🎨 Ink & Switch: A Decade of Discovery

Tenfold: A 10-Year Celebration

Ink & Switch is officially ten years old! To mark this milestone, we've collaborated with our peers to create an interactive art installation.

👕 Commemorative Gear

Grab some anniversary merchandise to celebrate a decade of research.

---

🚀 Our Mission

Ink & Switch operates as an autonomous research laboratory dedicated to reimagining the future of tools for thought.

We are striving to build a new paradigm of computing that serves as an amplifier for human cognition. Our goal is a system that fosters clearer thinking and more seamless collaboration, accessible to the user regardless of time or location.

While our specific projects shift over time, every endeavor is driven by this core objective: $\text{Human Intelligence} \times \text{Advanced Tooling} = \text{Amplified Cognition}$

🔬 Research Domains

Our work bridges the gap between the abstract realms of theoretical computer science and the tangible needs of user experience.

• Local-first Software: We are investigating architectures that prioritize user data ownership and integrate collaborative capabilities into every single tool.
• Malleable Software: We design environments where the user can modify their tools on the fly to suit their immediate, specific requirements.
• Programmable Ink: We are exploring a medium for sketching where adding logic and interactivity is as intuitive as drawing a line on a page.
• Universal Version Control: We are developing systems to track history and explore divergent paths across various media types to improve collaboration.

---

📚 Featured Work

We share our findings through academic publications and our own digital archives. You can find a curated selection of our most impactful essays and recent lab notes below.

For the full archive, visit our [Writing Index] or sign up for our newsletter.

🖋️ Malleable Software: Reclaiming Agency

Fighting back against the era of restrictive, "locked-down" applications.

• Ambsheets (2025 Essay): A new breed of spreadsheet designed for navigating possibility spaces and optimizing decision-making.
• Keyhive (Lab Notebook): A secure, local-first approach to access control utilizing end-to-end encryption and capabilities.
• Patchwork (Lab Notebook): A study into creating dynamic, local-first environments tailored for creative professionals.
• Livelymerge (Lab Notebook): A proposal for a collaborative programming kernel where object memory is shared in real-time across users.
• Embark (Lab Notebook): An investigation into how computation and live data can evolve a simple travel plan into a rich document.
• Inkbase (2023 Essay): A vision of a world where hand-drawn sketches possess the programmable power of a spreadsheet.
• Local-first software (2022 Essay): A manifesto for a new generation of software where users own their data, despite the dominance of the cloud.

🛠️ Production Software

Some of our theoretical research has evolved into practical, widely-adopted tools:

1. Allume (formerly Muse): A spatial digital canvas for visual brainstorming, allowing users to link notes, PDFs, and sketches.
2. Automerge: A specialized library for building collaborative apps. It uses CRDTs (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) to ensure seamless synchronization across devices, even when offline.

Example of a conceptual "Programmable Ink" interaction:

// Hypothetical logic for a programmable sketch element
const sketchElement = ink.getElement("circle_1");
sketchElement.onHover(() => {
  sketchElement.color = "blue";
  sketchElement.expand(1.2);
});

---

🌐 Lab Meta

Our work is made possible through the generosity of various corporate sponsors, individual donors, and global grants. We are united by a shared desire to provide scientists, journalists, and artists with powerful tools that respect human dignity.

Director's Perspective: Read a [Letter from Peter van Hardenberg] regarding the trajectory of our future research.

🎤 Public Appearances

While we primarily communicate through writing, we occasionally present our findings at academic and industry events:

• Local-First Conf 2026 (July 12-14): The entire team traveled to Berlin. We hosted a "Lab Day" to showcase progress on Patchwork, PlayBook, and Automerge.
• GodotCon 2026 (April): Lilith Duncan presented Backstitch, a plugin for the Godot engine that integrates Automerge for enhanced version control and collaboration.