Why did Figma move from operational transforms to CRDTs?
Operational transforms were complex to implement correctly and required a central server to resolve conflicts in real time. CRDTs are mathematically simpler: each replica independently applies the same operations deterministically, so Figma could handle offline edits, peer-to-peer sync, and better support for undo/redo.
Answered in
CRDTs: Conflict-Free Collaboration at 60fpsEvery user edits a local replica; operations merge automatically into an identical state regardless of arrival order, with no central locking.
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