Local-first business app platform

Describe the business app you need.
It works offline and syncs itself.

A modern take on the best of Lotus Notes, without the admin burden. Documents, forms, views, workflows, and history in one app. Create an account and use it right in your browser, or install the desktop app — same account either way. It keeps working with no internet, then syncs quietly when you're back.

Start free → Download for Mac Use it in your browser or on your desktop — your account works across both.
You type

Track equipment loans with a due date and a reminder 3 days before it's overdue.

the assistant builds the forms, views & workflow
Sample CRM — Bionic Forms
A Bionic Forms CRM app: customers grouped by status, with a sidebar of views, search, and a live sync indicator — all running locally. Synced Works offline
Runs on your machine Works with no internet Encrypted & syncs itself
Why this exists

The tools that could do this either died or went cloud-only.

Most business software forces a choice: a rigid SaaS you can't shape to your work, or a spreadsheet that falls apart at scale — and both stop the moment your connection does. Teams in the field, teams that care about privacy, and anyone who outgrew a spreadsheet have been stuck. The tools built for exactly this — Lotus Notes, Access, FileMaker — died, went cloud-only, or demand a database admin.

The idea

A Bionic Forms application is a small, self-contained business database. You open it like a document, not a website — and it's yours, on your machine, encrypted.

Its documents, the forms to edit them, the views to browse them, the workflows that act on them, and who's allowed to see what — all in one file the runtime opens, renders, secures, searches, and syncs.

How it works

Three steps, no schema in sight.

1
"Track equipment loans with a due date and a reminder 3 days before it's overdue."

Describe it

The assistant builds the forms, views, workflow, and access rules. You describe what you want — you never touch a database schema.

2

Use it anywhere

Every authorized person has a full local copy. It works on a plane, a job site, a basement — no connection required, ever.

3

It syncs itself

Back online, changes sync quietly in the background. Conflicts get a clear merge screen — not a lost-work surprise.

What you get

Built on four opinions.

Works offline, always

The app is local-first. The network is a convenience, not a requirement — nothing breaks when you lose signal.

Encrypted by default

Local databases are encrypted at rest, devices must be approved, and access follows stable identities. FOSS encryption — no black boxes.

You define meaning, not pixels

A professional app shell — navigation, search, detail views, actions — so you describe behavior, not layout coordinates.

Nothing to administer

No Postgres to run, no schema to design, no sync protocol to learn. Open the app and work.

Who it's for

Teams that outgrew a spreadsheet but don't want a rigid SaaS.

  • Field & offline-heavy operations — inspections, service, remote sites.
  • Privacy-sensitive practices that want data on their own machines.
  • Ex-Lotus Notes, Access, or FileMaker shops looking for a modern successor.
  • Anyone who outgrew a shared spreadsheet but dreads a rigid rebuild.

Already use the form builder? It's now one part of the platform — the same drag-and-drop forms and AI response analysis, inside apps that own their data and work offline. Existing accounts keep working; nothing breaks.

Download

Get it on your machine.

Free for one person on your own machine — no account required, your data stays local and encrypted. Ready for the team? Flat plans by team size start at $29/mo, everything included. See pricing →

macOS
Apple Silicon (M1–M4) · v0.1.0 · ~4 MB
Download for Mac
  1. Unzip it and drag BionicForms into your Applications folder.
  2. Open it — the app is signed and notarized with Apple, so it just works.
  3. It opens in your browser — create an account or sign in. Your apps live on your machine and sync when you're online.
Apple Silicon (M1–M4). Intel, Windows & Linux coming.
Windows
Windows 10 & 11
Coming soon
In the build queue — want it first? Ping us.
Linux
x86-64 · portable build
Coming soon
In the build queue — want it first? Ping us.

Describe your first app in plain English. Watch it build itself.

Create an account and start in your browser, or install the desktop app — same account, use it whichever way you like. On the desktop your data never leaves your machine unless you say so.