Writing interoperable visions got me thinking about how cool it would be to use a GitHub repository as the storage for Zero Data or local-first apps as many people have an account there, even some less technical people. Using their repository contents API it should be possible to connect it as a backend for web apps and store the data in a repository. Has this been done already?

GitHub has useful affordances for browsing files, understanding directory structure, editing text, collaborating, version control, and a whole wack of integrations hooking into every corner of the internet. A repo can be synced to your local device where you can also do all the things your device can, then push it back to the cloud.

Might be interesting to think of it like a Dropbox shared folder, but globally public and editable, or another way to get Datomic's "version control for your database".

Of course, you may not want the data created by your app to be public, so you might use a private repository instead of a public one. Choosing a public repository where it doesn't breach privacy could be a new way to encourage 'open data', as one can literally see, fork, and hack all of it with no extra steps,

The many affordances accessible point-and-click via GitHub's web interface ensures there are at least two apps that can edit the same data, which is great for interop, but factoring all the ways to edit GitHub repos via integrations and on your local device, it becomes closer to infinite: could it be one of the most interoperable formats out there? What would it say about sovereignty if similar flexibility via an API was replicated by Codeberg, or self-hostable options like GitLab, Gitea, or Gogs?

The remoteStorage.js library already supports Dropbox and Google Drive as an optional storage backend, with Solid on the way. Why not add GitHub? A polyglot library with five low-friction storage options would give developers more potential for their apps, and the people using them more ways into owning their data.

Writing interoperable visions got me thinking about how cool it would be to use a GitHub repository as the storage for Zero Data or local-first apps as many people have an account there, even some less technical people. Using their repository contents API it should be possible to connect it as a backend for web apps and store the data in a repository. Has this been done already?

GitHub has useful affordances for browsing files, understanding directory structure, editing text, collaborating, version control, and a whole wack of integrations hooking into every corner of the internet. A repo can be synced to your local device where you can also do all the things your device can, then push it back to the cloud.

Might be interesting to think of it like a Dropbox shared folder, but globally public and editable, or another way to get Datomic's "version control for your database".

Of course, you may not want the data created by your app to be public, so you might use a private repository instead of a public one. Choosing a public repository where it doesn't breach privacy could be a new way to encourage 'open data', as one can literally see, fork, and hack all of it with no extra steps,

The many affordances accessible point-and-click via GitHub's web interface ensures there are at least two apps that can edit the same data, which is great for interop, but factoring all the ways to edit GitHub repos via integrations and on your local device, it becomes closer to infinite: could it be one of the most interoperable formats out there? What would it say about sovereignty if similar flexibility via an API was replicated by Codeberg, or self-hostable options like GitLab, Gitea, or Gogs?

The remoteStorage.js library already supports Dropbox and Google Drive as an optional storage backend, with Solid on the way. Why not add GitHub? A polyglot library with five low-friction storage options would give developers more potential for their apps, and the people using them more ways into owning their data.

After brainstorming there now exists a page for Easy Indie App which promotes the idea of self-hosting via ‘one-click install’ systems like Cloudron, Caprover, and Yunohost. Any feedback is welcome and the code is open-source.

Easy Indie App

After brainstorming there now exists a page for Easy Indie App which promotes the idea of self-hosting via ‘one-click install’ systems like Cloudron, Caprover, and Yunohost. Any feedback is welcome and the code is open-source.

Easy Indie App