7Tree
A private family tree that syncs across your devices — no account, no server
// Built with
01 Problem
Family history is personal data people are reluctant to hand to a cloud genealogy service. Building and preserving a family tree needs to work privately, offline, and stay in sync across a person's own devices without creating an account or trusting a third-party server with sensitive records.
03 Solution
A native SwiftUI iOS app that models a family as a relationship graph and persists it with Core Data mirrored to the user's private iCloud database via NSPersistentCloudKitContainer — serverless, account-free, end-to-end private sync across the owner's devices. Built offline-first with launch state restoration, and tuned so Core Data reads run off the main thread during CloudKit container setup to keep cold launch responsive.
04 Outcomes
Qualitative
- Private family tree that syncs across the owner's devices with no account
- Offline-first — fully usable without a connection, reconciled on sync
- Responsive cold launch after moving Core Data reads off the main thread
- Serverless architecture with zero backend to operate or secure
06 Constraints
- Private by design — records live only in the user's iCloud private database
- Account-free — no custom backend, auth, or server to operate
- Offline-first with eventual CloudKit sync across the owner's devices
- Cold launch must stay responsive while the CloudKit container initializes
07 Innovation
Account-free, serverless family-tree sync built on Core Data + NSPersistentCloudKitContainer against the user's private CloudKit database — no custom backend. Cold-launch hardening moves Core Data reads off the main view context while the CloudKit container spins up, eliminating a launch hang, with launch state restoration for continuity.
Novelty: high

