Local-first with Tanstack DB with Schalk Venter

Within the span of 28 days during late 2025, we saw the entire internet buckle three distinct times under outages at completely different mass-scale cloud providers.

These failures underscore a hard truth: while cloud infrastructure delivers enormous benefits, its ubiquity also creates large, systemic points of failure. CyberCube estimated the first AWS outage alone caused nearly $581 million in losses, affecting everything from major streaming platforms to the now-infamous Eight Sleep smart bed debacle.

Few would argue for a return to the flash-disk pre-cloud era. However, many engineers have started questioning our relationship with these massive cloud structures.
One viable reconfiguration, known as “local-first,” based on a 2019 research paper of the same name, reframes the cloud as an on-demand task runner and a simple sync layer between devices, rather than the driver of every user interaction. While “local-first” isn’t a silver bullet (Aaron Boodman of Rocicorp famously describes the space as a “big, beautiful, hot mess”), early experimentation has highlighted encouraging results.

There have been various tools that help implement and manage a local-first architecture for a while now. However, with the recent beta release of TanStack DB (part of the extremely popular TanStack ecosystem), we might be on the cusp of local-first going mainstream.

In this session, we will explore the principles behind local-first and how TanStack DB can be used to achieve these.

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Khanyisa Real Systems (KRS) has been shaping Cape Town’s tech landscape since 1987, delivering smart software for startups, corporates, and government. With nearly 40 years of coding experience, KRS helps clients turn complex challenges into elegant, effective solutions. As a proud Microsoft Gold Partner, the team specialises in web app development, data management, and cloud solutions, and is deeply passionate about growing the SA developer community. Learn more at krs.co.za

NML is a software development partner to leading businesses in financial services. We design and build secure, scalable platforms tailored to asset management, lending, and insurance. With a focus on seamless user experiences, robust architecture, and long-term adaptability, NML helps clients turn complex challenges into elegant digital solutions. You can learn more at nml.co.za.

IO Digital is a remote-first software development company that partners with startups and enterprises to build and scale innovative digital products. With expertise spanning web development, operations and technical strategies, IO empowers clients across South Africa and internationally to grow through tailored technology solutions. We value collaboration, agility and long-term partnerships, ensuring each project delivers impactful and measurable results. Learn more at io.co.za

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