whatisgithub

What is topiq?

whilo/topiq — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2016-03-25

ClojureAudience · developerComplexity · 4/5DormantSetup · hard

In one sentence

An experimental peer-to-peer social network for discussions that syncs conversations directly between users using CRDTs, with no central server required.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Peer-to-peer social network
      Syncs conversation threads
      Works offline
    Tech stack
      Clojure
      CRDTs
      Browser app
    Use cases
      Private discussions
      Community forums
      Self-hosted instance
    Audience
      Privacy-focused users
      Communities
      Developers

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Have discussions with friends that sync directly without trusting a central company's servers.

USE CASE 2

Keep chatting offline, with changes syncing automatically once you reconnect.

USE CASE 3

Deploy your own self-hosted instance for a privacy-focused community.

What is it built with?

ClojureCRDTs

How does it compare?

whilo/topiqbenfleis/throttlergardnervickers/local-meetups
LanguageClojureClojureClojure
Last pushed2016-03-252015-01-282016-02-04
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultyhardeasyhard
Complexity4/52/54/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Self-hosting requires configuring an email server for authentication, project is still experimental.

So what is it?

Topiq is a social network designed for discussions that stays in sync across everyone using it without needing a central server. Think of it like a group chat or forum, except instead of relying on one company's servers to keep everyone's data, the app syncs conversation threads directly between the people participating in them. If you go offline, your changes get saved locally, and when you reconnect, everything automatically catches up. The key difference from most social networks is how it handles data. Rather than storing everything on one server, Topiq uses what's called peer-to-peer replication with CRDTs, essentially a system where every participant keeps a copy of the conversation, and the app is smart enough to merge different versions of the same thread without losing anyone's contributions, even if two people edit at the same time. You run the app in your browser, and all your posts and changes sync automatically when you're online or when you reconnect after being offline. You'd use Topiq if you want to have serious discussions or share funny topics with friends or communities, but without trusting your data to a single company. It's particularly useful for groups that care about privacy or want their conversations to work even if the main servers are down. The project is still experimental, the README mentions it's being tested at topiq.es, and the developers note that they're still figuring out things like how to handle search, messaging between friends, and better editing tools. If you want to run your own instance, you can deploy it yourself by downloading the code, configuring a few settings (mainly an email server for authentication), and running the application. The project is open source and welcomes people to join the test network and help develop it further.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Explain how this app uses CRDTs to merge conversation threads without losing edits.
Prompt 2
Show me how to deploy my own instance of this peer-to-peer social network.
Prompt 3
How does this app handle syncing when a user goes offline and reconnects later?
Prompt 4
What configuration, like an email server, do I need to set up to run this myself?

Frequently asked questions

What is topiq?

An experimental peer-to-peer social network for discussions that syncs conversations directly between users using CRDTs, with no central server required.

What language is topiq written in?

Mainly Clojure. The stack also includes Clojure, CRDTs.

Is topiq actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2016-03-25).

How hard is topiq to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is topiq for?

Mainly developer.

Open on GitHub → Ask about another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Verify against the repo before relying on details.