This 10-Year-Old Lab Wants You to Actually Own Your Apps
Ink & Switch has reached ten years of work in 2026. It describes itself as an independent research lab studying tools for thought. Ink & Switch
Its stated vision is a new computer that helps people think more clearly and work together better. The focus is on thinking and teamwork, not on speed or automation.
That vision is split into four research areas. Local-first software is software design that gives data back to users and lets every tool support collaboration. Malleable software is design of tools people can reshape while they are using them.
Programmable ink is a drawing medium where adding behaviors is as natural as drawing with ink on paper. Universal version control is tools to explore options, keep history, and collaborate across different media.
The current prototypes fit those areas. Ambsheets is described as spreadsheets for exploring scenarios and possible futures to make better decisions. Embark is described as dynamic documents for making plans, testing how live data and calculation can improve informal travel plans.
Inkbase is described as programmable ink, testing what would happen if hand-drawn sketches could work like spreadsheets. Livelymerge continues the collaboration work at a deeper level. It is described as work toward a collaborative programming kernel, a shared core where the entire live material of a program is shared at the same time by multiple users.
Keyhive deals with trust. It is described as a local-first access control system with capabilities, which work like digital keys, and end-to-end encryption, which scrambles data so only participants can read it, for secure collaboration.
The lab also lists its local-first software essay, titled "You own your data, in spite of the cloud," about collaborative software that lets users keep ownership of their data.
Two efforts are listed as production software. Allume is a digital workspace to brainstorm, organize, and connect ideas visually using a flexible canvas for notes, sketches, and PDFs. Automerge is a library for building collaborative apps that sync changes across devices, even offline, using conflict-free replicated data types (CRDTs), a method for merging edits without a central server. Ink & Switch
The lab states its ongoing research is supported by individual and corporate sponsors and grants from bodies around the world. To mark the tenth year, it states it designed an interactive art piece with help from friends as a celebration. Visitors are invited to play with the piece by clicking and dragging everywhere.
The broader picture here is about ownership plus change plus history. Data lives mainly on your own device, like keeping your notebook at home instead of only in a company locker. Permissions and scrambling travel with it. The merging method keeps everyone's copies in agreement without a boss computer in the middle.
In my view, this approach is worth watching because it flips the normal setup. Syncing through the cloud, permission checks on a server, and history as an afterthought become data on your device, digital keys, and history built in from the start. Each prototype can be judged on its own, by asking where information lives, who can change it, and how differences are resolved.
On a practical level for teams that build collaborative tools, the sync library is the place to start. A demo is easy to admire and forget. A library that handles offline work and merging enters real products. That makes Automerge and Keyhive the pieces to try first. If users gain more direct control over their data and tools in the next ten years, it will likely come through that kind of step-by-step use.
