A founding principle, not a marketing pitch
QoreDB's local-first positioning is neither an option nor a user preference.
It's a direct consequence of its architecture and its technical choices.
QoreDB wasn't designed as a cloud service that can also run locally.
It was designed as a local binary — standalone, with no server infrastructure.
This document describes the technical pillars that make QoreDB fundamentally local-first.
1. Tauri + Rust architecture
The binary before the web
QoreDB is a compiled native application.
The core of the application is written in Rust and compiled to a machine binary.
All critical logic (connections, queries, drivers, security) runs locally, on the user's own processor.
The interface is built on Tauri, which uses the system's native WebView:
- WebView2 on Windows
- WebKit on macOS
- WebKitGTK on Linux
No remote web page is loaded.
No backend is required to run the application.
QoreDB simply cannot run in any way other than locally.
2. Direct connection to databases
No middleware
QoreDB connects directly to databases.
The drivers are embedded in the binary:
- SQL via SQLx
- MongoDB via the official driver
The flow is strictly:
Your machine → Your database
There is:
- no proxy,
- no API gateway,
- no intermediary QoreDB server.
SSH with no proprietary abstraction
For secure remote connections:
- QoreDB uses the native OpenSSH binary (
ssh -L) - Your local keys are reused
- Your
~/.ssh/configsettings are honored
No key is ever uploaded or synced.
3. Secret storage
Zero-cloud by design
Connection credentials never leave the operating system.
QoreDB uses the keyring library, which means:
- Windows Credential Manager
- macOS Keychain
- Linux Secret Service
Passwords are:
- never stored in plaintext,
- never written to files,
- never sent over a network.
UI state, preferences, and history are stored locally
(standard OS files or the WebView's localStorage).
4. Privacy and telemetry
Silent by default
Telemetry is disabled by default.
No event is sent until the user has explicitly enabled the corresponding option.
The analytics implementation is deliberately minimal:
- no autocapture
- no session recording
- no implicit collection
The application communicates with no external service without an explicit action.
5. Product philosophy
Offline-critical
QoreDB is designed to work:
- with no internet connection
- in a secure environment
- on an isolated (air-gapped) network
Offline mode isn't a degraded mode.
It's the normal mode of operation.
Cloud or collaborative features are:
- out of the current scope
- optional by design
- not required for the core of the product
Conclusion
QoreDB is local-first out of a structural inability to be anything else.
There is:
- no server infrastructure capable of receiving your data
- no implicit synchronization channel
- no remote service required to operate
QoreDB is a tool you own,
not a service you rent.
This choice imposes strong constraints.
It limits certain possibilities.
But it guarantees one essential thing:
your data stays where it belongs.
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