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| | author = ], Tlon Corporation<ref>{{cite web |url=https://media.urbit.org/whitepaper.pdf |title=Urbit: A Solid-State Interpreter |website=urbit.org |access-date=October 22, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531172816/https://media.urbit.org/whitepaper.pdf |archive-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref> | | author = ], Tlon Corporation<ref>{{cite web |url=https://media.urbit.org/whitepaper.pdf |title=Urbit: A Solid-State Interpreter |website=urbit.org |access-date=October 22, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531172816/https://media.urbit.org/whitepaper.pdf |archive-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref> | ||
| | developer = |
| developer = Tlon Corporation | ||
| | released = 2013<ref>{{cite web |url=https://urbit.org/overview/people-history |title=Urbit.org Overview |website=urbit.org |access-date=September 13, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805161014/https://urbit.org/overview/people-history |archive-date=August 5, 2022}}</ref> | | released = 2013<ref name="2013launch">{{cite web |url=https://urbit.org/overview/people-history |title=Urbit.org Overview |website=urbit.org |access-date=September 13, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805161014/https://urbit.org/overview/people-history |archive-date=August 5, 2022}}</ref> | ||
| | ver layout = <!-- simple (default) or stacked --> | | ver layout = <!-- simple (default) or stacked --> | ||
| | discontinued = <!-- Set to yes, if software is discontinued, otherwise omit. --> | | discontinued = <!-- Set to yes, if software is discontinued, otherwise omit. --> | ||
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| | repo = {{URL|https://github.com/urbit/urbit}} | | repo = {{URL|https://github.com/urbit/urbit}} | ||
| | qid = | | qid = | ||
| | programming language = Hoon, Nock, ] | | programming language = Hoon, Nock, ], JavaScript | ||
| | middleware = | | middleware = | ||
| | engine = <!-- or |engines= --> | | engine = <!-- or |engines= --> | ||
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| }} | }} | ||
| '''Urbit''' is a ] ] |
'''Urbit''' is a ] ]<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Valley of the Gods: A Silicon Valley Story|last=Wolfe|first=Alexandra|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2017|isbn=9781476778945|pages=219–222}}</ref> based on ]<ref name=":2" /> in a ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pogue |first=James |date=2023-02-21 |title=Inside the New Right’s Next Frontier: The American West |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-right-civil-war |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref> | ||
| The Urbit platform was created by ] political blogger ].<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/21/14671978/alt-right-mencius-moldbug-urbit-curtis-yarvin-tlon|title=Alt-right darling Mencius Moldbug wanted to destroy democracy. Now he wants to sell you web services|last=Lecher|first=Colin|date=2017-02-21|website=The Verge|access-date=2019-06-14}}</ref> The first code release was in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yarvin |first1=Curtis |date=13 January 2010 |title=Urbit: functional programming from scratch |url=http://moronlab.blogspot.com/2010/01/urbit-functional-programming-from.html |access-date=8 February 2023 |website=moronlab}}</ref> The Urbit network was launched in 2013.<ref name="2013launch"/> The first user version (called OS1) was launched in April 2020. | |||
| In 2022, the main software in an Urbit installation was a "bare-bones" text-based message board.<ref name=":4" /> | |||
| ==Overview== | |||
| {{primary source section|date=February 2023}} | |||
| ⚫ | The Urbit ] consists of a set of ]s ("Hoon," a high-level ] language, and "Nock," its low-level compiled language); a single-function ] built on those languages ("Arvo"); a runtime implementation of that operating system ("Vere"), public key infrastructure, built on the ] ] ("Azimuth"), for each instance |
||
| ==Functionality== | |||
| The 128-bit Urbit ID space primarily consists of 256 "galaxies" (2^8), 65,280 "stars" (2^16 - 256 galaxies), and 4,294,901,760 "planets" (2^32 - 256 (galaxies) - 65,280 (stars)), which respectively function similarly to ]s, ]s, and ]. | |||
| The Point described Urbit OS1 as a "bare-bones messaging server" and compared it to 1990s era ].<ref name=":4" /> | |||
| Each galaxy can spawn 255 stars (2^8 - 1) and each galaxy and star can spawn 65,535 planets (2^16 - 1).<ref>{{cite web |title=An intro to Urbit names |url=https://blog.urbit.live/an-intro-to-urbit-names/ |website=urbit.live |publisher=urbit.live |access-date=6 February 2023}}</ref> Though spawning galaxy planets is currently disabled by Azimuth. {{citation needed|date=May 2020}} | |||
