---
audience: power_user
summary: Pop a chat or a note into its own window. Keep a call in PiP. Run multiple
  ScaiWave windows side-by-side.
title: Multi-window and popouts
path: tutorials/power-user/multi-window-and-popouts
status: published
---

# Multi-window and popouts

ScaiWave runs as a single-page app by default, but you can pop
individual chats, notes, and calls into separate windows.

## 1. Pop out a chat

In any chat header → **⤴ Pop out**. The chat opens in a new window
(native on desktop via Tauri, browser window in the web app). The
window is independent:

- Its own WebSocket connection, its own focus state.
- Notifications, presence, and read markers cross-coordinate so the
  same room marked-read in one window updates in the other.
- Closing the popout doesn't affect the original tab.

## 2. Pop out a note

Same pattern: **⤴ Pop out** in the note header. The popout window
mounts the editor; the parent tab swaps the editor for a placeholder
with a **"Bring it back"** button.

Why the placeholder? Notes use Yjs CRDT live multi-cursor. Having
two editors on the same note in the same client would race; the
popout takes the binding while the parent waits.

To return the note: click **"Bring it back"** in the parent tab (or
close the popout). The parent reclaims the editor.

## 3. Call in Picture-in-Picture

During a video call, the call panel has a **PiP** button. Pops the
call video into a floating window that stays on top of every other
window — keep watching while you work elsewhere.

This uses Chromium's Document Picture-in-Picture API:

- **Works**: Chrome, Edge, Brave (Chromium 116+).
- **Falls back to a normal popout**: Safari, Firefox.

The PiP window has its own controls (mute, camera off, end call,
back to main).

## 4. Run multiple ScaiWave windows

Native (Tauri desktop): the app supports multiple top-level
windows. **Window → New window** (Cmd+Shift+N) opens another.
Useful for:

- Watching a long-running sidekick in one window while chatting in
  another.
- Reviewing two notes side-by-side.
- Splitting focus between two rooms during an incident.

Web: each tab is independent. Same coordination applies.

## 5. Cross-window coordination

Three things sync across all your ScaiWave windows in the same
browser session (or same Tauri app):

- **Notifications**: only one window fires the notification — the
  most-recently-focused. The others stay quiet so you don't get
  duplicate pings.
- **Read markers**: mark-read in one window propagates instantly to
  the others via `BroadcastChannel`.
- **Todo changes**: the cross-workspace todo store stays consistent
  across windows.

## 6. Tauri vs. web differences

- **Tauri (desktop)** — native window creation, faster transitions,
  PiP via the system OS where available, file system access.
- **Web** — uses `window.open` for popouts; standard browser PiP
  rules; no FS.

The URL shape is the same: `#/popout/<kind>/<id>`. So you can also
deep-link to a popout from anywhere (paste in browser, get a popout
directly).

## Where to go next

- Tutorial: (none yet for calls — they're click-to-start; reference
  is in [Calls API](/docs/scaiwave/reference/api/calls)).