Local-first architecture

Most tools reach for a server by default, even for things that don't obviously need one — a single user's data, on a single device, that only that person will ever touch. The question worth actually testing is how far that assumption can be pushed before a server earns its place, rather than just being the default.

The honest answer so far is: further than expected, and for reasons that aren't really technical. Sync, backup and multi-device access are the real forcing functions, not raw capability — a lot of what feels like it ‘needs a backend’ is actually just one of those three problems wearing a different name.

Still exploring rather than committing to a position either way — the interesting test case is Alfred, which already runs local-first by design, and whether that constraint holds up as it grows past a single command centre into something that needs to sync across devices.