Petal

What is Petal?

Petal is an open source desktop application designed for pair programming. It provides low latency, high resolution screen sharing and remote control capabilities. The software was created by the team behind CoScreen and is available for macOS and Windows, with Linux support planned.

Shared windows appear as native desktop windows rather than grid tiles. Users can move, resize, and interact with them directly. The interface shows labeled cursors for all participants and allows instant remote mouse and keyboard input. Multiple users can share their screens simultaneously in persistent rooms that do not require meeting links or scheduling.

The platform supports three deployment models. Teams can use the hosted cloud version, self-host the media server using a Docker Compose setup for better data control, or fork the source code to customize the entire stack. All options run the same desktop client.

Petal features

• Low latency high resolution screen sharing
• Native window management instead of grid tiles
• Remote mouse and keyboard control
• Labeled user cursors for all participants
• Simultaneous multi-user screen sharing
• Persistent rooms without meeting links
• Self-hosted media server option

Who uses Petal and for what

• Developers pairing on code changes in real time
• Technical interviews requiring live coding sessions
• Collaborative debugging across different machines
• Code reviews where reviewers need direct access
• Team sync meetings focused on shared workflows
• Compliance teams needing full control over media traffic

Petal FAQ

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