Real-time Updates

FanDesk delivers instant, live updates across Chat, presence, notifications, tasks, and more using Socket.IO — a WebSocket-based protocol that maintains a persistent connection between your browser and the FanDesk server.

How Real-Time Works

When you open FanDesk, your browser establishes a WebSocket connection to the server. This connection stays open and allows the server to push updates to you instantly — no polling, no page refreshes needed.

User A sends message
        |
        v
FanDesk Server receives message
        |
        v
Server broadcasts via Socket.IO to all connected clients in the channel
        |
   ─────┴───────
   |             |
User B           User C
sees instantly   sees instantly

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What Updates in Real Time

Chat

Typing Indicators

When you start typing in a chat input, FanDesk broadcasts a "typing" signal to all other members viewing the same channel. They see "[Name] is typing..." beneath the message list. The indicator disappears when you stop typing or send the message.

Presence and Status

Status changes are broadcast the moment they happen:

• When you go online, your green dot appears for all teammates
• When you go away (10 minutes idle), your dot turns yellow
• When you set DND, your dot turns red
• When you close FanDesk, your dot turns gray

This happens via Socket.IO events, not polling — so changes appear within 1-2 seconds.

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Notifications

In-app notifications are delivered in real time:

• The bell icon badge count increments immediately when a new notification arrives
• The notification appears in the notification center without refreshing
• Browser tab title updates to show unread count
• Electron app dock badge updates on macOS/Windows

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Tasks and Project Updates

Task changes broadcast to relevant viewers in real time:

• Status changes appear immediately on boards for everyone viewing the project
• New tasks added to a project appear for all project members
• Comments post instantly without page refresh
• Assignee changes reflect live

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Connection Status

FanDesk manages the WebSocket connection automatically:

Auto-Reconnect

If your connection drops (network interruption, sleep mode, tab backgrounded aggressively), FanDesk automatically reconnects when connectivity returns. Reconnection uses exponential backoff — 1 second, 2 seconds, 4 seconds — to avoid overwhelming the server.

What Happens During Disconnection

If you lose connection briefly:

• You may miss real-time events during the gap
• On reconnect, FanDesk fetches any missed messages and notifications
• In most cases, no data is lost

Connection Indicator

If your connection is lost, a subtle banner appears at the top of the page: "Reconnecting..." — this disappears once the connection is restored.

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Multi-Tab and Multi-Device Support

Multiple Browser Tabs

If you have FanDesk open in multiple tabs:

• All tabs maintain their own WebSocket connection
• Events received in one tab are reflected in all tabs simultaneously
• Actions taken in one tab (sending a message, marking notifications read) propagate to all tabs

Multiple Devices

Using FanDesk on your laptop and phone simultaneously:

• Both receive all real-time events
• Status is consistent (most recently set value wins)
• Messages marked read on one device appear read on the other

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Performance

Socket.IO connections are designed to be lightweight:

• Idle connection uses minimal bandwidth
• Events are transmitted as compact JSON
• Redis Pub/Sub is used server-side to fan out events across multiple server instances efficiently

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