/patchwork

A decentralized messaging and sharing app built on top of Secure Scuttlebutt (SSB).

Primary LanguageJavaScriptGNU General Public License v3.0GPL-3.0

Patchwork icon
Patchwork

A decentralized messaging and sharing app built on top of Secure Scuttlebutt (SSB).

Patchwork screenshot

Table of Contents
  • Features
  • Pubs
  • Install
  • Docs

    • Features

    It's better than email because:

    • Private messages are end-to-end encrypted, always.
    • You have to follow somebody to get messages from them, so you won't get spammed.
    • Your mail can be public broadcasts or private, and you'll only see replies by people you follow.
    • The datastructure is a global mesh of append-only logs, which can support new types of data (not just "mail").
    • Users are not bound to one server/host (what we call "pubs") and do not have to trust the servers.
    • It's very easy to setup and maintain your own pub.

    It's better than twitter and facebook because:

    • Private messages are end-to-end encrypted, always.
    • The software runs on your device, so there's nobody tracking your browsing.
    • The application-code is FOSS, so you're free to fork or write new applications without a gatekeeper setting terms.
    • Data is saved to your disk, and so the application works offline.
    • You can sync directly with friends over the wifi.

    Pubs

    In order to gossip outside your local network, you'll need to connect to a Pub.

    You can find an invite to an available pub at the Pub servers registry.

    Get an invite, then in patchwork: click "+ Join Pub" and paste the invite code.

    This will cause you to follow the Pub and vise versa. If you haven't synchronized to this social network yet, prepare to wait a few minutes while your local server synchronizes.

    Install

    Download installers for Windows, macOS and Linux

    See patchwork/releases

    Or build from source

    With node (>= 4) and npm (>= 2) installed:

    $ git clone https://github.com/ssbc/patchwork
$ cd patchwork
$ npm install
$ npm start

    You'll need some more dependencies to build.

    On Debian Linux:

    sudo apt-get install g++ m4 libtool automake # build tools
sudo apt-get libxext-dev libxtst-dev libxkbfile-dev # spellchecker headers

    On macOS:

    brew install libtool automake # build tools

    Code of conduct

    Please note that this project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By participating in this project you agree to abide by its terms.

    Docs