| Tlon, the company founded by Yarvin to build Urbit, named after the short story ] by ],<ref name=":4" /> has received ] funding from various investors since its inception, most notably ], whose ], with ] firm ] invested $1.1 million.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pein |first=Corey |title=Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley |publisher=Metropolitan Books |year=2018 |isbn=9781627794862 |location=New York |chapter=Poor Winners}}</ref> The Urbit community talks up its association with and funding from Thiel, who has also backed Urbit public events.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Duesterberg |first=James |date=2022-09-09 |title=Among the Reality Entrepreneurs |url=https://thepointmag.com/examined-life/among-the-reality-entrepreneurs/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=The Point Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
| In addition, each galaxy, planet, and star can spawn ~2^32 "moons" which are IDs that are subsidiary to the planet's ID. | |||
| ] estimated Urbit's active user base as of September 2022 at "a few thousand."<ref name=":4" /> | |||
| The remaining large amount of address space is for "comets" which exist for use as temporary IDs (keys cannot be rotated) for users to test out the network. | |||
| ==Technical details== | |||
| Co-founder Galen Wolfe-Pauly claims that Urbit can provide a unified interface for applications akin to ], with the critical difference that the end user retains control over their data.<ref name="Reason 2021-02-17">{{cite news |last=Weissmueller |first=Zach |url=https://reason.com/video/2021/02/17/how-to-fight-deplatforming-decentralize/ |title=How To Fight Deplatforming: Decentralize |work=Reason |date=2021-02-17 |accessdate=2021-03-07 }}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | The Urbit ] consists of a set of ]s ("Hoon," a high-level ] language, and "Nock," its low-level compiled language); a single-function ] built on those languages ("Arvo"); a runtime implementation of that operating system ("Vere"), public key infrastructure, built on the ] ] ("Azimuth"), for each Urbit instance to participate in a decentralized network; and the decentralized network itself, an encrypted, peer-to-peer ].<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://media.urbit.org/whitepaper.pdf|title=Urbit: A Solid-State Interpreter|last1=Yarvin|first1=Curtis|last2=Philip|first2=Monk|date=May 26, 2016|website=Tlon Corporation|access-date=June 13, 2019|last3=Dyudin|first3=Anton|last4=Pasco|first4=Raymond}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=May 2020}} | ||
| ==Platform== | |||
| ===Background=== | |||
| ] in 2021]] | |||
| The Urbit platform was conceived of in 2002 by neo-reactionary thinker ].<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/21/14671978/alt-right-mencius-moldbug-urbit-curtis-yarvin-tlon|title=Alt-right darling Mencius Moldbug wanted to destroy democracy. Now he wants to sell you web services|last=Lecher|first=Colin|date=2017-02-21|website=The Verge|access-date=2019-06-14}}</ref> The company has received ] funding from various investors since its inception, most notably ], whose ], with ] firm ] invested $1.1 million in the Tlon Corporation to help build out Urbit further.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley|last=Pein|first=Corey|publisher=Metropolitan Books|year=2018|isbn=9781627794862|location=New York|chapter=Poor Winners}}</ref> The platform has been described as "complicated for even the most seasoned of functional programmers".<ref name=reason>{{cite web|author=Andrea O'Sullivan |url=https://reason.com/2016/06/21/can-urbit-transform-the-internet/ |title=Can Urbit Reboot Computing? – |publisher=Reason.com |date=2016-06-21 |accessdate=2020-05-06}}</ref> | |||
| The 128-bit Urbit identity space consists of 256 "galaxies", 65,280 "stars" (255 for each galaxy), and 4,294,901,760 "planets" (65,535 for each star) and comets under those.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Sutton |first=Ruby |date=2022-10-13 |title=My Weekend With the Martians |url=https://astra-mag.com/articles/my-weekend-with-the-martians/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Astra |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
| ===OS1=== | |||
| Urbit OS1 launched in April 2020. This consisted of a group ], a ], a note-taking system, and several simple apps such as a ] and a weather meter.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wolfe-Pauly |first1=Galen |title=Introducing OS 1 |url=https://urbit.org/blog/introducing-os1/ |website=Urbit Blog |accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=May 2020}} | |||
| Yarvin called Urbit "functional programming from scratch" in 2010.<ref name=":2" /> ] described Urbit as having "reinvented some very ]-like technology."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Proven |first=Liam |title=The weird world of non-C operating systems |url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/29/non_c_operating_systems/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=The Register |language=en}}</ref> ] described Urbit as "complicated for even the most seasoned of functional programmers".<ref name="reason">{{cite web |author=Andrea O'Sullivan |date=2016-06-21 |title=Can Urbit Reboot Computing? – |url=https://reason.com/2016/06/21/can-urbit-transform-the-internet/ |accessdate=2020-05-06 |publisher=Reason.com}}</ref> | |||
