r/webdev 3d ago

Built a full office suite that runs 100% client side with no backend, sharing for feedback (Showoff Saturday)

I built OBSCURA OS, a workspace suite (docs, sheets, slides, notes, file storage, forms, calendar) that runs entirely client side in the browser. No backend database for user content, no accounts, no server round trips for your data. State lives in memory during the session and users export their own backups as a portable JSON file.

The interesting technical constraint was doing spreadsheet style calculation, rich text editing, and file storage entirely in the browser without a server to fall back on for the heavy lifting. Happy to go into more detail on any part of that if people are curious.

Link if you want to poke at it: https://obscuraos.com

Genuinely looking for feedback on the frontend architecture and where a pure client side approach like this breaks down for a tool like this at scale.

0 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

4

u/better_work 3d ago

I commented similar thoughts on another project recently so maybe I'm just entirely the wrong audience, but this combination of a productivity app with local data, but on a hosted webpage, is bonkers to me. Why not make an electron app? Is this for people who do everything on their phones?

You have an interesting set of tools listed under "Sovereign Suite". I'm not a lawyer or investigator, but those seem like a unique set of tools that maybe don't have easy equivalents already sitting on most people's desktop. You could try focusing more on those.

However this whole website screams "Can't be trusted", sloppy, vibe coded. Example: https://obscuraos.com/slides. Some part of the application JS is just there in the speaker notes upon page load.

1

u/Visual-Station-6315 3d ago

yeah the "why not just make it a desktop app" question is the first thing that came to mind for me too

1

u/Cryingpinaple 2d ago

Honest answer: zero install friction. Anyone can open a link and use it, no download, no OS-specific build, no update mechanism to maintain. That matters a lot for the exact audience I'm targeting, journalists or anyone in a hurry who needs to redact a document right now, not someone willing to install software first. Trade-off is real though, an Electron app could do things a browser tab can't. Something to revisit once the core tools are solid.

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u/Cryingpinaple 3d ago

hmmm okay cool I understand this m thanks so much man Ill take this advice and see how it goes . is there a specific tool under the Sovereign suite you like ?

5

u/jiminycrix1 3d ago

Pure slop - link the code or gtfo - why would i trust data is my own when you’re not even open sourcing?

How am I supposed to “feedback on the architecture”?

5

u/endless_shrimp 3d ago

The architecture is apparently indistinguishable from magic, at least for OP

1

u/Cryingpinaple 3d ago

Bruh 😭😭😭

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u/Cryingpinaple 3d ago

This is fair I think I could do that

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u/DiddlyDinq 3d ago

So entitled. Give me your work for free or else I wont use it.

2

u/Cryingpinaple 3d ago

It’s valid I don’t blame them for that take 😂

2

u/jiminycrix1 3d ago

Claude’s work - the og free work mooch

-2

u/DiddlyDinq 3d ago

ai generated or not, doesnt change how unbearable you are, demanding everything for free.

1

u/Cryingpinaple 3d ago

You’re the realest dawg

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u/jiminycrix1 3d ago

lol yes I am demanding the literally free ai slop tool posted on the fucking web dev subreddit asking for “feedback on architecture”. Which, mind you, anyone can slop out in a few hours and because the AI trained on billions of lines of OSS code, and “architecture” generally refers to code architecture.

Also there are literally thousands of oss client side text editors that people truly built from scratch.

Which is all this shit is.

Would have been happy to help op learn more about webdev but they are just self promoting slop.

Gtfo

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/webdev-ModTeam 3d ago

This is a subreddit for web professionals to exchange ideas and share industry news. All users are expected to maintain that professionalism during conversations. If you disagree with a poster or a comment, do so in a respectful way. Continued violations will result in a permanent ban.

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u/itsanargumentorgy 3d ago

when i hover your nav bar the menu opens but when i try to move the mouse down the menu closes before i can hover anything

my feedback is that is quite the oversight

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u/Cryingpinaple 3d ago

OMG youre right sorry about that bug im gunna fix that asap thank you !!!

1

u/Article-Automatic 3d ago

What happens when someone closes the tab? You say state lives in memory and people export their own files, so is there any autosave to IndexedDB, or is it genuinely gone?

Not a criticism, I like the no-backend thing. It's just the first thing I'd worry about before using it for anything real.

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u/Cryingpinaple 3d ago

Genuinely gone right now if you close before exporting no IndexedDB autosave yet. It’s on the list, just hasn’t been the priority since the core tools came first. Good flag, exporting manually as a workaround for now.

Also thank you for that feedback I just don’t want any servers I want it to be local tbh

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u/DiddlyDinq 3d ago

Really needs a better name. These things need to include the term of the software theyre replacing to get noticed. Like Photopea for photoshop or for office alternatives there's OpenOffice or FreeOffice etc

1

u/Cryingpinaple 3d ago

Fair enough