Freenet is unclaimed —

Freenet

Decentralize Everything·freenet.org

Freenet is a fully decentralized peer-to-peer platform for building applications, described as a drop-in replacement for the world wide web. Apps run in the browser but the backend is a global network of user computers rather than cloud servers. It works as a global key-value store where keys are WebAssembly programs called 'contracts' that define validity, modification rules, and synchronization of shared state. Peers form a small-world network routed on a ring, scaling to millions of peers without servers.

What it's for

Decentralized group chat (River)Building decentralized alternatives to messaging, social media, email, and e-commerce servicesPublishing static websites on a decentralized networkEmbedding the Freenet core in other software via HTTP/WebSocket APIRunning peer-to-peer apps with no servers or cloud bills

Features 13

Decentralized group chat app (River)
Delegates: user-side programs holding private state acting on the user's behalf
Ghost Keys: cryptographic anonymous-but-verifiable identities
Live network dashboard showing peer activity
Local HTTP/WebSocket proxy for browser-based app access
No decentralized DNS; uses content-addressed contract hashes and personal petname-style naming
Publish static websites on the network
Small (<10MB) embeddable Freenet core communicating via HTTP/WebSocket API
Small-world peer-to-peer routing on a ring topology
UDP-based transport layer with NAT traversal
UI components for connecting browser apps to the Freenet network
Uninstall CLI command with per-platform cleanup options
WebAssembly-based 'contracts' defining valid state, modification rules, and synchronization

At a glance

free tieropen sourceself-hostableAPI

DeploymentHybrid

PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android

Forusers, developers, supporters

CompanyThe Freenet Project Inc. · 2001

Pricing

No paid plans are described; the project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit funded through donations and grants (see freenet.org/donate).