Libreverse
Libreverse is a privacy‑centric application for curating and sharing interactive "experiences" (self‑contained HTML documents). Powered by Hotwire, it delivers a seamless, single‑page‑application (SPA) experience entirely within the Ruby on Rails ecosystem while keeping all data on whatever instance you choose to use.
Alpha release - routine maintainence only since the need for libreverse has diminished – this version is under active development. Expect breaking changes, incomplete features, and occasional rough edges. Planned work is tracked in our road‑map.
✨ Key Features
- Local‑first data management – SQLite (via the enhanced adapter) provides generated columns, JSON queries, and full‑text search without a separate database server.
- Real‑time UI – Turbo, Stimulus, and StimulusReflex enable instantaneous updates with minimal client‑side JavaScript.
- Secure account system – Rodauth with Argon2 hashing, email‑based login, remember‑me cookies, and optional guest mode.
- ActivityPub Federation – Share experiences across Libreverse instances using ActivityPub protocol with custom metaverse-specific fields.
- Cross-instance Discovery – Search and discover experiences from other federated Libreverse instances.
- Media attachments – Active Storage with rigorous validations, encrypted blobs at rest, and one‑click ZIP export of your entire account.
- API functionality – Full-featured GraphQL API, XML-RPC endpoints, JSON API, and integrated gRPC server with HTTP bridge.
- Zero‑Redis architecture – Solid Cable and Solid Queue keep ActionCable and background jobs inside SQLite.
- Security‑centric design – CSP, Rack::Attack rate limiting, Brotli compression, and an evolving security roadmap.
- Collaborative Realtime – WebSocket + Yjs CRDT layer providing durable shared state and ephemeral movement/presence without WebRTC complexity.
🛠 Technology Stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|
| Language | Ruby 3.4 (YJIT enabled) |
| Framework | Rails 8.0.2 + Hotwire |
| Database | TiDB + SQLite 3 (enhanced adapter) |
| Build / Assets | Vite 6 + Shakapacker |
| Web Server | Phusion Passenger |
| Container Image | Multi‑stage Dockerfile |
🌐 ActivityPub Federation
Libreverse supports decentralized federation using the ActivityPub protocol, allowing instances to share experiences while maintaining local control.
Federation Features
- Experience Sharing: Framework for sharing approved experiences with federated instances
- Cross-Instance Discovery: Search framework for finding content from other Libreverse instances
- Custom ActivityPub Fields: Rich metadata for metaverse experiences using Libreverse extensions
- Privacy Controls: Users can choose whether to federate each experience
- Admin Tools: Complete federation management interface for instance administrators
Configuration
Set your instance domain in environment variables:
export INSTANCE_DOMAIN=your-domain.com
Admin users can manage federation settings at /admin/federation. Federation is implemented with a simplified delivery approach to ensure stability - full ActivityPub delivery can be enabled when desired.
For detailed federation documentation, see documentation/federation.md.
🐳 Running with Docker
Note: Building the Docker image requires at least 8 GB of available memory, though the running container itself needs very little memory. If you encounter out-of-memory errors during the build, try increasing your Docker memory limit.
docker build -t libreverse:alpha .
# Persist database and uploads
docker run -p 3000:3000 -v libreverse_data:/data libreverse:alpha
The image exposes port 3000 and stores the production SQLite database and uploaded files under /data.
🧪 Testing & Quality Assurance
Quality checks now run automatically via GitHub Actions CI on every push and pull request.
To run quality checks manually (original script preserved):
perl scripts/static.pl
📦 Project Structure (TL;DR)
app/ – MVC components, Reflexes, Stimulus controllers (.coffee)
bin/ – Development helpers & executable scripts
db/ – Migrations and schema.sql
documentation/ – Comprehensive guides (e.g., SQLite, security)
scripts/ – One‑off maintenance scripts
See the https://docs.libreverse.io for full guides.
🛡 Security
Security is a core focus of Libreverse. Please see SECURITY.md for more information.
🤝 Contributing
- Fork the repository and create a feature branch.
- Adhere to the Code of Conduct.
- Open a pull request – we squash‑merge after review.
Looking for ideas? Check the good first issue label or our road‑map.
📄 License
Libreverse is licensed under the APGL License for source code and various permissive licenses for assets. See the licenses/ directory for full texts.
Column Encryption
Sensitive columns in Rodauth tables are encrypted using Sequel's built-in column_encryption plugin. The encryption key is a 32-byte value derived from Rails.application.secret_key_base using ActiveSupport::KeyGenerator (see config/initializers/sequel_encryption.rb).
- Key Management: The key is stable as long as
secret_key_base does not change. If it does, you must re-encrypt existing data.
- Encrypted Columns:
accounts.password_hashaccount_remember_keys.key (searchable)account_password_reset_keys.key (searchable)
- Database Constraints:
- Encrypted columns have
CHECK constraints to ensure only encrypted data is stored (see db/migrate/20250501000000_add_column_encryption_constraints_to_rodauth.rb).
No additional gem is required; this uses Sequel's built-in plugin. All Rodauth features continue to work seamlessly with encrypted data.
Caveats
If you deploy Libreverse behind a reverse proxy (such as Nginx, Apache, or a cloud load balancer), you must ensure that the proxy sets the X-Forwarded-Proto header on all requests. This header is used by Rails and middleware to correctly identify whether the original request was made over HTTP or HTTPS. If this header is missing or misconfigured, you may experience issues such as:
- Incorrect URL generation (e.g., HTTP links on an HTTPS site)
- Broken redirects or authentication flows
- Security features (like secure cookies or CSP) not working as intended
Solution:
- For Nginx, add:
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
- For Apache, add:
RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Proto expr=%{REQUEST_SCHEME}
- For cloud providers, consult their documentation to ensure this header is set.
Acknowledgements
- The Hotwire and StimulusReflex communities for their pioneering tools and inspiration.
- Fullstaq Ruby for optimized, memory‑efficient Ruby images.
- Emoji assets provided by Twemoji under the CC‑BY 4.0 license.
Thank you for exploring Libreverse!
