A list of all projects that aim to make the web more decentralized
| # | Project Name | Open Source | Description and Design | Status | Link(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mastodon1 | Yes | SN2, most widely used, part of Fediverse3; uses ActivityPub | Functional | site |
| 2 | Diaspora | Yes | SN. widely used, part of Fediverse, uses ActivityPub | Functional | site |
| 3 | Secure Scuttlebutt | Yes | SN, Mesh, p2p, widely used | Functional | site, guide |
| 4 | Matrix and Clients | Yes | Real time chat over TCP/IP, widely used; | 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 | Movim | Yes | SN, Based on XMPP | Functional, in development | site, Github |
| 8 | SOLID | Yes | Data store in pods, led by Tim Berners Lee | In development | site |
| 9 | Nostr | Yes | SN, chat; Websocket relays, schnorr sigs | Functional, in Development | Intro, Awesome Nostr List, NIP |
| # | Project Name | Open Source | Description and Design | Status | Link(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iroh | Yes | A framework/library; p2p ; Documents, Blobs, Gossip, & Networking | Functional | dumppipe, sendme; using; Iroh Github |
| 2 | PeerTube | Yes | Federated video solution, part of Fediverse; Uses ActivityPub | Functional | site, BitcoinTV - an instance of PeerTube |
| 3 | Magic Wormhole | Yes | File transfer/sharing application, and a website; Uses a mailbox server to connect two endpoints | Functional | Github, docs, file transfer site |
| 4 | GNUnet stack | Yes | Collection of applications; Tech stack with file system, VPN support | Functional | how to use, Anastasis, filesharing |
| 5 | Dark Crystal | Yes | Like Anastasis; shamir secret sharing and similar techniques | In development, being used by Secure Scuttlebutt apps | Protocol spec |
| 6 | Earthstar | Yes | private, distributed, offline-first applications ; shared folders; instantiation of Willow | In development | How Earthstar works |
| 7 | p2panda | Yes | build local-first websites, mobile and desktop applications; In Rust and JS sdk | in development, aquadoggo, roadmap | History of p2panda |
| 8 | radicle | Yes | p2p code collaboration stack built on Git | Functional | guides |
| 9 | Peergos | Yes | A number of applications that interconnect, including social network; run on your own server | Functional | Peergos book |
| # | Name | Other related technologies | Main driver | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AT Protocol | DID, "Control your identity, Control your Data" | Non Profit. Previously called WEB545 | In development, BlueSky app, List of PDS's, Fediverse to BlueSky bridge |
| 2 | ActivityPub | Based on Pump.io's ActivityPump protocol, applications using it are called Fediverse | W3C | Mastodon, NextCloud |
| 3 | WebRTC | Communication, p2p, browser to browser comm, WebTorrent uses it | Supported by Apple, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla | WebRTC.org |
| 4 | Spritely Goblins | Capn Protocol, is partial implementation of main standard; | By Spritely, this home page has good intro to the protocol; funded by NlNet | No usable application as of early 2025 |
Early 2025 - Removed Keet; added Peergos, Spritely Goblins
9 Sept 2024 - Mentioned Iroh, Earthstar and p2Panda; removed GUN, OStatus and Slashtags
6 Nov 2022 - Removed mention of abandoned project Trsst and Twister.
- Wikipedia page for social networking software
- Alternative Internet list
- NLNet list of projects, including Briar chat app.
- Ecosystem overview at Bluesky community