Duckly
Duckly is an IDE plugin for developers who want to collaborate live across different development environments.
What Duckly is
Duckly is an IDE plugin for developers who want to collaborate live across different development environments. It supports shared code, including multiple developers working on the same file, as well as audio, video, and screen sharing within an IDE. Developers can share terminals through an integration installed with npm, and the `duckly share --w` command enables write permissions. Listed editors include VS Code, VS Codium, and IntelliJ-based tools such as WebStorm, PyCharm, Android Studio, and GoLand; Duckly also lists a Chrome extension. The maker says IDE files are shared peer-to-peer with end-to-end encryption and do not pass through its servers. Calls and chat with four or fewer participants are also peer-to-peer and end-to-end encrypted, while a fifth participant moves calls to cloud infrastructure. The free plan supports two simultaneous participants but has no video calls. Hacker costs $6 a month and supports three participants; Team costs $10 per member per month and supports up to 60. Duckly lists email and a Slack group for support.
Good
- Supports live collaboration on the same file.
- Audio, video, and screen sharing are available.
- Terminal sharing can grant write access.
- IDE file sharing is described as peer-to-peer and encrypted.
- Works with VS Code and IntelliJ-based IDEs.
Watch out
- Free plan has no video calls.
- Free plan allows only two simultaneous participants.
- Calls move to cloud infrastructure with a fifth participant.
- No self-hosted option is listed.
Who it suits
Duckly suits software teams that want to share code, terminals, screens, and calls while using different IDEs. The free tier may fit occasional sessions without video calls.
Verdict
Duckly combines IDE-based code sharing with calls, screen sharing, and terminal collaboration. Check participant limits and the free plan’s lack of video before choosing a tier.
Plans and prices
From Duckly's own pricing page, checked 15 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | No video calls · 2 simultaneous participants · Unlimited rooms |
| Hacker | $6 a month | Unlimited video-call minutes · 3 simultaneous participants · Unlimited rooms · monthly |
| Team | $10 a month | Unlimited video-call minutes · Up to 60 simultaneous participants · Unlimited rooms · per member monthly |
The facts
Each one read from Duckly's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API and SDK status
- The same independent review reported that no public Git, CI/CD, issue-tracker or API integrations were documented.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Audio video screen
- Audio chat, video chat and screen sharing are available directly inside the IDE workflow.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Call privacy
- Calls and chat with four or fewer participants are peer-to-peer and end-to-end encrypted; when a fifth person joins, calls switch to cloud infrastructure.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Calls and screen sharing
- Duckly provides audio, video, and screen sharing directly inside an IDE.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Co-browsing extension
- The Chrome extension lets participants interact with a shared browser tab, including clicking and typing on the website.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Code collaboration
- Duckly supports real-time code sharing and lets multiple developers collaborate on the same file.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Code sharing
- Participants can edit and view shared code in real time, including seeing each other's cursors.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Cross-IDE support
- Supported environments include VS Code, VSCodium and IntelliJ-based IDEs such as IntelliJ IDEA, WebStorm, PyCharm, PhpStorm, CLion, Rider, RubyMine, AppCode, Android Studio, DataGrip and GoLand.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Data collection
- Duckly says it uses Segment with Amplitude for product analytics and Google Analytics for website traffic.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- The public help material is mainly a FAQ and tool-specific installation pages with step-by-step IDE and npm instructions.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Encryption
- Duckly says calls use 256-bit TLS and call video, audio, and media are protected by AES-128 encryption.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Funding
- Duckly says it is backed by General Catalyst, Notation Capital, Gradient Ventures, Y Combinator and other investors.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Hosting
- Duckly hosts its own services on Google Cloud Platform and uses Daily.co on AWS for calls.checked 15 Oct 2026
- IDE support
- The maker lists VS Code and IntelliJ-based IDEs, including WebStorm, PyCharm, PhpStorm, CLion, Rider, RubyMine, AppCode, Android Studio, DataGrip, and GoLand.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Integration scope
- An independent 2026 review found native plugins for VS Code, VSCodium and JetBrains IDEs, a Chrome extension, npm terminal sharing and Daily.co calls.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Licence status
- Duckly's official pages do not identify an open-source licence; its public GitHub organization page shows one repository, described as a fork, and one star.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: extension setup
- An independent review identifies the required IDE extension as the main adoption friction for collaborators who will not install tooling.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: missing recording and AI
- An independent evaluation found no session recording or playback and no AI assistant or code-suggestion features.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: participant privacy boundary
- Calls switch from peer-to-peer to cloud infrastructure when a fifth participant joins.checked 15 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Browser extension
- Duckly lists a Chrome extension among its tools.checked 29 Sep 2026
- GetApp listing
- GetApp describes Duckly as a video-chat and real-time communication tool and lists a starting price of 10 per user per month.checked 15 Oct 2026
The company
- Company headquarters and size
- LinkedIn lists Duckly as privately held, headquartered in San Francisco, with 2–10 employees.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Company legal name
- Duckly's official site identifies the maker as GitDuck, Inc.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Founded and status
- Y Combinator lists Duckly as founded in 2019, based in San Francisco, with a team size of five and an inactive status.checked 15 Oct 2026
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