Third Eye Cyborg open-source initiative
The open-source engine behind intentional community.
Ascended Core is the vendor-neutral foundation we are building Ascended Social on. It is open source today under the Apache License 2.0, and it is the part we maintain and polish first. It brings together the contracts, privacy patterns, events, and adapters needed to build more thoughtful online communities. The hosted Ascended Social service, apps and website are not open source.
Why we share it
Better community infrastructure should be easier to build.
We are building Ascended Social on Ascended Core and contribute the durable, product-neutral pieces to the open-source project. It is a practical commitment to developer choice, transparency, and intentional digital connection—not a replacement for the platform itself.
Portable foundations
TypeScript contracts, events, provider ports, privacy controls, and observability patterns designed to be useful beyond one product.
Privacy-conscious by design
Clear boundaries and explicit modes help teams build community features with user agency and thoughtful data handling in view.
Built in the open
The source, documentation, examples, and release process are available for developers who want a practical starting point.
Install & explore
Build with the modules your community needs.
Start with the shared foundation, then add contracts, events, privacy controls, provider ports, or any other focused module. Every public package uses the Third Eye Cyborg npm scope.
pnpm add @third-eye-cyborg/core@third-eye-cyborg/coreShared types, IDs, errors, results, and lifecycle primitives.@third-eye-cyborg/contractsPlatform-neutral contracts for identity, content, and community.@third-eye-cyborg/eventsTyped domain events, buses, retries, and test harnesses.@third-eye-cyborg/privacyPrivacy modes, policy hooks, minimization, and redaction.@third-eye-cyborg/sdkA typed TypeScript client for the reference API.Self-host
Run a Core node on your infrastructure. Federation is planned.
Self-hosters run Ascended Core Node, not the hosted Ascended Social product. The hostable Core node includes local auth, Postgres, and S3-compatible media. Federation is planned as a future second wave, has no launch date, and cannot be enabled today. The roadmap includes an opt-in AFP protocol that would exchange signed public profiles, follows, posts, comments, reactions, media, reports, and blocks. The goal is for people to use the product without managing the servers.
Compose or the GitHub path
Start with Docker Compose for a standalone node. The documented gold path uses GitHub Actions, a Cloudflare inbox Worker, Neon, and R2 without putting those vendors inside Core packages.
Keep the work accessible
Help sustain the open-source work.
Patreon support helps fund documentation, maintenance, examples, security work, and the long-term stewardship of Ascended Core. Every contribution helps keep the foundation available to builders everywhere.
Support Ascended Core on Patreon