# ssbc/patchwork

A decentralized messaging and sharing app built on top of Secure Scuttlebutt (SSB).

Repository: https://github.com/ssbc/patchwork
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/patchwork
Homepage: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz
Language: JavaScript
License: AGPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: scuttlebutt, ssb, social, social-network, decentralized, offline, off-grid, p2p, nodejs, electron, macos, linux, decentralized-messaging, windows, server, javascript
Archived: true
Last push: 2021-05-12T06:57:58+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4088, "days_push": 1939, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3569, forks 331 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:10.064830+00:00)

## What it is
Patchwork is a desktop social networking and messaging app built on the Secure Scuttlebutt (SSB) peer-to-peer gossip protocol, allowing users to share posts and messages offline without a central server. It is now officially retired, with v3.18.1 being the final release and maintainers recommending users switch to other SSB clients.

## Use cases
- join a decentralized social network without a central server
- share messages and posts offline or off-grid
- peer-to-peer messaging between friends
- use social media without big tech data harvesting
- try the Secure Scuttlebutt protocol on desktop
- communicate in low-connectivity environments

## When to choose
- you specifically want the classic Patchwork SSB experience on desktop
- you are exploring or researching the historical SSB ecosystem
- you want to fork and maintain an offline-first p2p social client

## When to avoid
- you want an actively maintained SSB client - Patchwork is retired and its security will degrade over time
- you are a new developer wanting to contribute - the codebase has a steep learning curve due to bespoke depject, mutant, and ssb-db dependencies
- you need a modern component-based UI or current SSB stack (ssb-db2)
- you want a hosted or web-based social network

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: p2p, chat-interface, gui
- domain: social-media, privacy, self-hosted, messaging-platforms
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: secure-scuttlebutt, ssb, decentralized-social-network, offline-first, gossip-protocol, deprecated, electron, macos, linux, nodejs, desktop

## Member repositories
- ssbc/patchwork (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:10.064830+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 2026-08-29T18:34:08.572116+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ssbc/patchwork (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:10.064830+00:00, sha 3a386d4496ea)
  - homepage: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz (fetched 2026-08-29T09:28:07.933200+00:00, sha 437de7df40a3)
  - site_page: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/about (fetched 2026-08-29T09:28:07.942838+00:00, sha 74958c7ff425)
  - site_page: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T09:28:07.945413+00:00, sha 72f956201a52)
  - site_page: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/docs/talks (fetched 2026-08-29T09:28:07.947245+00:00, sha 8c4f0aa610e4)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.