A curated list of local-first software, resources, and development tools.
Local-first software prioritizes data ownership, offline functionality, and synchronization — keeping user data primarily on their devices.
- Local-First Software – The original article introducing local-first principles by Ink & Switch
- Building Local-First Software – Academic paper on local-first principles
- Why Haven’t Local-First Apps Taken Off? (2025) – Examines distributed complexity and adoption barriers
- Are Sync Engines the Future of Web Applications? – Deep dive into sync engine design
- Building Data-Centric Apps with a Reactive Relational Database – Reactive DB patterns by Riffle
- End-to-End Encryption in the Browser – E2E encryption technical breakdown
- Designing Data Structures for Collaborative Apps – Practical guide to CRDT structure design
- Beehive (Ink & Switch 2024) – Decentralized access control and convergent capabilities
- Ossa Protocol (2025) – Open universal sync protocol for local-first interoperability
- Why Superhuman Is Built for Speed – Applying the 100 ms rule
- Why Local-First Apps Feel Instant – Linear’s IndexedDB-first architecture
- A Gentle Introduction to CRDTs – Beginner-friendly CRDT explanation
- What Is Local First? – Overview by Peter van Hardenberg
- Local-First Development – Introduction to local-first concepts
- Local-First Conf 2024 – Full conference playlist
- SyncConf 2025 (Preview) – Conference focused on synchronization
- Electric SQL – Sync Postgres data into local apps with offline support
- WatermelonDB – Reactive DB for React / React Native
- Fireproof – Browser-native local-first database
- Evolu – Type-safe offline-first database with sync
- Dexie.js – IndexedDB wrapper with sync
- TanStack DB (2025) – Reactive local SQL-like DB with optimistic mutations
- LiveStore (2024) – Event-sourced local-first framework using in-memory SQLite
- Triplit – Full-stack sync engine + database (acquired by Supabase 2025)
- InstantDB (2024) – Firebase-style backend with offline & real-time sync
- Zero (2024) – Reactive sync engine from the Replicache team
- RxDB – Reactive NoSQL DB with replication, encryption, multi-tab
- PowerSync – Offline-first sync engine for mobile/web
- Y-Sweet – Hosted backend for Yjs sync
- Turso Sync (2025) – Sync local SQLite with edge-hosted SQLite
- Legend State – Reactive state with persistence
- Replicache – Client-side sync with conflict resolution
- PowerSync – Enterprise-scale offline sync
- Y-Sweet – CRDT backend service
- Tinybase – Reactive data store & sync engine
- Automerge 2.0 – Fast binary format & WASM “Automerge Anywhere”
- Yjs – High-performance CRDT framework
- Loro – JSON and rich-text CRDT
- Collabs – Composable CRDTs from CMU
- Figma’s Multiplayer Technology – Real-time collaboration internals
- Notion’s WASM SQLite – Browser local-DB performance
- Trello’s Offline Architecture – Offline support patterns
- Linear’s Local-First Architecture (2025) – Instant UX through IndexedDB-first design
- Logseq & Obsidian – Markdown-based offline knowledge tools
- Excalidraw – Collaborative drawing
- Actual – Local-first budgeting
- Bangle.io – Local-first notes
- Finbodhi (2025) – Encrypted personal-finance app
- Timelinize (2025) – Offline timeline journaling
- Hyperdrift / Biscuits (2025) – P2P family productivity apps
- Local-First Podcast Player (2025) – Offline PWA demo
- SQLite in Vue Guide – Building offline-first Vue apps
- An Interactive Intro to CRDTs – Hands-on tutorial
- Operational Transformation Visualization – Interactive OT demo
- CRDT Tutorials – Practical examples
- TinyRooms – Multiplayer game using local-first
- RxDB Blog – Why Local-First Is the Future – Deep dive
- Local-First Web – Community hub
- localfirst.fm – Developer podcast
- Local-First Discord – Active discussion server
- Local-First News – Weekly newsletter with releases & meetups
- LoFi Meetups (2024-25) – Monthly online community events
- Braid IETF WG – Working group for sync protocols
- Local-First Conf 2024 Videos – Sessions by Kleppmann, Artman (Linear), etc.
- LoFi / 28 Meetup (2025) – Dexie, Replication 3 Ways, Legend State performance talk
- SyncConf 2025 Preview – Dedicated sync-tech event
Pull requests welcome!
Add tools, libraries, or case studies that advance local-first, offline-first, or sync-centric development.
