Local, first, forever
July 26, 2024
What is local-first?
For the long version, go to Ink & Switch, who coined the term. Or listen for Peter van Hardenberg explaining it on LocalFirst.fm.
Here’s my short version:
- It’s software.
- That prefers keeping your data local.
- But it still goes to the internet occasionally to sync with other users, fetch data, back up, etc.
If it doesn’t go to the internet at all, it’s just local software.
If it doesn’t work offline with data it already has, then it’s just normal cloud software. You all know the type — sorry, Dave, I can’t play the song I just downloaded because your internet disappeared for one second…
But somewhere in the middle — local-first. We love it because it’s good for the end user, you and me, not for the corporations that produce it.
You may not have heard of the local first paradigm, a relatively recent name for, well how software worked until the rise of web based software the last decade or so.
But it’s something you might want to pay attention to–both in how you architect your own applications, and choose the software you use.
