Introduction to Replit
Replit is a platform for creating and sharing software. You can write your code and host it all in the same place. Replit is also a place to learn how to code, so we have some awesome built-in educational features as well.
Replit can do it all. It can replace your:
- code editor (e.g. VS Code, Sublime Text, IntelliJ IDEA)
- development environment (e.g. your operating system, and build tools like npm or pip)
- cloud provider (e.g. AWS, Netlify)
- team collaboration tools (e.g. Google Docs, GitHub)
- teaching tools (e.g. Canva, Moodle, Blackboard)
- learning tools (e.g. Codecademy, Coursera, Udemy, Udacity)
Every Repl you create is a fully functional development and production environment. "Hosting from your editor" makes it easy to iterate quickly on your work, collaborate with others, and get feedback.
We know there's a lot to learn, so we've broken down some of the key features below for developers, learners, and teachers. Choose your own path, or go through all of them to become an expert in all things Replit!
Replit for Software Developers
For software developers, Replit can be your IDE in the cloud. Having your IDE live in the cloud has a lot of benefits.
- There's no setup! You can access your environment from any device, including your phone or tablet, and everything will just work.
- You can manage things like dependencies, build scripts, and environment variables in a single place and always be in sync.
- It's easy to get help from others. Every Repl is multiplayer-ready by default, so you can work with other developers in a Google Docs-like environment in real-time from anywhere in the world.
And under the hood, a Repl is a Docker container running in a VM, so you can run shell commands and do pretty much anything possible from a standard Linux box.
Check out the learning path below to get started:
Learn how to use the Replit IDE through a practical guide
Each Repl has a built-in file system, so you can upload existing files or create new ones, manually or programmatically.
You can easily add environment variables to keep others from viewing sensitive data such as API credentials.
Repls are highly configurable and you can customize them to run almost any project in any language in any way you want.
You can link Replit to your GitHub to push changes up or bring in new changes that were made externally.
We have a built-in time-travel feature so you can view previous versions of your code.
You can invite your friends or colleagues to help you with problems or hack on stuff together.
See how to host a front-end website for your homepage, landing page or portfolio.
Deploy a full-blown web application written in nearly any back-end language or framework.
Keep your Repl alive 24/7.
Store data persistently between Replit runs in a simple key-value store that feels like using a local dictionary or hashset.
Replit for Learners
Whether you're teaching yourself or taking a course, if you're learning how to code, you'll find our learning resources helpful.
If you're learning another language, we probably cover it in one of our teacher-contributed curriculums.
Replit for Teachers
If you're a teacher or professor who spends significant time teaching coding, whether that be in a classroom or a one-on-one environment, we have features to help you give feedback to students, set up and automatically grade homework assignments, and comply with your local privacy laws.
The following feature docs will help you get started making the most of Replit for teaching:
Leave comments on your students' code, or let them peer review each other, using in-line discussion threads.
Imagine if you had a robot to grade your students' homework. You can set up simple or advanced automated tests for your students' assignments and homework.
We will help you keep your students and their work safe online, while complying with various privacy laws and regulations such as FERPA, COPPA, GDPR, CCPA, and many others.