Local-first editing for cloud projects — fast opens, offline work, background sync.
Cloud Projects on Desktop (Local-First Sync)
When you open one of your cloud projects in the desktop Studio, the editor no longer talks to the cloud database on every click. Instead, the project is copied once into a local working copy on your machine, everything you do runs against that copy at local speed, and a background sync keeps the cloud in step while you work.
You don't have to set anything up — this is how cloud projects open on desktop by default.
What You'll Notice
| Before | Now |
|---|---|
| Every editor action crossed the internet | Everything runs locally — saves and map edits are instant |
| Opening needed a working connection | After the first open, the project opens offline too |
| Slow project opens on cloud projects | Opens are as fast as a local project |
How It Works
1. First open — the Studio downloads your project into a local copy (you'll see a progress bar; time depends on project size and connection). This happens once per machine. 2. While you edit — a background sync pushes your changes to the cloud about every 30 seconds, and always once more when you close the project. You never trigger it manually. 3. Next open — the Studio quickly checks whether the cloud copy changed since your last session (for example, from edits made in Studio Web). If nothing changed elsewhere, the project opens immediately.
One Editor at a Time
Local-first editing uses a writer lease: while your desktop session is syncing, it holds the lease on the project, and a second desktop opening the same project is told who currently holds it. This is a single-writer model — the sync never merges two people's simultaneous edits.
> Editing in Studio Web while a desktop session is open is not coordinated yet. The website editor does not check the lease. If you edit the same project from both places at once, the next desktop open will detect the divergence and ask you to choose (see below) — but the answer is either/or, not a merge. Pick one editor per project per sitting.
When Both Sides Changed
If the cloud copy changed while you also have unsynced local edits (usually: someone edited in Studio Web while your desktop was offline), the next desktop open stops and asks:
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Keep my changes | Your local copy becomes the truth — the cloud content is replaced with yours on the next sync |
| Take the cloud version | Your unsynced local edits are discarded and the cloud copy is re-downloaded |
| Cancel | Nothing happens; the project stays closed |
There is no silent merging — the Studio always asks before either side loses anything.
Offline Work
If you're offline (or the service is unreachable), an already-downloaded cloud project still opens and is fully editable. Your changes sync automatically the next time you open it with a connection. The log notes when a session runs offline.
Gotchas
- The first open on a new machine needs a connection — there's no local copy yet to fall back to.
- Publish uses your local content. Publishing to your live server pushes what your editor sees — the local copy. If you just edited in Studio Web, open the project on desktop first so the check can pull those changes in.
- Playtest characters stay local. Playtesting a cloud project on desktop runs a local game server with its own store; test characters don't sync to the cloud database.
- Live collaboration and local-first are mutually exclusive. Real-time co-editing (Studio Web collab rooms) needs everyone on the same database; desktop local-first trades that for speed and offline capability.
- Escape hatch: set
cloudLocalFirsttofalsein the desktop Studio settings file to restore the old direct-to-cloud behavior for cloud projects.