- Author
- Geoffrey Litt, Josh Horowitz, Peter van Hardenberg and Todd Matthews (Ink & Switch)
- Published
- June 2025
- Kind
- Research lab essay, with descriptions of the lab's own prototypes
- Original
- www.inkandswitch.com/essay/malleable-software/
- Subject
- Future of computing
What it is
Four authors at the Ink & Switch research lab wrote this essay. It is part of the lab's tenth anniversary. It sets out what the authors call malleable software. It reviews existing approaches and the lab's own projects.
What it says
- The authors define malleable software as tools users can reshape with minimal friction.
- The authors say settings, plugins, modding, open source and AI coding each fall short.
- The first pattern is a gentle slope: more power needs only a little more skill.
- The second pattern is tools, not apps, and the essay compares apps to avocado slicers.
- The third pattern is communal creation, where communities build and maintain shared software together.
- The authors say Patchwork hosted the essay, and AI helped code a tool in minutes.
- The authors list privacy and security, business models and culture as open challenges.
What evidence it gives
The essay offers argument and a survey of earlier work. It adds anecdotes, such as a team's index cards and doctors' record systems. It describes lab prototypes and the authors' own use of Patchwork. It says only limited testing of Cambria was done.
Interests and limits
The authors work at a lab that builds the prototypes it describes. They have an interest in the vision. Patchwork is not yet released. The essay reports no controlled study or outside users. The authors say they only tested with trusted groups such as coworkers. Figures and videos were not viewed.