diff --git a/examples/sync/index.html b/examples/sync/index.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a6295f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/sync/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+<head>
+  <meta charset="utf-8" />
+  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
+  <title>Quickdraw — real-time sync example</title>
+  <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../packages/core/src/quickdraw.css" />
+  <style>
+    * { box-sizing: border-box; }
+    html, body { margin: 0; min-height: 100%; background: #eef1f6; color: #1c2434; font-family: system-ui, sans-serif; }
+    body { padding: 20px; }
+    header { display: flex; align-items: end; justify-content: space-between; gap: 20px; max-width: 1400px; margin: 0 auto 14px; }
+    h1 { margin: 0 0 4px; font-size: 22px; }
+    p { margin: 0; color: #5d6678; font-size: 14px; }
+    code { font-size: 0.9em; }
+    .boards { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr)); gap: 14px; max-width: 1400px; margin: auto; }
+    .client { min-width: 0; overflow: hidden; border: 1px solid #d5dae3; border-radius: 12px; background: #fff; box-shadow: 0 8px 24px rgba(30, 40, 60, 0.08); }
+    .client-bar { display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-between; height: 40px; padding: 0 12px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e2e6ed; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 650; }
+    .status { color: #a33; font-weight: 500; }
+    .status.connected { color: #18794e; }
+    .board { height: min(72vh, 720px); min-height: 440px; position: relative; }
+    @media (max-width: 800px) {
+      body { padding: 10px; }
+      header { align-items: start; flex-direction: column; }
+      .boards { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
+      .board { height: 65vh; }
+    }
+  </style>
+</head>
+<body>
+  <header>
+    <div>
+      <h1>Real-time sync over a WebSocket relay</h1>
+      <p>Draw on either board. Diffs are relayed to the other client; conflicts use record-level last-writer-wins.</p>
+    </div>
+    <p><code>npm run dev:sync</code></p>
+  </header>
+  <main class="boards">
+    <section class="client">
+      <div class="client-bar"><span>Client A</span><span class="status" id="status-a">connecting</span></div>
+      <div class="board" id="board-a"></div>
+    </section>
+    <section class="client">
+      <div class="client-bar"><span>Client B</span><span class="status" id="status-b">connecting</span></div>
+      <div class="board" id="board-b"></div>
+    </section>
+  </main>
+
+  <script type="module">
+    import { createQuickdraw } from '../../packages/core/src/index.js'
+
+    const relayUrl = `${location.protocol === 'https:' ? 'wss:' : 'ws:'}//${location.host}`
+
+    function connect(name) {
+      const board = createQuickdraw({
+        container: document.getElementById(`board-${name}`),
+        theme: 'light',
+        grid: 'dots',
+      })
+      const status = document.getElementById(`status-${name}`)
+      const socket = new WebSocket(relayUrl)
+
+      socket.addEventListener('open', () => {
+        status.textContent = 'connected'
+        status.classList.add('connected')
+      })
+      socket.addEventListener('close', () => {
+        status.textContent = 'disconnected'
+        status.classList.remove('connected')
+      })
+      socket.addEventListener('error', () => {
+        status.textContent = 'connection error'
+        status.classList.remove('connected')
+      })
+
+      board.editor.store.listen((diff) => {
+        if (socket.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) socket.send(JSON.stringify(diff))
+      }, { source: 'user' })
+      socket.addEventListener('message', (event) => {
+        board.editor.store.applyDiff(JSON.parse(event.data), 'remote')
+      })
+
+      return { board, socket }
+    }
+
+    const a = connect('a')
+    const b = connect('b')
+    window.boards = { a: a.board, b: b.board }
+    window.sockets = { a: a.socket, b: b.socket }
+  </script>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/examples/sync/package.json b/examples/sync/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5d12dee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/sync/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{
+  "name": "quickdraw-sync-example",
+  "private": true,
+  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "type": "module",
+  "scripts": {
+    "dev": "node relay.mjs",
+    "test": "node --test relay.test.mjs"
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "ws": "^8.18.0"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/examples/sync/relay.mjs b/examples/sync/relay.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dfcb946
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/sync/relay.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+import { createReadStream } from 'node:fs'
+import { stat } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { createServer } from 'node:http'
+import { dirname, extname, resolve, sep } from 'node:path'
+import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from 'node:url'
+import { WebSocket, WebSocketServer } from 'ws'
+
+const repoRoot = resolve(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '../..')
