Local-first · Peer-to-peer · Infrastructure on demand
Relay Button
Your app works locally. Start shared infrastructure only when collaboration needs it.
Distribute a local-first peer-to-peer PWA through IPFS, a normal download, or even a USB drive. Users keep their primary data on their own devices and exchange changes peer to peer. When they need help finding each other—or an online node to pin shared data—they press the Relay Button.
Current package version: v0.9.2
Application first
Software that stays with its users
Like software once distributed on a CD, a local-first peer-to-peer PWA can remain usable without a permanent connection to its original publisher. Local-first alone can still rely on central servers; Relay Button is specifically designed for apps that also replicate collaboration data peer to peer.
Read the full storyInfrastructure second
Connect only when collaboration needs it
Real networks still need signaling and bootstrap services. Relay Button deploys an OrbitDB and libp2p relay on Aleph Cloud for discovery, peer-to-peer collaboration, and optional IPFS pinning. Run it for minutes or years, then stop it again.
From local app to collaboration
What happens when you press the button
Relay Button does not move the application into the cloud. It adds replaceable, internet-reachable infrastructure around an app that already works locally.
- Open the PWA from IPFS, a download, or offline media
- Create and keep the primary working data locally
- Press Relay Button when the team needs to collaborate
- Deploy an OrbitDB and libp2p relay on Aleph Cloud
- Discover peers and replicate changes peer to peer
- Stop the relay when shared infrastructure is no longer useful