Pump.io explained

pump.io
Author:	Evan Prodromou et al.
Developer:	E14N
Discontinued:	Yes
Latest Release Version:	5.1.4^[1] ^[2]
Repo:	https://github.com/pump-io/pump.io
Operating System:	Cross-platform
Programming Language:	JavaScript, Node.js
Genre:	Web application framework
License:	Apache License, Version 2.0^[3]
Website:	pump.io

pump.io (pronounced "pump eye-oh") is a general-purpose activity stream engine that can be used as a federated social networking protocol which "does most of what people want from a social network".^{[4] [1]} Started by Evan Prodromou, it is a follow-up to GNU Social (formerly StatusNet), and is designed to be more lightweight and usable for general data instead of just microblogging.^[5] The largest StatusNet instance at the time, Identi.ca, which was the largest StatusNet service and was run by Prodromou, switched to pump.io in June 2013.^[6]

As a distributed social network, pump.io is not tied to a single site. Users across servers can subscribe to each other, and if one or more individual nodes go offline the rest of the network remains intact.

The protocol was later used as a template for the creation and standardization of the ActivityPub standard, and development of pump.io has since been discontinued, with the latest version of the engine being released in 2020 and further development of the codebase ending in 2022.^[7]

Technology

Designed to be much more lightweight and efficient than its StatusNet predecessor,^[5] Pump.io is written in Node.js and uses Activity Streams as the format for commands and to transfer data via a simple REST inbox API.

Pump.io requires:

• node.js
• npm
• a database server (typically NoSQL databases such as MongoDB or Redis, though there are other options through the database abstraction layer called Databank)
• GraphicsMagick with the gm command

Pump.io can run easily on low-resource hardware (such as a Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black). It can be used via the Web UI, or other clients via the API.

Standardization

The W3C Federated Social Web Working Group, launched in July 2014,^[8] has produced the ActivityPub standard, based on the protocols used in pump.io as a likely successor to OStatus.^[9] It was officially published as a Recommendation on 23 January 2018.^[10] The protocol has since gone on to become the main standard used in the fediverse.

See also

• Comparison of software and protocols for distributed social networking

External links

• Pump.io homepage

Notes and References

1. Web site: pump.io. pump.io.
2. Web site: Releases · pump-io/pump.io. Github. 2020-12-11.
3. Web site: website . Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License")... . 2014-03-22 .
4. Web site: Prodromou. Evan. E14N Post. 21 March 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140322151538/https://e14n.com/evan/comment/lhOVMTcoQTWTenI3M1AgjA. 22 March 2014.
5. Web site: Behrenshausen. Bryan. pump.io: the decentralized social network that's really fun. opensource.com. 21 March 2014.
6. Web site: StatusNet, Identi.ca, and transitioning to pump.io . LWN.net . March 27, 2013 . 2014-03-20 . Nathan Willis.
7. Web site: Commits · pump-io/pump.io . 2024-04-04 . GitHub . en.
8. Web site: Social networking built into the Web? W3C gives it a go. Stephen. Shankland. CNET.
9. Web site: Sandstorm And The Social Web. zenhack.net. 2017-08-20. 2020-10-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20201030010607/https://zenhack.net/2016/05/29/sandstorm-and-the-social-web.html. dead.
10. Web site: ActivityPub. www.w3.org.