RebuildingCase study
Data Loom
Designed and built solo in under three weeks, then named runner-up in Supabase's 2024 OSS hackathon for Most technically impressive. Now being rebuilt.
- WebRTC
- Direct file transfer
- Supabase
Selected evidence
Pairing and transfer flow
01
Problem and context
Data Loom explored how to move files directly between devices without requiring people to create accounts or sending file contents through an intermediary server.
02
Santiago's role
Santiago designed and built the product solo between April 20 and May 6, 2024.
03
Constraints
- —Pairing had to be temporary and simple enough to enter on another device.
- —Sessions had to work without an explicit account-registration step.
- —File data had to travel directly between paired devices.
04
Important decisions and tradeoffs
- 01Use WebRTC for direct device-to-device transfer.
- 02Pair devices with temporary numeric codes.
- 03Create anonymous sessions in the background so account setup does not interrupt the transfer flow.
05
Verifiable proof and concrete improvements
- —Built from initial work to completion in under three weeks.
- —Runner-up in the Most technically impressive category of Supabase's 2024 OSS hackathon.
- —The implementation remains available in the public repository.
06
Results and lessons
- —The project demonstrated a complete direct-transfer flow under a short delivery window and received external recognition for its technical execution.
- —A focused pairing model made peer-to-peer infrastructure approachable without adding a visible account workflow.
Current status
The 2024 build is offline. A rebuild is in progress in the same repository: new schema and API layer, streaming transfers, and relay servers so transfers work across networks.