# dat-ecosystem/dat

:floppy_disk: peer-to-peer sharing & live syncronization of files via command line

Repository: https://github.com/dat-ecosystem/dat
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/dat
Homepage: https://dat.foundation
Language: JavaScript
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: dat, dat-protocol, command-line, dat-node
Last push: 2023-05-07T20:39:11+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4815, "days_push": 1214, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 8227, forks 447 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:19.707064+00:00)

## What it is
Dat is a command-line tool and JavaScript library for peer-to-peer sharing and live synchronization of files over the Hypercore Protocol, combining BitTorrent-style distribution with Git-style version history. It lets users turn any folder into a dat archive to share, back up, and publish data over a secure decentralized network.

## Use cases
- share large datasets peer-to-peer without a central server
- live-sync a folder between computers
- back up data to remote servers automatically
- track file changes with version history
- publish files over a built-in HTTP server
- distribute scientific data archives

## When to choose
- you want decentralized, serverless file sharing with version history
- you need to sync or back up large datasets efficiently
- you're building apps on the Hypercore Protocol ecosystem
- you work with scientific data that needs reproducible, auditable history

## When to avoid
- you need a mainstream, actively developed tool with broad community support
- you require compatibility with non-Dat transfer tools like rsync or Dropbox
- you need a GUI-first experience
- your project depends on long-term vendor support

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: file-system, p2p, version-control, backup, http-server, cli
- domain: files, microservices, privacy, self-hosted
- platform: cli, cross-platform, windows
- tags: dat-protocol, hypercore, peer-to-peer, file-sync, data-sharing, version-history, data-engineering, nodejs, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- dat-ecosystem/dat (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:19.707064+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:29:30.841979+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/dat-ecosystem/dat (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:19.707064+00:00, sha b98bc85658df)
  - homepage: https://dat.foundation (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:29.417676+00:00, sha 03c4306c92fb)
  - site_page: https://dat.foundation/about/people (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:29.420997+00:00, sha e9ca2f8a5724)
  - site_page: https://dat.foundation/about/foundation (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:29.423211+00:00, sha 5d71d8499693)
  - site_page: https://dat.foundation/about/history (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:29.425083+00:00, sha 02096c980f4e)
  - site_page: https://docs.dat.foundation/docs/intro (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:29.427548+00:00, sha 4ac7d1b2851d)
  - site_page: https://docs.dat.foundation/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:29.429861+00:00, sha fc8e6cda1381)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.