked behind paywalls. I wanted something:

• Lightweight
• Real-time
• Completely distraction-free

So I built Doodleup — a tool that mimics the simplicity of a physical whiteboard but adds the power of the web.

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🛠 Tech Stack

• Frontend: React + TailwindCSS
• Backend: Node.js + Express
• Real-Time Engine: Socket.IO
• Database: MongoDB (room management, session data)

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✨ Key Features

• Live Collaboration — Real-time whiteboarding with instant stroke sync.
• Shared Canvas — Single collaborative canvas for all users in a room.
• Room-based Sessions — Unique room IDs for managing separate boards.
• Minimalist UI — No clutter, only essential tools: pen, eraser, clear.
• Multi-device Support — Works seamlessly on desktops, tablets, and phones.

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🔧 How It Works

Every drawing action is captured on the frontend and sent to the server:

socket.emit("draw", { x, y, color, size });

The server receives and broadcasts it to all users in the same room:

socket.to(roomId).emit("draw", data);

This creates a fast, responsive drawing experience across clients.

🎨 Design Philosophy

Doodleup is designed for speed and focus:

• No sign-up barrier — open and use instantly.
• Clean white UI with no unnecessary buttons or menus.
• Modular room and socket logic for scalability and simplicity.

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🎯 Use Cases

• Remote team brainstorming
• Quick math or logic explanations
• UI wireframing
• Collaborative diagramming
• Classroom teaching and tutoring

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📸 Screenshots

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📽️ Video Demo

🎥 Real-Time Sync Demo

real-time-sync.mp4

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🌐 Live Demo & Repository

• 🔗 Live App
• 💻 GitHub Repo

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📚 Lessons Learned

• Mastered real-time communication with Socket.IO
• Deep understanding of drawing on HTML5 <canvas> in React
• Experience syncing canvas state across multiple clients
• Balanced scalability and performance in a MERN stack app

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💭 Final Thoughts

Doodleup began as a weekend experiment and quickly became one of my go-to tools. Whether it's remote meetings or quick ideas, the simplicity and performance make it incredibly useful.

If you've ever wished for a faster, simpler alternative to Google Jamboard — try Doodleup.

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🏷️ Tags

#React #TailwindCSS #NodeJS #Express #SocketIO #MongoDB #MERNStack #WhiteboardApp #RealTimeCollaboration #CanvasDrawing #OpenSource

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