LocalFirstSoftware

ThoughtStorms Wiki

Peter van Hardenberg presents some good rules for Local First:

  1. fast / immediate (no delay due to cloud)
  2. multi-device (not trapped on a single device)
  3. offline
  4. (real time) collaboration (PvH calls this "table stakes" for TfTs though it would be interesting to ask exactly what kinds of collaboration is needed
  5. longevity (can you trust it will be around indefinitely?)
  6. security and privacy by default (no one peering over your shoulder)
  7. ultimate retain control

(Though I say it myself, I think CardiganBay is doing well on these criteria. These are very much what I want in the software I use, so obviously I'm going to try to put them into CB. Possibly the real-time collaboration isn't what he'd expect. Right now you're basically stuck with Git. And manual synchronization. OTOH, this is working for me across machines and I could imagine working with others via it.)