A Local-First App Workshop
Local-first means your data lives with you. The App Factory is what a local-first workshop looks like when you take the idea to its logical end.
Local-first is a movement toward software whose primary source of truth is the user's device — not a distant server that decides when you get to read your own writing. The App Factory takes that further than most: it doesn't sync to a cloud "eventually", it never touches a cloud at all. Your machine is the entire system.
The seven ideals, honestly kept
Local-first has a well-known checklist: instant, works offline, multi-device (via export), collaboration (via file sharing), long-lived (files outlive apps), private and secure (no server, no leak), and user-owned. The Factory keeps six of them ironclad and hands you the seventh — collaboration — as a file you can email.
The trade-off nobody talks about
Local-first without sync means no automatic multi-device magic. You export, you back up, you send the file. That's a feature: you always know where your data is because you're the one who moved it.
Files as the sync protocol
The oldest sync protocol is "email yourself the file". It still works. It's still private. It still doesn't cost anything. For personal tools and small collaborations, it's usually enough.
Frequently asked
Is this the same as Local-First software?
It shares the ideals: your device holds your data, works offline, outlives the vendor. It skips server-mediated sync entirely.
How do I sync between devices?
Export the file, drop it in your own cloud folder or send it to yourself. You control the sync path.
What about backups?
Same as any file: keep copies where you keep copies. The export button hands you a JSON snapshot any time.
Can two people edit at once?
No — not by design. For collaboration, share the file, take turns, merge by hand. It's the trade for zero infrastructure.
One HTML file · MIT-licensed · works offline · nothing to install.