Freenet

Freenet Lives!

Real-Time Decentralized Applications at Scale

Ian Clarke

February 6, 2025

freenet.org

Freenet vs Traditional Web

Web Stack Comparison

The Core Idea

Freenet key-value model

Small-World Routing

Small-World Network

Decentralized Consistency

Commutative merge
merge(A, B) = merge(B, A)
merge(merge(A, B), C) = merge(merge(B, C), A)

Peer Synchronization

Summaries
Exchange
Compare
Deltas
Send
Peer 1
Peer 2
Summary
Summary
Delta
Delta
Summaries & deltas are opaque bytes; contracts define their meaning

Subscription Trees

Subscription Trees
Contract location · Nearby peers host · SubscribeTree formsInstant updates

Subscription Tree Propagation

Watch updates propagate through the subscription tree

No Infrastructure Required

Infrastructure Comparison

Live Demo: Network Dashboard

Freenet Network Topology

Live: nova.locut.us:3133 [backup video]

River: Decentralized Chat

River Chat

Real-time · End-to-end encrypted · No servers · Open source

freenet.org/quickstart

Building on Freenet

Freenet App Components

AI-Accelerated Development

Rebuild every internet service, decentralized.

That's a lot of work. AI changes the economics.

dapp-builder skill

  • Claude scaffolds Freenet apps
  • River architecture patterns
  • Contract → Delegate → UI

Maintaining quality

  • Unverified code is the real risk
  • CI + comprehensive tests as guardrails
  • AI drafts, tests verify, humans review
  • AI reviews catch issues humans miss

Same quality bar. Higher speed.

Agent Infrastructure

Agent trust through contracts

Get Involved

🖥️

Run a Peer

freenet.org/quickstart
🛠️

Build Something

freenet.org/resources/manual/tutorial
🤖

Use AI

freenet-agent-skills

freenet.org GitHub Matrix

Questions?

🚀 freenet.org/quickstart

🌐 freenet.org

💬 Matrix: #freenet:matrix.org

𝕏 @sanity