Vibe coding goes multiplayer with Play with Putty

Google Labs is testing Play with Putty, a vibe coding space where multiple people can build and edit an interface together in real time.

describes an idea, reviews the result, requests changes, and eventually shares the project with a team. Play with Putty attempts to turn this process into a collective session, with several participants working inside the same creative space.

Google Labs describes Play with Putty as a research experiment in collaborative vibe coding. The tool is designed to let people build websites and applications together in real time without constantly moving between an editor, a communication tool, and a versioning system.

Here, “vibe coding” refers to a development process driven primarily through conversation. Instead of writing every function manually, participants explain what they want, review the result, and submit further instructions. Putty’s distinguishing feature is therefore not simply its ability to generate an interface, but the possibility of doing so simultaneously with other people.

The demonstration shows several participants connected to the same project. Their changes are synchronized immediately, in a workflow comparable to a shared document. One person can adjust the layout while another requests a new component or changes how it behaves.

This multiplayer approach could bring design, development, and approval closer together. A designer, product manager, and developer could work in the same session instead of exchanging mockups, comments, and successive versions. Google has not yet specified how many people can join a project, how roles are assigned, or whether some participants can be limited to viewing.

One of the central features lets users select an interface element and give it instructions in natural language. Someone could choose a button, text field, or navigation block, for example, and request a change to its appearance or behavior.

This targeted interaction removes the need to restate the context of the entire page for every adjustment. Instead of requesting a completely new version, the user identifies the exact area to change. The principle resembles a comment attached to an interface element, except that the instruction can immediately modify the project.

Putty combines this editing system with a shared history. Each change expands a timeline documenting the different stages of the project. Participants can return to an earlier version and review the sequence of modifications to understand how the final result was produced.

Google also uses the term “ledger” for the record of these interventions. This could become important in sessions where several people are issuing instructions to the same system. Without an attributed history, it would quickly become difficult to determine who requested a change, what it replaced, and when a problem first appeared.

The presentation includes an initial version, design changes, and layout updates. It does not yet reveal the full scope of the ledger. Google has not said whether it stores only visual versions or also preserves the instructions, model responses, generated code, and identity of the person who approved each step.

The history could also support the comparison of different directions instead of documenting only a single path. A team could test one structure, roll it back, and explore another without losing the previous stages. The website mentions the ability to “travel back in time,” but does not document parallel branches or a way to merge them.

Play with Putty joins an already extensive collection of Google creation tools. Stitch transforms instructions and references into interfaces, Opal builds small applications through natural language, Firebase Studio provides a browser-based development environment, and Google AI Studio can generate applications using Gemini models.

Google Labs distinguishes Putty through its explicitly collaborative focus. While its other services concentrate primarily on designing, generating, or running a project, this experiment raises a different question: what happens to AI-assisted development when several people can discuss and modify the same project at once?

The underlying AI system remains largely undocumented. Google has not identified the model being used, disclosed how much context is retained during a session, or explained how the system handles simultaneous or contradictory requests. It is therefore not yet possible to determine whether Putty uses an existing Gemini model or a configuration developed specifically for the experiment.

Supported technologies have not been detailed either. The presentation refers to websites and tools without specifying compatible frameworks, programming languages, databases, or external services. It also does not confirm whether users can inspect the complete code, edit it manually, export it to a Git repository, or deploy it outside Google’s environment.

These questions will determine whether Putty can move beyond prototyping. A team can quickly produce a compelling demonstration through natural-language instructions, but a production application also requires testing, access management, dependency tracking, security reviews, and a deployment process. Visual collaboration does not replace those steps.

Simultaneous work introduces its own challenges. Two participants may edit the same area, pursue different objectives, or request incompatible changes. The shared history makes it easier to roll back, but Google has not shown how Putty prevents conflicts or helps a team choose between competing proposals.

The promise of preserving creative flow will therefore need to be assessed under real working conditions. Fast generation can reduce interruptions, but it can also produce a difficult-to-follow chain of corrections when decisions are not properly recorded. The quality of the ledger and clarity of responsibilities will matter as much as the speed of the changes.

Play with Putty is currently available through a waitlist. Google is limiting this initial phase to people aged 18 or older who are located in the United States. The company has not announced international