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Whitebophir
AGPL-3.0Whitebophir is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Limnu for collaborative whiteboard sketching, saving drawings directly to disk as SVG files.
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Overview
Whitebophir is a self-hosted collaborative whiteboard built for real-time sketching in a web browser. Instead of routing strokes through an external database or requiring user accounts, it persists every canvas directly to local SVG files and synchronizes changes over WebSockets. Anyone with the board link can start drawing immediately, providing an unobstructed shared surface without signup barriers.
Why Whitebophir instead of Limnu
Limnu operates as a commercial cloud service where board history depends on vendor infrastructure, charging per-seat subscription fees and locking older boards on free plans. Whitebophir packages the collaborative canvas into a single container or Node.js process running on local hardware or a virtual server. Because it requires no database, Redis instance, or worker queues, deployment requires only mounting a single local directory to hold board files.
Operating Whitebophir demands minimal resources while providing practical administrative controls. Operators can configure socket rate limits per IP address, mount the service under reverse-proxy subpaths, and export telemetry directly through built-in OpenTelemetry collectors. Limnu retains an edge for organizations needing commercial team directories and polished marker physics. For teams wanting full control over their whiteboard infrastructure without subscription fees, Whitebophir delivers real-time sketching with negligible operational overhead.
What it does well
- Zero-registration access: participants join a drawing session simply by opening a link, removing account barriers for guests and students.
- Infinite canvas: users can pan and zoom freely across an expansive surface to sketch diagrams without running out of room.
- Intuitive sketching tools: includes essential instruments like freehand pencils, straight lines, rectangles, circles, text, and an eraser without complex menus.
- Vector SVG persistence: saves drawings directly as standard SVG files on disk, keeping lines sharp at any zoom level while enabling instant preview downloads.
- Real-time synchronization: broadcasts stroke updates across connected screens so participants see lines appear as someone draws them.
- Cross-device accessibility: runs across desktop and mobile browsers using finger, mouse, or stylus input without installing client software.
