Rack Multiplayer

Joining a Session

There are two ways into a session: type in an invite code, or click a public session in the lobby list. Either way, once you’re in you receive a full snapshot of the host’s patch and stay in sync from there.

You’ll join as a Normal user by default — able to edit when the session is unlocked, read-only when it’s locked. See Roles & Permissions.

Joining by code

This is how you get into a private, invite-only session — and the quickest way to join a friend.

  1. Get the 6-character invite code from the host (they copy it from their session’s right-click menu).
  2. In your lobby, type it into the invite code field.
  3. Click Join (or press Enter).

The code is the access grant, so you don’t need to find the session in any list — codes work for both public and private sessions.

If the host also set a password, an invite code alone won’t get you in — you’ll see a connection error. (Code-only is the normal invite path.)

Joining a public session

If the host made the session public, it shows up in your lobby’s session list.

  1. Browse the list of public sessions.
  2. Click the one you want to join.

Private sessions never appear here — they’re code-only.

Before you join: missing modules

If the host’s patch uses modules you don’t have installed, you’ll be told before you commit, and you can choose to join anyway or back out.

If you join anyway, the modules you’re missing appear as placeholders on your side — they sync position and data but won’t render or make sound for you. A status indicator in the session shows how many modules are missing. The fix is to install the same plugins the host has. See Troubleshooting.

Seeing each other

Once you’re in a session, you’ll see everyone else’s cursor — a labeled colored arrow that glides around the rack showing where each person is. Each cursor carries the person’s name and a stable per-user color, so you can tell at a glance who’s reaching for which knob.

Cursors are smoothed and shown to everyone, whatever their role — a Spectator still sees where the Host is working, and vice versa. They’re presence, not control: seeing someone’s cursor doesn’t mean they can edit (that’s governed by roles and the lock).

If you get disconnected

If your connection drops unexpectedly, the plugin tries to reconnect automatically, rejoining the session and pulling a fresh snapshot. If it can’t recover after several tries, you’ll get a manual Reconnect button. Leaving a session on purpose won’t trigger auto-reconnect.

Next: who can do what — Roles & Permissions.