IoT products face an integration problem: the device keeps readings in its own format, the gateway wants them as SQL rows, and somebody has to write a converter that stays correct for ten years. Every format change on the device breaks the converter. Every connection hiccup means retries and merge logic. The product works in the lab with perfect network, but fails in the field.
AltSql takes the converter out. Its base engine, AltSql Core, compiles to about 15 KB of code for a microcontroller. The device keeps its readings and settings in SQLite. The gateway keeps the same records, byte for byte, in SQLite. When the device reconnects after being offline for days, the two sides reconcile automatically without conflicts.
The technical innovation is conflict-free synchronization through identical schema. Both sides hold the same data in the same format, so there’s nothing to merge. Version conflicts don’t exist because the version is the data itself. This works because the engine is small enough to run on a microcontroller, and smart enough to track what’s changed since the last sync.
For developers, logic splits cleanly. A rule like “switch the fan on if the last ten readings were all above 60 degrees Celsius” runs on the device in C, using a SELECT on the local database. No round trip to a server. The dashboard queries the same ten readings on the gateway. Both get their answer from their local database.
Six prototypes are built around Core, and the engines page lists them all. AltSql Ask puts one SQL question to a fleet of devices and brings back only the answers. AltSql Mesh lets devices share a table peer-to-peer with no gateway. The flexibility comes from having a real database on every device.
The project is at Alpha. So far everything has run on a PC with flash chips and radio links simulated. Real hardware comes with the Beta. The live demos run the actual AltSql engine in your browser, compiled to WebAssembly.
Device makers who want to try it on real hardware can plan a pilot with the team.
The technical appeal is simplicity through constraint. You don’t build custom sync logic. You don’t manage conflicts. Both sides speak SQL. When the network drops, the device keeps working. When it comes back, sync is deterministic and collision-free. The innovation is showing that IoT synchronization doesn’t require complex algorithms—it requires identical schema on both sides and a clear definition of what changed.