Why we’re building a local-first office suite
Why Ettex is built local-first: the document lives on your machine and syncing is an addition rather than a precondition. What that buys, and what it genuinely costs.
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Where your documents actually live
In Ettex the authoritative copy of a document is on your device, not on a server. What that means in the browser, in the installed app, and when you want your data out.
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Most office suites answer "where does my document live" with "on our servers, and you are looking at it through a browser". Ettex answers it differently: the authoritative copy is in local storage on your device, and synchronisation is something layered on top. That is the whole of local-first, and the consequences are more practical than philosophical.
What that means day to day
- Editing is local, so typing does not wait for a round trip and stays responsive on a poor connection.
- The app keeps working when the network does not — the failure mode is a delayed sync rather than a blank page.
- A copy of your work exists on the machine in front of you, independently of any service being available.
- Collaboration is an addition rather than a precondition, which is why presence and live edits are per file.
The browser and the installed app are not the same
This is the part worth knowing before you plan around it. In the browser, Ettex runs as a demo: saving to disk and exporting are limited, because a web page does not get the file access an application does. The installed app — desktop build or installed PWA — is where the full local behaviour lives, including real files on disk. If taking data out matters to you, that distinction is the one to pay attention to, and it is easy to miss because both look identical while you are typing.
Browsers quota local storage, and that quota is real rather than theoretical. Local-first is not a promise of infinite space on the device; it is a statement about which copy is authoritative.
Keeping your own copy
- Install the app if portability matters, rather than relying on the browser demo.
- Export on a schedule you choose. An architecture that favours portability is not a substitute for actually having a copy.
- Keep exports somewhere that is not the same device, which is the part people skip.
- Check an export opens before you need it — an untested export is a plan rather than a backup.
Local-first describes where the authoritative copy sits and what happens when the network goes away. It is not by itself a statement about confidentiality, and any vendor using the two words as synonyms deserves a follow-up question — including us. The honest summary is that your document is on your machine, and what crosses the network does so when you enable sync.
Frequently asked
Where is my document stored?
In local storage on the device you are using. Sync, when enabled, copies it onwards; the local copy remains the authoritative one.
Can I export everything?
From the installed app, yes — it has real file access. In the browser demo, saving to disk and exporting are limited, which is the main practical difference between the two.
Does local-first mean my data is private?
No. It describes architecture, not confidentiality. Treat the two as separate questions, including when we are the ones answering.
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