FAQ

Software for working together while keeping data on your own devices. You join groups (ThingCollections) with a role in each; organize work as Things, chat, and activity; sync phones and computers when they can reach each other. Public sharing is optional. Desktop and Android builds exist — treat what you try as a proof of concept.

Classical ERP centralizes planning data in one system of record. ZinZen® is built for Federated Resource Planning (FRP): keep information local, work offline, share only what you choose — coordination without a mandatory central platform holding everyone’s private operational data.

A lived workspace you join with a role — household, coop, marketplace, project. Things, chat, and activity stay inside unless someone publishes outward on purpose. Not a shared cloud folder with a global ACL.

Yes. You can have a private household ThingCollection alongside your work or community ones, all in the same app. Your calendars, to-dos, and other Things stay organized in the collection they belong to, while you can see activity from all the collections you've joined in one place—without juggling multiple apps or relying on awkward calendar and to-do sync workarounds.

No. Installs sync as cryptographic endpoints; people show up under local names (petnames) you manage. Pairing uses relay-stored invites (link, QR, or code).

Primarily on your devices. A relay helps installs catch up inside collections they share; it is not meant to be the system of record for your private life. Offline work is part of the design.

An optional layer for carefully published rows (for example marketplace listings), separate from private sync — never backfilled from private history. Finding someone there does not admit them into your home collection.

No. Core app, sync, and definitions work without AI. Optional Studio co-authoring uses a model endpoint or API key you configure. An explicitly AI-free product line is a stated goal.

Yes — a primary use shape. Still a PoC: fine for learning and small experiments, not sole infrastructure for critical livelihoods without your own fallbacks.

Local-first reduces how much must sit on someone else’s server. Use relays you trust; treat published data as public; keep devices updated. Encryption maturity is still evolving with the PoC.

This about site targets WCAG 2.2 AA. The app UI also targets AA but does not claim full compliance yet. App catalogs cover English and Dutch.

No. Core sync and Things collaboration work end-to-end; other layers are incomplete. Do not put irreplaceable production workloads on it without backups and judgment.

Desktop via Tauri (typically Linux, Windows, and macOS where you can build or run it) and Android sideload. Multi-device sync through a relay. No iOS app and no browser-only product yet.

Build from the PoC repository: codeberg.org/tijlleenders/ZinZen-PoC-2026 (desktop via Tauri; Android sideload). Hosted PoC relay: relay.zinzen.me. This about site does not distribute installers — see the repo README for run instructions.

Yes. Typical pieces: sync relay, optional definition registry, optional public dataplane object store. The PoC ships containers and K3s/Traefik-style manifests; DNS and TLS are yours. DIY — not a one-click appliance yet. Devices still hold primary data.

The current hosted stack runs on a small attic lunchbox-scale host — the scale self-hosting is meant to allow.

TypeScript UI, Rust/Tauri backend, Axum relay, optional definition registry and Garage-backed public datasets. ADRs and design notes on Codeberg. Definitions, FlowGuides, and a visual workflow language are design directions — not a finished Studio product. Licensing is COMMONS — see below.

Please do — feedback is very welcome. See Contact for email, Signal, Matrix, and Mastodon. No form required.

The code is not open source and not free in the open-source / free-software sense. Under COMMONS (steward: ZinZen® B.V.), any individual human may inspect, modify, and use it according to that license. Design notes: codeberg.org/tijlleenders/ZinZen-design.