How to run your first live session
Starting a session takes one click and produces a 6-character join code. Participants open the join page, enter the code and a display name, and they are in — no account, no install, any device. From there you either let them work at their own pace while you watch the progress grid, or drive the room step by step. When you end the session, it produces a report you can export as Markdown.
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1. Start the session
Starting a session takes a snapshot of the template's steps. From that moment the session runs off its own copy: editing the template has no effect on the running room, which is what makes it safe to prepare next week's version while this week's is live.
You get a 6-character join code and a join link. Read the code out, put the link in the chat, or project it.
2. Participants join
They enter the code and a display name. That is the whole flow — no account, no email, no install. The display name is what identifies them on your dashboard, so ask for whatever convention you need before you start.
If someone joins late, they land on the current step; earlier steps show as not started and they can work back through them if lookback is enabled.
3. Choose how the room moves
Pacing is per-session configuration, not a property of the content. The same workshop runs self-paced with one group and tightly host-paced with the next.
- Lookahead — may participants move past your current step?
- Lookback — may they return to earlier steps?
- Force sync — pull everyone to the host's step as you advance
- Advance or jump the whole room to a specific step at any time
4. Read the room
Each participant marks every step in progress, done or stuck. The dashboard shows the grid live and sorts stuck participants to the top. Raised hands and help requests form a separate queue with an explicit resolve action, so a question cannot scroll away.
Presence is derived from a heartbeat rather than stored, so a participant who closed their tab greys out as “Away” and frees their seat instead of inflating your count.
5. Interrupt deliberately
A broadcast reaches everyone at once as a banner or a modal. It can be a plain announcement, an acknowledge prompt (so you can see who has confirmed), or a single- or multiple-choice poll aggregated live.
6. End it and review
Ending the session produces the report: a timeline, per-participant progress, engagement stats, broadcast results, quiz outcomes and the annotations people left. Export it as Markdown.
Free sessions end automatically at 45 minutes and Pro at 8 hours, with a live countdown for the host, so a forgotten session does not run indefinitely.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need video conferencing as well?
Usually yes — Workshopy is not a video tool. Run it alongside Zoom, Meet or Teams, or in a physical room. It replaces the shared document and the worksheet, not the call.
What if I need to change the content mid-session?
Edit it live. You can change a step's title or body, insert a step, hide one, or delete one while the session runs, and everyone's view updates without a restart. The step the room is currently on cannot be hidden or deleted.
How many people can join?
30 on the free plan and 200 on Pro. Seat capacity is read live at each join, so upgrading mid-session raises the limit immediately. A full session shows joiners a friendly wait state rather than an error.
Can I preview the workshop as a student first?
Yes — preview mode walks you through the workshop exactly as a participant sees it, before you start a real session.
Keep reading
How to write a workshop in Markdown
The complete authoring format: how # headings become steps, what Markdown is supported, and how to import or export a single .md file.
How to add a quiz to your workshop
Write graded quizzes in plain Markdown with #[quiz], ## questions and - [x] answers — and see how correct answers stay hidden.
How to track participant progress in real time
How the per-step status model works — in progress, done and stuck — and how the dashboard turns it into a live view of who needs help.
Run your next workshop with the room visible.
Set up your first workshop in minutes — free, no credit card.
