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Open-Source P2P Apps
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this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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Yggsrqsil network I2P Freenet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.A.T.M.A.N. IPFS SSB / Manyver.se / PZP Briar Project Tailscale Syncthing Localsend
There are lots of others, but most either shut down, got turned into scams, or were always scams.
There was one chat app I remember, I think it was called firechat or something. They ended up removing all the P2P features from it and removed all references from their advertising.
have great potential but not user friendly at all at current stage. Or is there any user friendly software that uses this I didn't find?
Any guide on how to start using IPFS?
No longer in active development
https://forum.f-droid.org/t/why-was-manyverse-removed-from-f-droid/33750
Can't find anything on internet
great stuff already in the list
added to the list
I don't think they are p2p since they can only work in LAN
SSB (Secure ScuttleButt) is the protocol behind the app Manyver.se
There are some issues with it though, so the lead dev of Manyver.se created PZP as a sort of revival of the project. Unfortunately, funding ran out and other commitments took priority, so he had to step away from the project right after its first release. It's functional, but barbones and in desperate need of developers.
Yeah, Freenet is not user friendly at all. Ive tried a few times, but was unable to get it running at all. I2P I had similar issues with, though I did get to try it out. The main thing is that it needs a browser dedicated to it to work properly and is finicky.
Yggdrasil I actually found to be rather polished. It just makes a new network adapter like Tailscale so it's compatible with pretty much everything. Main issue i had was DNS. That, and a lack of content or new features. Its the same now as it was 5 years ago, even with regular updates. There's just very few websites on yggsrasil.
IPFS is complicated. Its harder to setup, but comes bundled in lots of other apps. My main issue both it is a general lack of polish and quality of life features. It has everything else though. Its a functional p2p internet that works both alongside and instead of the regular internet. Its just really clunky amd unpleasant to use, is slow, and doesn't have much content on it. Its also riddled with scams and crypto crap taking advantage of it and ruining everything.
Syncthing doesn't only work on LAN, it can work through any network interface including Tailscale and yggdrasil, and has public relay nodes in case you don't. I'm pretty sure you can also host your own relay nodes if you want to.
ooh nice to see B.A.T.M.A.N here! i had built a simple wrapper to setup mesh networks with batman. it's a bit old but still works if you have an OS with python, systemd and linux kernel.
https://git.disroot.org/perry/pybatmesh