| == Politics and controversy == | == Politics and controversy == | ||
| In 2015, Yarvin's invitation to the Strange Loop conference was rescinded; the conference organizer said Yarvin's "mere inclusion and/or presence would overshadow the content of his talk."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/technology/2015/06/curtis-yarvin-booted-from-strange-loop-its-a-big-big-problem.html|title=When All It Takes to Be Booted From a Tech Conference Is Being a "Distraction," We Have a Problem|last=Auerbach|first=David|author-link=David Auerbach|date=2015-06-10|website=Slate Magazine|language=en|access-date=2019-06-14}}</ref> |
In 2015, Yarvin's invitation to discuss Urbit at the Strange Loop programming conference was rescinded; the conference organizer said Yarvin's "mere inclusion and/or presence would overshadow the content of his talk."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/technology/2015/06/curtis-yarvin-booted-from-strange-loop-its-a-big-big-problem.html|title=When All It Takes to Be Booted From a Tech Conference Is Being a "Distraction," We Have a Problem|last=Auerbach|first=David|author-link=David Auerbach|date=2015-06-10|website=Slate Magazine|language=en|access-date=2019-06-14}}</ref> | ||
| In 2016, after Yarvin was invited to the functional programming conference LambdaConf to discuss Urbit, five speakers and three sponsors withdrew their participation. Their stated reason was Yarvin's claims that white people have higher IQs than black people and his support of slavery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inc.com/tess-townsend/why-it-matters-that-an-obscure-programming-conference-is-hosting-mencius-moldbug.html|title=Controversy Rages Over 'Pro-Slavery' Tech Speaker Curtis Yarvin|last=Townsend|first=Tess|date=2016-03-31|website=Inc.com|access-date=2019-06-14}}</ref> | |||
| The source code and design sketches for the project alluded to some of Yarvin's views, including initially classifying users as "lords," "dukes," and "earls." Yarvin described this structure of Urbit in 2010 as "digital ]."<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yarvin |first=Curtis |date=2010-01-12 |title=Urbit namespace |url=https://github.com/cgyarvin/urbit/blob/6ac688960687aa9c89d4da6fff49a3125c10aca1/Spec/urbit/3-intro.txt |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210905001458/https://github.com/cgyarvin/urbit/blob/6ac688960687aa9c89d4da6fff49a3125c10aca1/Spec/urbit/3-intro.txt |archive-date=2021-09-05 |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=GitHub |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | In a 2019 blog post, Yarvin said Urbit "is not designed as a political structure".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://urbit.org/blog/a-founders-farewell/|title=A Founder's Farewell|date=January 14, 2019|website=Urbit.org|access-date=June 13, 2019}}</ref> Josh Lehman, Executive Director of the Urbit Foundation, denied in 2022 that Urbit was "digital feudalism."<ref name=":3" /> | ||
| The source code and design sketches for the project alluded to some of Yarvin's views, including initially classifying users as "lords," "dukes," and "earls." Yarvin and Tlon rejected any ideological associations with the project. Tlon CEO Galen Wolfe-Pauly said that "the principles of Urbit are very palatable ... we're interested in giving people their freedom."<ref name=":2" /> Andrea O'Sullivan of ] magazine '']'' commented that "when you parse through the underlying values that guide the system, a rather libertarian ethos begins to emerge".<ref name=reason /> | |||
| Andrea O'Sullivan of ] magazine '']'' described Urbit in 2016 as having a "libertarian vision".<ref name=reason /> | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| Yarvin departed Tlon in 2019. Lehman said that the "hardest part" of his work at Tlon had been to distance Urbit from Yarvin.<ref name=":3" /> Yarvin returned to Urbit in 2024.<ref>https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/j-d-vance-dimes-square-the-art-world-new-right-conservatism-1234716130/</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| * ] | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Latest revision as of 23:07, 2 January 2025
Decentralized personal server platform Urbit tilde logo | |
| Original author(s) | Curtis Yarvin, Tlon Corporation |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Tlon Corporation |
| Initial release | 2013 |
| Stable release | 1.10 / 28 July 2022; 2 years ago (2022-07-28) |
| Repository | github |
| Written in | Hoon, Nock, C, JavaScript |
| Operating system | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| Type | Decentralized personal server platform. |
| License | MIT License |
| Website | www |
Urbit is a decentralized personal server platform based on functional programming in a peer-to-peer network. The Urbit platform was created by neoreactionary political blogger Curtis Yarvin. The first code release was in 2010. The Urbit network was launched in 2013. The first user version (called OS1) was launched in April 2020.
