Offline Sync in the Browser Without a Framework

I've been building apps with IndexedDB for years. The local part works fine — store data, query it, show it on screen. The hard part is keeping that data in sync with a server when the network comes and goes. Most tutorials show you how to build an offline app with a framework. Firebase, RxDB, WatermelonDB. Those work, but they bring their own abstractions, their own sync protocols, their own opinions. I wanted something simpler. A database with a sync API that doesn't dictate how my backend works. Here's the setup I landed on. npm: npm install ctrodb Docs: ctrodb.vercel.app/docs/sync/overview What We're Building A notes app that works offline. Create and edit notes on the train, in a tunnel, on a plane. When the network comes back, everything syncs automatically. The database is ctrodb (zero-dependency, browser-based). The backend is anything that speaks HTTP. Step 1: Database Setup import { Database , syncPlugin , HttpTransport } from " ctrodb " const db = new Database ({ name : " notes-app " , schema : { version : 1 , collections : { notes : { fields : { title : { type : " string " , required : true }, body : { type : " string " }, updatedAt : { type : " string " , default : () => new Date (). toISOString () }, }, indexes : [{ field : " updatedAt " }], }, }, }, }) await db . connect () Every collection you want to sync needs a timestamp field. The sync engine uses it to order changes and detect conflicts. Plugins are passed in the Database constructor via plugins array: const transport = new HttpTransport ({ url : " https://api.myapp.com/sync " , }) const db = new Database ({ name : " notes-app " , schema : { ... }, plugins : [ syncPlugin ({ transport })], }) await db . connect () The transport takes a single base URL and appends /push and /pull automatically. The sync plugin hooks into every write operation and records it in the change log. The plugin exposes devtools that take the database instance as their first argument: import { inspectSyncQueue , retryFaile