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The context should be clear that this is talking exclusively about apps that store their data in the cloud.

Local-first here means starting with a local data model that syncs to the cloud from the start, rather than an app that only works online.





What are some examples of popular apps that do this which aren't web apps, and could feasibly work offline? Every native app I use is local-first. Eg. Photoshop, Blender, Figma, Xcode, Zed, Kitty, Affinity Photo/Designer, Notes, Music, Calendar, Messenger, Maps, Email, etc.

Notion is a big one. I tried it out but didn't end up using it because it doesn't work offline.

(I know you said not web apps, but it does have a desktop version)


Is the desktop version more than just a webview? :P

I already explained: "exclusively about apps that store their data in the cloud".

So Photoshop, Blender, etc. -- these are not apps that store their data in the cloud. They're using filesystems. There's no sync. They're not local-first, they're just local.

But the Apple apps -- Notes, Music, Calendar -- they are very much local-first. Their source of truth is in iCloud when you activate that, but they fully work offline as well and then sync once there's a connection. This is completely different from e.g. Photoshop.




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