Remember when Slack stole
Screenhero from us?

We do too, and it made us 😢.
That’s why we’re on a mission to replace it.

When Slack bought Screenhero, we were sure someone new would come along to make a tool specifically for pair programming.

But four years later, no one has.

That sucks, because the remaining tools like Skype and Hangouts don’t give both people full keyboard and mouse control.

Have you ever tried to dictate some code for your pair to write? Or narrated a set of vim commands? Not fun.

Another problem: if you’re going to type on a remote machine, the connection has to be super low-latency. This is the sort of thing that videoconferencing tools just don’t care much about.

Since no one has built anything close to as good as Screenhero was, we’re building its spiritual successor.

If you’re sick of pairing over Skype or Hangouts, drop us your email and we’ll let you know when Tuple is ready.

Details we’re sweating

Full-time control for two

Seamless mouse and keyboard control for both parties (not easy, but essential).

Snappy interactions

An obsession with ridiculously low latency (extra not easy, extra-extra essential).

Command-line friendly

A proper command-line interface (lol if your pairing tool isn’t command-line driven).

Pluginability

A plugin system to let you customize your experience.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly are you making?

A tool for programmers to pair on the same machine regardless of their location. Both people will have full control of the machine with their own mouse and keyboard. We also plan to spend a ridiculous amount of effort on making things super low-latency. That’s the sort of thing Skype will never care about, but makes an enormous difference when trying to type on a remote machine.

And who are you guys?

Ben, Joel, and Spencer; three programmers who aren’t happy with the options for remote pairing out there.

What do you guys look like?

A photo of Ben, Joel, and Spencer looking friendly and trustworthy

Why is the tall guy’s hair so long?

Why is your hair so long?

What’s next?

Working with our alpha customers and getting ready to go to beta.

Can I get in the alpha/beta?

Maybe! The best way to get on our radar is to fill out the survey that you'll get when you join our mailing list. Or email us and say that you have a credit card and want to give it to us right now.

When will the app be generally-available?

Not sure, honestly. We’ll probably stay invite-only for a good while. We’re just three people and don’t want to just open the floodgates until we feel like the app is rock-solid.

How is this different than Atom Teletype or Visual Studio Live Share?

Those tools are great if you only want to share your editor (and maybe terminal), but we think it’s important to share the entire desktop. Your pair should be able to see your browser, documentation viewer, Pomodoro timer, etc. Also, those other tools are editor-specific and you can pry Vim out of our cold, dead hands.

Which platforms do you support?

Tuple will be a Mac-only app at first, but we hope to expand to Windows/Linux eventually. We’re writing the core of the app in C++ to make the porting process less painful.

Does my source code go through your servers?

Nope! Our servers broker the initial connection, but then all data flows between you and your pair—we’re out of the loop. Also, Tuple sends video and audio data, not actual file contents.

How much will Tuple cost?

We're still figuring that out. If you value your time highly and do a lot of remote pairing, it'll feel reasonable. If you don't, you'll think we're crazy.

Have you written any amazing guides about pair programming?

Yes.