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wtf is ep_rtc?

johnmclear/ep_rtc — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-08-10 · repo last pushed 2020-11-22

★ 6JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

TL;DR

An abandoned Etherpad plugin that added peer-to-peer WebRTC connections for real-time collaboration. Users should use the ep_webrtc replacement instead.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      P2P for Etherpad
      Direct browser links
    Status
      No longer maintained
      Use ep webrtc
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      WebRTC
      Etherpad plugin
    Audience
      Etherpad admins
      Plugin developers
    Use cases
      Migrate to replacement
      Historical reference

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Migrate to the actively maintained ep_webrtc plugin instead

REASON 2

Understand how Etherpad plugins integrated WebRTC in the past

REASON 3

Reference the codebase for historical peer-to-peer Etherpad plugin patterns

What's in the stack?

JavaScriptEtherpadWebRTC

How it stacks up

johnmclear/ep_rtcanil-matcha/open-ai-vibe-coding-coursearthurmoorgan/drift
Stars666
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2020-11-222026-06-30—
MaintenanceDormantMaintained—
Setup difficultyeasyeasymoderate
Complexity2/51/52/5
Audiencedeveloperpm foundergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Do not install this plugin, use the recommended ep_webrtc replacement instead.

The explanation does not mention a license for this project.

Wtf does this do

This project was a plugin for Etherpad designed to let collaborators connect directly to each other for real-time communication. Etherpad is a collaborative document-editing tool, and this package aimed to create peer-to-peer connections between people editing the same document, likely enabling things like direct audio or video chat alongside the text editing. The technical approach involved WebRTC, a technology that lets browsers talk to each other directly rather than routing all traffic through a central server. The "p2p tunnels" mentioned in the description would have allowed authors to exchange data directly, potentially reducing server load and latency. However, this package is no longer maintained. The developer explicitly directs anyone interested in this functionality to use ep_webrtc instead, which appears to be the actively maintained alternative. Anyone considering this repo should simply go straight to the recommended replacement. Since the project is abandoned, there's no real use case for adopting it today. Etherpad site administrators who want WebRTC features should follow the migration advice and look at the alternative plugin.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
How do I migrate from the ep_rtc Etherpad plugin to ep_webrtc?
Prompt 2
Show me how to install and configure ep_webrtc for an Etherpad instance to enable real-time collaboration.
Prompt 3
What are the differences between ep_rtc and ep_webrtc for Etherpad, and why was ep_rtc abandoned?

Frequently asked questions

wtf is ep_rtc?

An abandoned Etherpad plugin that added peer-to-peer WebRTC connections for real-time collaboration. Users should use the ep_webrtc replacement instead.

What language is ep_rtc written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, Etherpad, WebRTC.

Is ep_rtc actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2020-11-22).

What license does ep_rtc use?

The explanation does not mention a license for this project.

How hard is ep_rtc to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is ep_rtc for?

Mainly developer.

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