kaldrc

kaldrc is a protocol and software framework designed to enable real-time collaborative editing and synchronized data stores across distributed clients. Built on conflict-free replicated data type (CRDT) principles, kaldrc uses delta-based state synchronization and automatic conflict resolution to allow offline edits to be reconciled when devices reconnect.

Origin and development: The kaldrc project originated in 2019 from a group of researchers and engineers at WaveForge Labs and has since been maintained by the Kaldrc Foundation. The first public release appeared in 2020, with major updates in 2022 and 2023 that expanded language bindings, security features, and server tooling.

Architecture and features: The core stack comprises client SDKs for JavaScript/TypeScript, iOS, and Android; a reference server called kaldrc-relay that coordinates synchronization and access control; and a CRDT-based document model. Synchronization operates on delta patches rather than full states, enabling efficient reconciliation of edits. Security options include end-to-end encryption for document content and token-based authentication via OAuth2. Deployments support self-hosted, on-premises, or cloud-hosted configurations, with optional serverless components.

Usage and reception: kaldrc has been adopted by several collaborative editors, educational platforms, and enterprise knowledge bases to provide low-latency collaboration with offline support. It is praised for deterministic merges and convergence guarantees, though implementations may incur larger message sizes and higher CPU usage compared with OT-based systems in some scenarios.

See also: CRDT, real-time collaboration, delta state replication.