In 2022, the main software in an Urbit installation was a "bare-bones" text-based message board.
Functionality
The Point described Urbit OS1 as a "bare-bones messaging server" and compared it to 1990s era Usenet.
Tlon, the company founded by Yarvin to build Urbit, named after the short story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges, has received seed funding from various investors since its inception, most notably Peter Thiel, whose Founders Fund, with venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz invested $1.1 million. The Urbit community talks up its association with and funding from Thiel, who has also backed Urbit public events.
The Point estimated Urbit's active user base as of September 2022 at "a few thousand."
Technical details
The Urbit software stack consists of a set of programming languages ("Hoon," a high-level functional programming language, and "Nock," its low-level compiled language); a single-function operating system built on those languages ("Arvo"); a runtime implementation of that operating system ("Vere"), public key infrastructure, built on the Ethereum blockchain ("Azimuth"), for each Urbit instance to participate in a decentralized network; and the decentralized network itself, an encrypted, peer-to-peer protocol.
The 128-bit Urbit identity space consists of 256 "galaxies", 65,280 "stars" (255 for each galaxy), and 4,294,901,760 "planets" (65,535 for each star) and comets under those.
Yarvin called Urbit "functional programming from scratch" in 2010. The Register described Urbit as having "reinvented some very Lisp-like technology." Reason described Urbit as "complicated for even the most seasoned of functional programmers".
Politics and controversy
In 2015, Yarvin's invitation to discuss Urbit at the Strange Loop programming conference was rescinded; the conference organizer said Yarvin's "mere inclusion and/or presence would overshadow the content of his talk."
In 2016, after Yarvin was invited to the functional programming conference LambdaConf to discuss Urbit, five speakers and three sponsors withdrew their participation. Their stated reason was Yarvin's claims that white people have higher IQs than black people and his support of slavery.
The source code and design sketches for the project alluded to some of Yarvin's views, including initially classifying users as "lords," "dukes," and "earls." Yarvin described this structure of Urbit in 2010 as "digital feudalism."
In a 2019 blog post, Yarvin said Urbit "is not designed as a political structure". Josh Lehman, Executive Director of the Urbit Foundation, denied in 2022 that Urbit was "digital feudalism."
Andrea O'Sullivan of libertarian magazine Reason described Urbit in 2016 as having a "libertarian vision".
Yarvin departed Tlon in 2019. Lehman said that the "hardest part" of his work at Tlon had been to distance Urbit from Yarvin. Yarvin returned to Urbit in 2024.
References
- "Urbit: A Solid-State Interpreter" (PDF). urbit.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
- ^ "Urbit.org Overview". urbit.org. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ Wolfe, Alexandra (2017). Valley of the Gods: A Silicon Valley Story. Simon and Schuster. pp. 219–222. ISBN 9781476778945.
- ^ Lecher, Colin (2017-02-21). "Alt-right darling Mencius Moldbug wanted to destroy democracy. Now he wants to sell you web services". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
- Pogue, James (2023-02-21). "Inside the New Right's Next Frontier: The American West". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- Yarvin, Curtis (13 January 2010). "Urbit: functional programming from scratch". moronlab. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ Duesterberg, James (2022-09-09). "Among the Reality Entrepreneurs". The Point Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- Pein, Corey (2018). "Poor Winners". Live Work Work Work Die: A Journey into the Savage Heart of Silicon Valley. New York: Metropolitan Books. ISBN 9781627794862.
- ^ Sutton, Ruby (2022-10-13). "My Weekend With the Martians". Astra. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- Yarvin, Curtis; Philip, Monk; Dyudin, Anton; Pasco, Raymond (May 26, 2016). "Urbit: A Solid-State Interpreter" (PDF). Tlon Corporation. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- Proven, Liam. "The weird world of non-C operating systems". The Register. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ Andrea O'Sullivan (2016-06-21). "Can Urbit Reboot Computing? –". Reason.com. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
- Auerbach, David (2015-06-10). "When All It Takes to Be Booted From a Tech Conference Is Being a "Distraction," We Have a Problem". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
- Townsend, Tess (2016-03-31). "Controversy Rages Over 'Pro-Slavery' Tech Speaker Curtis Yarvin". Inc.com. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
- Yarvin, Curtis (2010-01-12). "Urbit namespace". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- "A Founder's Farewell". Urbit.org. January 14, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/j-d-vance-dimes-square-the-art-world-new-right-conservatism-1234716130/
External links
- Official website
- Tlon.io - Corporate website