+const mimeTypes = {
+  '.css': 'text/css; charset=utf-8',
+  '.html': 'text/html; charset=utf-8',
+  '.js': 'text/javascript; charset=utf-8',
+  '.json': 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
+  '.mjs': 'text/javascript; charset=utf-8',
+  '.png': 'image/png',
+  '.svg': 'image/svg+xml',
+}
+
+function serve(root, req, res) {
+  if (req.method !== 'GET' && req.method !== 'HEAD') {
+    res.writeHead(405, { Allow: 'GET, HEAD' }).end()
+    return
+  }
+
+  const url = new URL(req.url, 'http://localhost')
+  if (url.pathname === '/') {
+    res.writeHead(302, { Location: '/examples/sync/' }).end()
+    return
+  }
+
+  let pathname
+  try {
+    pathname = decodeURIComponent(url.pathname)
+  } catch {
+    res.writeHead(400).end('Bad request')
+    return
+  }
+
+  const relative = pathname.endsWith('/') ? `${pathname}index.html` : pathname
+  const file = resolve(root, `.${relative}`)
+  if (file !== root && !file.startsWith(`${root}${sep}`)) {
+    res.writeHead(403).end('Forbidden')
+    return
+  }
+
+  stat(file).then((info) => {
+    if (!info.isFile()) throw new Error('not a file')
+    res.writeHead(200, {
+      'Content-Length': info.size,
+      'Content-Type': mimeTypes[extname(file)] || 'application/octet-stream',
+    })
+    if (req.method === 'HEAD') res.end()
+    else createReadStream(file).pipe(res)
+  }).catch(() => res.writeHead(404).end('Not found'))
+}
+
+export function createSyncServer({ root = repoRoot } = {}) {
+  const server = createServer((req, res) => serve(root, req, res))
+  const relay = new WebSocketServer({ server })
+
+  relay.on('connection', (socket) => {
+    socket.on('message', (data, isBinary) => {
+      for (const peer of relay.clients) {
+        if (peer !== socket && peer.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
+          peer.send(data, { binary: isBinary })
+        }
+      }
+    })
+  })
+
+  return {
+    server,
+    relay,
+    listen(port = 8080, host = '127.0.0.1') {
+      return new Promise((resolveListen, reject) => {
+        const onError = (error) => reject(error)
+        server.once('error', onError)
+        server.listen(port, host, () => {
+          server.off('error', onError)
+          resolveListen(server.address())
+        })
+      })
+    },
+    close() {
+      for (const socket of relay.clients) socket.terminate()
+      return new Promise((resolveClose, reject) => {
+        relay.close(() => server.close((error) => error ? reject(error) : resolveClose()))
+      })
+    },
+  }
+}
+
+const isMain = process.argv[1] && pathToFileURL(resolve(process.argv[1])).href === import.meta.url
+
+if (isMain) {
+  const app = createSyncServer()
+  const port = Number(process.env.PORT || 8080)
+  const address = await app.listen(port)
+  console.log(`Quickdraw sync example: http://localhost:${address.port}/examples/sync/`)
+
+  const stop = async () => {
+    await app.close()
+    process.exit(0)
+  }
+  process.once('SIGINT', stop)
+  process.once('SIGTERM', stop)
+}
diff --git a/examples/sync/relay.test.mjs b/examples/sync/relay.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..14ddcbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/sync/relay.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
+import { afterEach, describe, it } from 'node:test'
+import WebSocket from 'ws'
+import { Store } from '../../packages/core/src/store.js'
+import { createSyncServer } from './relay.mjs'
+
+const apps = new Set()
+const sockets = new Set()
+
+afterEach(async () => {
+  for (const socket of sockets) socket.terminate()
+  sockets.clear()
+  await Promise.all([...apps].map((app) => app.close()))
+  apps.clear()
+})
+
+async function setup() {
+  const app = createSyncServer()
+  apps.add(app)
+  const { port } = await app.listen(0)
+  return { app, url: `ws://127.0.0.1:${port}` }
+}
+
+function connect(url) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const socket = new WebSocket(url)
+    sockets.add(socket)
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      socket.terminate()
+      reject(new Error('timed out opening WebSocket'))
+    }, 1000)
+    socket.once('open', () => {
+      clearTimeout(timer)
+      resolve(socket)
+    })
+    socket.once('error', (error) => {
+      clearTimeout(timer)
+      reject(error)
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+function nextMessage(socket) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      socket.off('message', onMessage)
+      reject(new Error('timed out waiting for WebSocket message'))
+    }, 1000)
+    const onMessage = (data, isBinary) => {
+      clearTimeout(timer)
+      resolve({ data, isBinary })
+    }
+    socket.once('message', onMessage)
+    socket.once('error', (error) => {
+      clearTimeout(timer)
+      socket.off('message', onMessage)
