liiive is an open-source, web-based tool for real-time collaborative annotation of IIIF images.

Explore visual materials like artworks, manuscripts, maps, or historical documents together–live, in the browser–with shared cursors, synchronized annotations, and rich-text comments.

liiive is a web-based tool that lets users explore and annotate digital images together, in real time. Built on the IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework) standard, it's designed for researchers, educators, students, and cultural heritage professionals working with high-resolution images.

• Real-time collaborative annotation
  Multiple users can view and annotate IIIF images simultaneously, with low-latency synchronization.

• Live presence and awareness
  See other users' cursors in real time, and view collaborator activity directly in the navigation thumbnail strip.

• Annotation tools
  Create region-based annotations using rectangle, polygon, circle/ellipse, and path drawing tools.

• Smart scissors drawing tool
  A Photoshop-style "magnetic lasso" that snaps to object edges as you move your cursor, making it easy to outline complex shapes with minimal clicks.

• Permanent and temporary collaboration spaces
  Create ad-hoc rooms for short-lived collaboration that get deleted automatically after a set time, or persistent spaces with permanent annotation storage.

• Annotation export
  Download annotations in standard, IIIF-compatible format for reuse, archival, or further analysis.

• Publishing via derivative manifests
  Permanent rooms publish a IIIF v3 manifest at a stable, live URL, allowing annotations to be viewed in external viewers like Theseus, Universal Viewer, or Mirador.

liiive is not intended to be:

• A general-purpose IIIF viewer
• A digital asset management system
• A replacement for long-term annotation repositories

The easiest way to try liiive–no installation needed–is via the hosted service at liiive.now.

1. Paste any URL to a IIIF Presentation or Image manifest in the search box
2. Hit the 'Go liiive' button
3. Share your unique room link with others
4. Collaborate instantly, even without a login

Coming soon!

Contributions are welcome! Please use the issue tracker to discuss major changes or new features before submitting a pull request.

liiive is licensed under the terms of the MIT License.

Thanks to the following supporters for funding parts of this work:

• Department of Digital Humanities, University of Graz, Project DHInfra.at, funded through programme (Digitale) Forschungsinfrastruktur