Realtime, without refreshing

When a colleague moves a card, you see it move. When they comment on the task you have open, the comment appears. There is no refresh button, because you do not need one. This page covers how that works, and what happens when your connection does not.

How it works

• The app keeps a live link to the server for the workspace you have open.
• Each change goes out to everyone in that workspace right after it is saved. Moves, edits, new tasks, comments and files all count.
• A burst of changes, like one drag, arrives as one update. People see where the card landed, not each step.
• Your inbox and My Work update the same way.
• On a Mac, the sidebar shows Live while connected and Connecting while it tries to get back.

When the connection drops, the app keeps trying. Once it is back, it asks the server what changed while it was gone. Then it fetches just those tasks. Nothing is lost, and you do not reload by hand. If you were away for more than a week, it loads the whole workspace again.

The app also keeps a copy of your workspace on the device. It holds your projects and their columns, the people, your saved views and your My Work list. So the app opens on My Work at once, then swaps in fresh data when the server answers. With no signal, that copy is what you see. You can read it, but edits need a connection. The cards on a board come from the server, so a board needs a signal to fill in. A copy more than a week old is not shown.

An example: Luka, Mira and Ivan

Luka, Mira and Ivan are a three-person studio shipping a mobile app. Luka and Mira are on a call about the next release. Luka drags three cards to Done on his Mac. Mira watches them move on her Android phone, and her My Work gets shorter.

Ivan is on a train with no signal. He opens devBoard on his iPhone. It shows his My Work list as it was this morning, so he still knows what is next. When the train leaves the tunnel, his phone catches up. One of the cards Luka moved was assigned to Ivan, and it drops off his list.

What it does not do

• No editing offline. Changes need a connection, and nothing is saved up to send later.
• No live cursors or "who is here" marks. You see changes, not people.
• Your private to-dos do not sync live. Another device picks them up when you open My Work.
• Only the open workspace is live. The others catch up when you switch to them.
• No web version to keep open in a tab. Read why there is no web version.

Set it up

There is nothing to set up. Invite people to your workspace and open the same board. The guide on how to invite your team shows the steps. To see what moves on a card, read about boards. For what reaches your phone, see comments and your inbox. Or go back to all devBoard features.