+      reject(error)
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+const wait = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms))
+
+async function waitFor(check, timeout = 1000) {
+  const started = Date.now()
+  while (!check()) {
+    if (Date.now() - started > timeout) throw new Error('timed out waiting for condition')
+    await wait(10)
+  }
+}
+
+describe('sync relay', () => {
+  it('forwards bytes to peers without echoing to the sender', async () => {
+    const { url } = await setup()
+    const [a, b] = await Promise.all([connect(url), connect(url)])
+    let echoed = false
+    a.on('message', () => { echoed = true })
+
+    const received = nextMessage(b)
+    a.send(Buffer.from([0, 255, 1, 2]))
+
+    const message = await received
+    assert.deepEqual([...message.data], [0, 255, 1, 2])
+    assert.equal(message.isBinary, true)
+    await wait(50)
+    assert.equal(echoed, false)
+  })
+
+  it('forwards in both directions and keeps serving after a peer disconnects', async () => {
+    const { url } = await setup()
+    const [a, b, c] = await Promise.all([connect(url), connect(url), connect(url)])
+
+    const fromB = nextMessage(a)
+    b.send('from b')
+    assert.equal((await fromB).data.toString(), 'from b')
+
+    await new Promise((resolve) => {
+      b.once('close', resolve)
+      b.close()
+    })
+    sockets.delete(b)
+
+    const fromA = nextMessage(c)
+    a.send('from a')
+    assert.equal((await fromA).data.toString(), 'from a')
+  })
+
+  it('keeps remote records out of the receiving store undo history', async () => {
+    const { url } = await setup()
+    const [socketA, socketB] = await Promise.all([connect(url), connect(url)])
+    const storeA = new Store()
+    const storeB = new Store()
+    const localB = { id: 'shape:local-b', typeName: 'shape', type: 'rect', x: 0, y: 0, z: 1, props: {} }
+    const remoteA = { id: 'shape:remote-a', typeName: 'shape', type: 'rect', x: 10, y: 10, z: 2, props: {} }
+
+    storeB.put(localB)
+    storeA.listen((diff) => socketA.send(JSON.stringify(diff)), { source: 'user' })
+    storeB.listen((diff) => socketB.send(JSON.stringify(diff)), { source: 'user' })
+    socketA.on('message', (data) => storeA.applyDiff(JSON.parse(data.toString()), 'remote'))
+    socketB.on('message', (data) => storeB.applyDiff(JSON.parse(data.toString()), 'remote'))
+
+    storeA.put(remoteA)
+    await waitFor(() => storeB.has(remoteA.id))
+
+    assert.equal(storeB.undos.length, 1)
+    storeB.undo()
+    assert.equal(storeB.has(localB.id), false)
+    assert.deepEqual(storeB.get(remoteA.id), remoteA)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index dd78346..03d24e4 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
       "workspaces": [
         "packages/*",
         "examples/react-demo",
+        "examples/sync",
         "apps/*"
       ],
       "devDependencies": {
@@ -229,6 +230,13 @@
         }
       }
     },
+    "examples/sync": {
+      "name": "quickdraw-sync-example",
+      "version": "0.1.0",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "ws": "^8.18.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@antfu/install-pkg": {
       "version": "1.1.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@antfu/install-pkg/-/install-pkg-1.1.0.tgz",
@@ -11275,6 +11283,10 @@
       "resolved": "examples/react-demo",
       "link": true
     },
+    "node_modules/quickdraw-sync-example": {
+      "resolved": "examples/sync",
+      "link": true
+    },
     "node_modules/quickdraw-website": {
       "resolved": "apps/website",
       "link": true
@@ -14431,7 +14443,6 @@
       "version": "8.21.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/ws/-/ws-8.21.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-+0NTnW77fFN/DjQi6k/Sq/Yvk4Sgajw7urW8V+asjXnRgDs9gyGkdb7EzgfhA4goXsRIZKE28fzIXBHEzhuiWw==",
-      "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=10.0.0"
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5983fb9..63d51e5 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -7,13 +7,15 @@
   "workspaces": [
     "packages/*",
     "examples/react-demo",
+    "examples/sync",
     "apps/*"
   ],
   "scripts": {
-    "test": "vitest run",
+    "test": "vitest run && npm run test --workspace=quickdraw-sync-example",
     "test:watch": "vitest",
     "build": "npm run build --workspace=@quickdrawjs/react-native",
     "dev": "npm run dev --workspace=quickdraw-react-demo",
+    "dev:sync": "npm run dev --workspace=quickdraw-sync-example",
     "typecheck": "tsc -p tsconfig.json",
     "star-history": "node scripts/star-history.mjs",
     "publish:all": "npm publish --workspace=@quickdrawjs/core --access public && npm publish --workspace=@quickdrawjs/react --access public && npm publish --workspace=@quickdrawjs/react-native --access public"