February 2023 status


Lots of prototypes

Since the start of the year we have been working on a few projects in parallel, so we are accumulating prototypes for a variety of new experimental features:

Nextcloud

screenshot of CryptPad code app running in Nextcloud

Wolfgang and Yann have been working on an integration with Nextcloud. A minimal CryptPad instance (as in limited to the Code/Markdown application for now) opens documents in temporary collaborative editing sessions, with all changes synced back to Nextcloud for storage.

Diagrams

screenshot of Diagram app in CryptPad

Wolfgang has been working on integrating Draw.io as a CryptPad application. Early tests are looking very promising, there are still a few key challenges ahead such as import/export, inserting images, increasing security (CSP headers).

Notes

the Code and Markdown Slide apps merging into the Notes app

Yann and David are working on the early stages of Notes, a new application that will combine the current Code and Markdown Slides apps. We plan on supporting different "modes" that will 1) preserve existing features and 2) improve the visibility and experience of using Markdown on CryptPad. Yann currently has most existing Code features working in CodeMirror 6 (current apps use CodeMirror 5). Next steps are to use reveal.js for the slide mode and to design a single-pane note mode with Markdown inline preview.

Yjs

As part of our Blueprints project, Theo has put together a working prototype of CryptPad's Code application over Yjs. This will likely remain at an experimental stage for now, but it will be made available with the other project deliverables.


As you may have noticed, each of these prototypes integrates or relies on other open-source projects. CryptPad wouldn't exist without this broader ecosystem so we encourage you to check out and support all of these projects: Nextcloud, Draw.io, CodeMirror, reveal.js, and Yjs. We will in turn make all of these prototypes available and open-source when they are ready, whether or not they are integrated into a future version of CryptPad.

AUTH officially starts

We are happy to announce that we have finally signed off the CryptPad AUTH project with NLNet, as part of the NGI ASSURE grant programme. The project's main goal is to make CryptPad more secure by adding support for external authentication methods. We will be working to add suport for two main types of services: identity providers (such as OpenID, LDAP, etc) and two factor authenticators (such as Time-based One-time Passwords). We know these are much requested features for many people looking to integrate CryptPad with existing infrastructure (e.g. in enterprise) so we look forward to making them available.

Next up

  • The various prototypes presented here are all part of different projects and partnerships with their own time-frames. We will be aligning those with our own roadmap and planning how and when each of them will make their way into future versions of CryptPad.
  • We are still hiring please look at our available roles and share them with anyone who might be interested.