Sovereign Local-First E2EE workspace
Discover the ELFA workspace based on NextGraph framework.
NextGraph is a protocol, a framework, and a platform that supports easy development of Local-First, decentralized, secure and private apps, with end-to-end encryption.
By combining the best of the local first world (CRDTs), a Graph database (RDF), DID (decentralized identifiers) for users and documents, and end-to-end encryption plus encryption at rest, we provide an SDK that offers all the requirements of portability, interoperability and security needed today for building credible alternatives to Big Tech platforms and products. The ecosystem of apps built with NextGraph is growing, specially with the ELFA consortium that is preparing a full suite of apps for productivity tools and social network: an integrated workspace for resilience and sovereignty.
This talk will be composed of two parts. We will first introduce the general architecture of our platform and sync protocol, giving an overview on local-first and why it is a game-changer, and why E2EE is key to privacy and security. We will show how we support any kind of CRDTs (and explain what CRDTs are) and why we implemented a local-first Graph database based on RDF and SPARQL for interoperability.
Then we'll introduce NextGraph SDK and how easy app developers can use it to build web-based and native applications. Finally, we will present the ELFA consortium (Encrypted Local-First Applications), which has gathered with the aim of developing a full productivity suite of apps, an integrated workspace based on NextGraph. The suite includes a wiki, knowledge base, spreadsheets, email, calendar, contacts, video calls and more, all collaborative, local-first, and end-to-end encrypted. A sub-granting program will open soon on 1st of September on NLnet.nl website for anyone who wishes to contribute an additional app that integrates and complements the ELFA suite. The ELFA platform is open and federated and we envision a full ecosystem of users, app makers, and hosters, ushering in a new era of digital resilience, security, and autonomy, all open source.
Niko Bonnieure is a software engineer specialized in encryption, local-first and linked data technologies. After working in big data startups for several years, and following the Snowden revelations in 2013, he decided to quit those jobs and dedicate his time to building a decentralized platform for malleable apps based on graph databases and local first principles. He then added CRDTs to the mix to solve consistency issues in P2P setting, and E2EE to preserve privacy.
Niko is a strong advocate for Digital Sovereignty in Europe and Open Source. He leads the NextGraph project and the ELFA consortium, and is co-lead of the SuperStack coalition.