Amber.
Data safety net
Make the safe version before changing the real one.
One of fifteen tools the studio built for its own work. We build the same kind of app for clients, shaped around the job they need doing.
- Made for
- Making risky changes to data boring
- Shape
- Native Mac app
- Data
- Snapshot files stored locally; databases can be local or remote
- AI inside
- None: this one is a pure safety net
What Amber does.
System upgrades and large price changes can alter thousands of records at once. Amber saves a clear, named copy of the data before the work begins.
One click captures a compressed copy; another restores it to the same place or a fresh copy for testing. Passwords stay in the Mac's secure store, and scheduled copies do not rely on someone remembering.
Put a reliable undo step beneath stock updates, price changes and system upgrades, with a saved version you can restore. Restore time depends on the database and the amount of data.
Why we built Amber.
Most of the scary moments in software involve a database: the upgrade that rewrites customer records, the price change that touches every product. We knew the hesitation well: the pause before a risky change, running on hope and a hand-made copy from last Tuesday.
Amber makes "before" a saved, named thing. One click captures the state of a database; one click puts it back.
How Amber earns its place in a working day.
Name the moment
Before the risky change, take a snapshot and name it: "before price update", with a note. Check that the snapshot completes before changing the data.
Make the change
Run the upgrade or the big update with the safety net in place, instead of on hope.
Go back if you need to
Check the target before restoring the saved snapshot: a restore overwrites the target database.
Or experiment on the side
Restore a snapshot into a fresh copy and test the scary idea there, leaving the real thing untouched.
The hesitation went
Risky changes stopped being preceded by a nervous pause. A completed snapshot gives us a recovery option to check before proceeding.
Experiments became easier
Testing a destructive idea takes a fresh copy and a few minutes instead of a morning of careful set-up.
The safety net stopped relying on memory
Scheduled snapshots reduce reliance on someone remembering to make a copy.
Made to fit the work it needs to do.
The name comes from amber, the resin that preserves things perfectly in time, which is the whole job. Passwords and keys live in the Mac's own secure store, never in plain text, and snapshot files are stored locally. Database connections can reach remote servers.
There's deliberately no AI in it. A safety net should be the most predictable thing you own, and knowing when not to add AI is part of doing AI seriously.
Could your business use something like this?
Tell us the job in plain English. We'll say what would solve it, what it would cost, and whether a desktop app is the right shape for it.