Sync and collaboration issues
Troubleshoot real-time sync not updating, collaborators not seeing changes, or edits being lost.
Changes not appearing for collaborators
Normal delay — Edits sync in under one second via Supabase Realtime. If a collaborator isn't seeing your changes, ask them to check their internet connection.
Collaborator is on a stale tab — If the collaborator's browser tab has been in the background for a long time, the Realtime subscription may have disconnected. Ask them to reload the page.
Trail notes are not synced in real time — Trail notes are not currently synced across sessions. They are visible to collaborators once the page is reloaded, but changes do not appear live. This is a known limitation during the beta.
Private or incognito mode — Some browsers block WebSocket connections in private mode. Supabase Realtime uses WebSockets. Ask collaborators to try a regular (non-private) browser window.
Edit link not working
"Access denied" or link not found — Copy the edit link directly from the Share button in the Trip Planner — do not retype it manually. The short ID in the URL is case-sensitive.
Trip is in Active or Completed status — The collaborative edit link is automatically invalidated when a trip is started. Editing is locked once a trip is active by design — this prevents changes to safety-critical planning data while the trip is in progress.
Link was revoked — The trip owner may have revoked the share link. The owner can generate a new link from the Share button.
Presence indicators not showing
Presence (the avatar indicators showing who is currently editing) requires both users to have the trip open in an active, foreground browser tab with a live Realtime connection. If the other user's tab has been in the background for some time, their presence may have expired.
Presence is visual-only — it does not affect whether changes are saved. Edits from all collaborators are saved regardless of whether presence is showing.
Offline changes not syncing
Sync indicator is amber/pulsing — This means Trailkeep has reconnected and is replaying queued offline changes. Wait a moment for the sync to complete. The dot turns green when all changes have been saved.
Changes made while offline appear to be lost — Check the sync dot in the avatar header. If it is red, you are still offline. If it is green and changes are still missing, try reloading the page to force a cache refresh.
For a full explanation of how offline queuing and sync work, see Offline and mobile.