# Freenet

> Freenet is a fully decentralized peer-to-peer platform for building applications: a "drop-in replacement for the world wide web" in which apps run in the browser but the backend is a global network of user computers rather than cloud servers. Apps on Freenet are unstoppable, interoperable, and built on open protocols. The project is developed by The Freenet Project Inc., a US 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2001 by Ian Clarke.

## Important disambiguation

This is **Freenet 2023** (also called the "new Freenet"), a ground-up rearchitecture in Rust, originally codenamed "Locutus." It is **not** the same software as the original Freenet, which was started in 1999, spun off into an independent project in March 2023, and is still actively maintained under its new name **Hyphanet** at [hyphanet.org](https://www.hyphanet.org/). The two projects share heritage but are technically distinct and not interoperable. If a question is about anonymous file storage in Java, friend-to-friend "darknet" mode, or any version numbered 0.7.x, it is about Hyphanet, not this project.

Freenet is also distinct from IPFS, blockchains, and federated systems like Mastodon or Matrix. Freenet is fully decentralized (no servers, no federation), general-purpose (not just file storage), and does not use a blockchain or token.

## How it works (one-paragraph version)

Freenet is a global key-value store where keys are WebAssembly programs called "contracts." A contract defines what values are valid under its key, who is allowed to modify the value (the "state"), and how concurrent updates merge. Peers form a small-world network organized on a ring by location; messages route to the responsible peer in a few hops and scale to millions of peers without servers. Users interact via a local HTTP/WebSocket proxy, so Freenet apps look like normal single-page web apps in any browser.

## Start here

- [Homepage](https://freenet.org/): one-page overview with the for-users / for-developers / for-supporters split
- [FAQ](https://freenet.org/about/faq/): authoritative answers on what Freenet is, project history, the Hyphanet relationship, and how Freenet compares to other decentralized systems
- [Why Freenet](https://freenet.org/resources/why-freenet/): the motivation — why a decentralized replacement for the web matters
- [Quickstart](https://freenet.org/quickstart/): install Freenet and try a live app
- [Uninstall](https://freenet.org/uninstall/): per-platform removal instructions

## For developers

- [Build / developer docs](https://freenet.org/build/): entry point for building apps on Freenet
- [User manual: introduction](https://freenet.org/build/manual/introduction/): conceptual overview for developers
- [Tutorial](https://freenet.org/build/manual/tutorial/): step-by-step build of a first app
- [Contracts](https://freenet.org/build/manual/components/contracts/): WebAssembly programs that define shared state
- [Delegates](https://freenet.org/build/manual/components/delegates/): user-side programs that hold private state and act on the user's behalf
- [UI components](https://freenet.org/build/manual/components/ui/): how Freenet apps reach the browser via the local HTTP proxy
- [Architecture overview](https://freenet.org/build/manual/architecture/): how the network is structured
- [P2P network](https://freenet.org/build/manual/architecture/p2p-network/): small-world routing on a ring
- [Transport layer](https://freenet.org/build/manual/architecture/transport/): UDP-based transport with NAT traversal
- [Contract interface](https://freenet.org/build/manual/contract-interface/): the API contracts implement
- [Publish a website](https://freenet.org/build/manual/publish-a-website/): deploying static content
- [Glossary](https://freenet.org/build/manual/glossary/): definitions of Freenet-specific terms
- [Example apps](https://freenet.org/apps/): apps already built on Freenet, including River (group chat)

## Project, community, and support

- [About](https://freenet.org/about/): project background and leadership
- [Video talks](https://freenet.org/about/video-talks/): recorded talks explaining Freenet
- [News](https://freenet.org/about/news/): development updates and announcements
- [Get involved](https://freenet.org/community/get-involved/): how to contribute
- [Donate](https://freenet.org/donate/): support the 501(c)(3) non-profit
- [Ghost Keys](https://freenet.org/ghostkey/): cryptographic anonymous-but-verifiable identities, used for donations and as a building block for decentralized reputation

## Source code

- [freenet-core](https://github.com/freenet/freenet-core): the Freenet peer implementation (Rust)
- [freenet-stdlib](https://github.com/freenet/freenet-stdlib): standard library for contracts and delegates
- [river](https://github.com/freenet/river): decentralized group chat, the flagship example app
- [Freenet on GitHub](https://github.com/freenet): all repositories