decentralized-web-projects-list
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vishalxl
A list of all projects that aim to make the web more decentralized
Decentralized Web Projects
A list of all projects that aim to make the web more decentralized
Social Networks
| # | Project Name | Open Source | Description | Design | Status | Link(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mastodon[^1] | Yes | SN[^2], most widely used, part of Fediverse[^3] | Federated server, uses ActivityPub | Functional | site |
| 2 | Diaspora | Yes | SN. widely used, part of Fediverse | Federated server, uses ActivityPub | Functional | site |
| 3 | Secure Scuttlebutt | Yes | SN, Mesh, p2p, widely used | Mesh, p2p | Functional | site, Another version, Manyverse, SSB Protocol guide |
| 4 | Clients of Matrix Open Standard | Yes | Chat - Real time communication over TCP/IP, widely used | Interconnected Distributed servers; clients that use them | Functional; bridges for Gitter, XMPP | site |
| 5 | Retroshare | Yes | SN, File sharing | Mesh, p2p | Functional but breaking, no maintenance | site, Github |
| 6 | Aether | Yes | Reddit like SN | Flood mesh, p2p | Functional | site and about info |
| 7 | Iris | Yes | SN, marketplace, chat | Mesh, p2p | Functional | site |
| 8 | Movim | Yes | SN | Based on XMPP | Functional, in development | site, Github |
| 9 | SOLID | Yes | Data store model, led by Tim Berners Lee | Data store pods | In development | site |
| 10 | Nostr | Yes | SN, chat | Websocket relays, schnorr sigs | Functional, in Development | Intro to Nostr, Awesome Nostr List, NIP, client list |
Other Projects
| # | Project Name | Open Source | Description | Design | Status | Link(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beaker Browser | Yes | Allows accessing websites hosted on peer computers | Hypercore/DAT protocol | Functional | site, Intro to Hypercore |
| 2 | PeerTube | Yes | Federated video solution, part of Fediverse | Uses ActivityPub, federated servers | Functional | site, BitcoinTV - an instance of PeerTube |
| 3 | Keet | to be open-source released in Dec'22 | p2p video call app | live, released in Aug 2022 | annoucnement | |
| 4 | Wildland | Yes | Distributed storage, Data ownership, distributed file system(s) | One con is that they seem to have integrated a token(eth) into their system | In development, Beta | site, introduction to Wildland |
| 5 | Magic Wormhole | Yes | File transfer/sharing application, open source, and a website | Uses a mailbox server to connect two endpoints | Functional | Github, docs, file transfer site |
| 6 | GNUnet stack | Yes | Collection of applications | Tech stack with file system, VPN support | Functional | how to use, tool Anastasis for password recovery |
| 7 | Dark Crystal | Yes | Allows safeguarding your private key(s) by sharing them among number of other individuals you trust | Like Anastasis; shamir secret sharing and similar techniques | In development, being used by Secure Scuttlebutt apps | Protocol spec |
Technology Stacks
| # | Name | Other related technologies | Main driver | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WEB5[^4][^5] | DID, "Control your identity, Control your Data" | Jack Dorsey's Block Inc | In development |
| 2 | ActivityPub | Based on Pump.io's ActivityPump protocol, applications using it are called Fediverse | W3C | Mastodon, NextCloud |
| 3 | OStatus | Atom, Activity Streams, WebSub, Salmon, and WebFinger | GNU | GNU Social,Friendica |
| 4 | WebRTC | Communication, p2p, browser to browser comm, WebTorrent uses it | Supported by Apple, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla | WebRTC.org |
| 5 | GUN | Stack to build decentralized applications, including SEA Api for password backup, RAD api for storage | Supported by Mozilla and others | In development, p2p video and other sample apps in github samples |
| 6 | Slashtags | Identity and Data sharing | Synonym.to | In development, with proof of concepts available |
Document History
6 Nov 2022 - Removed mention of abandoned project Trsst and Twister.
[^1]: Mastodon, ActivityPub and Fediverse explained. A different overview [^2]: SN stands for Social Network [^3]: One list of Fediverse apps [^4]: The name 'web5' a riff/joke on 'web3', which is considered to be a VC driven scam narrative as of early 2022, used to drive shitcoin/scamcoin sales. [^5]: Overview and first impressions of WEB5
References
- Wikipedia page for social networking software
- Alternative Internet list
- NLNet list of projects, including Briar chat app.
- Ecosystem overview at Bluesky community
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