Local-First: A Crazy New Way to Build Apps

The main goal of LocalThirst is to simplify app development by focusing on shared state and providing tools and frameworks like Jazz to handle syncing and storage, reducing the complexity of app-specific code.

LocalThirst uses CRDTs (conflict-free replicated data types) to handle real-time multiplayer and offline support, allowing for fast, Git-like data syncing and reasonable auto-merging of changes.

LocalThirst is a new approach to building apps that simplifies the process by focusing on shared state between users and devices, removing the complexity of traditional app stacks.

Data security in LocalThirst is managed through public key cryptography, allowing for encrypted and signed data changes, which ensure read access and verifiable authorship without needing centralized API-based permissions.

Examples include Invoice Rater for managing cloud service invoices, Learn Anything for educational content sharing, and Succulent for social media scheduling, all of which leverage the local-first approach for enhanced user experience.

LocalThirst improves scalability and user experience by allowing apps to operate offline, sync data efficiently, and implement features like real-time collaboration easily, making it suitable even for scalable applications like social networks.

CRDTs play a crucial role in LocalThirst by enabling fast, conflict-free data replication across devices, simplifying the implementation of real-time multiplayer and offline functionalities.

Jazz emphasizes local-first identity and permissions using cryptography, allowing for end-to-end encryption and local data management, contrasting with other frameworks that may rely on centralized infrastructure for permissions.

Jazz is a framework for building local-first apps, and JazzCloud is its sync and storage infrastructure as a service, designed to simplify app development by focusing on local state and generalized syncing.

App development has become more complicated due to modern user expectations for advanced features like real-time multiplayer, cross-device sync, offline support, and complex permissions, which affect the frontend, backend, and database.