Tools: Offline-first Apps Without Firebase: A P2p Approach With Genosdb

Firebase is the default answer when someone asks "how do I sync data in real-time?" And honestly, it's good at what it does. But there's a catch that most developers discover too late:

What if your app could work without any server at all?

Most "offline-capable" apps treat offline mode as a degraded state. You cache some data, show a spinner, and pray for reconnection.

True offline-first is different. The app works fully offline as the default state. Sync happens when connectivity exists — as a bonus, not a requirement.

GenosDB is a peer-to-peer graph database designed for exactly this. It runs in the browser, stores data locally using OPFS (Origin Private File System), and syncs between peers via WebRTC — with signaling through Nostr relays, so there's no central server even for connection setup.

That's a fully functional local database. No API keys. No project setup. No billing page.

One flag. Now every peer running your app syncs data automatically. No WebSocket server. No Firebase project. No config.

Let's build something real. A todo app where multiple users can collaborate, fully offline-first, with P2P sync.

Let's be fair. Firebase isn't bad. It's just a different trade-off.

It's modular too. Need natural language queries? { nlq: true }. Geospatial? { geo: true }. AI integration? { ai: true }. Load only what you use.

Source: Dev.to