Jotpod: a private chat pod for every contribution
Most project discussions start on GitHub. Someone files a bug report, a pull request needs a decision, or a feature idea won't fit in one comment. Before long, an issue has forty comments, half of them "any update?", and the important decision is buried somewhere in the middle. Issue comments work well as a permanent record, but they're slow for actually talking something through. So teams move the conversation to Slack or Discord, where it drifts away from the issue, and you're never quite sure who should have been invited.
What Jotpod is
Jotpod gives a GitHub issue its own private, real-time chat space, called a pod. Instead of trading comments for days, the people working on an issue can open a pod, talk it through live, reach a decision, and get back to work. The issue stays clean, and the discussion stays connected to it.
How it works
A maintainer installs the Jotpod GitHub App on the repositories they choose, once. After that, anyone with write access can open a pod for an issue, either from the Jotpod website or by commenting /jotpod on the issue. Jotpod replies on the issue with a link to the pod. Contributors open the link, sign in with GitHub, and they're in, with their GitHub name and avatar. Nobody else has to install anything.
Only your collaborators get in or?
Access is the core of Jotpod. A pod linked to a repository only admits people that GitHub lists as collaborators on that repository. Having the link isn't enough, and neither is being able to read a public repository. Jotpod checks with GitHub when someone joins and keeps checking while they take part. If you remove someone from the repository on GitHub, they're removed from the pod too. Nothing about a private repository is shown to anyone who isn't allowed in.
The pod follows the issue
Each issue gets one pod, so creating it again just opens the existing one. When the issue is closed, the pod becomes read-only: the history stays visible, but nobody can post. Reopen the issue and the pod comes back to life. If the issue is deleted, moved to another repository, or the repository is disconnected from Jotpod, the pod is locked the same way.
Everything you need to decide together
Pods are built for working conversations. Messages appear instantly. You can reply in threads to keep side discussions out of the way, react to messages, and @mention teammates to get their attention. When the team needs to decide something, anyone can start a poll in seconds, with single or multiple choice, anonymous voting, and the option to let others add answers. If typing isn't enough, you can start a voice and video call right inside the pod for up to five people.
Quick pods for everything else
Not every conversation belongs to a repository. Quick pods aren't linked to GitHub: create one, share its link or code, and anyone you invite can join. They clean up after themselves, deleting the pod and every message after 24 hours, 36 hours or six days. You can also make a quick pod public so visitors can drop in and chat as guests without an account.
Built with privacy in mind
Jotpod asks GitHub for as little as it can: read access to repository metadata, so it can check who's a collaborator, and access to issues, so it can read issue titles and post the pod link. It can't read your code, pull requests or secrets, and it never pushes anything. Your GitHub sign-in token is stored encrypted, calls are never recorded, and messages are only visible to the people in the pod. Deleting your account removes your profile, your messages and the pods you own.
Getting started
Head to jotpod.jotx.space, sign in with GitHub, and install the Jotpod GitHub App on a repository. Open a pod for your noisiest issue, share the link, and see how much faster a decision comes when everyone's talking in the same place.