ADAM

Integrated P2P Runtime

Agent-centric distributed application framework and spanning layer that enables interoperability across P2P, federated, and centralized systems by extending Holochain's agent-centric philosophy into a general-purpose semantic layer. Each user runs their own local AD4M instance (built on Holochain) holding their DID-based identity and personal data in subjective, RDF-based "Perspectives," rather than apps owning the user's data or social graph. Underlying storage/transport protocols (Holochain, IPFS, HTTP, etc.) are abstracted as pluggable "Languages," so apps built on differing back-ends can still interoperate at the semantic level.

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Details

License CAL-1.0
Dev Status 🟢 Active
Dev Status Detail Released / Active — AD4M Executor and Launcher available for macOS, Linux, and Windows; production use in Flux social app and broader Coasys ecosystem; agent-centric architecture built around Language and Perspective primitives
Owner Nicolas Luck (Coasys DAO LLC)
Country Germany / International
Start Year 2020
Stack Rust + JavaScript/TypeScript + Deno
Funding Unknown / Self-funded
Last Investigated Mar 9, 2026

Use Case Domains

Group Formation & Governance Mutual Aid & Exchange Platform Evolution & Sovereignty

Affordances

Composable groups Consent-based governance Self-hostable

Integrated P2P Runtime Attributes

Origins Ecosystem/SDK
Database Graph Database (RDF-based Perspectives) + Holochain DHT
Query Language GraphQL + Prolog (for Social DNA)
Data Formats RDF triples (Links) + Custom (Language-defined Expressions)
Collaborative Live Editing Supported (via Neighbourhoods and CRDTs)
Mobile Support Yes (Rust executor can run on mobile)
Web Support Yes
Native Apps Yes (Tauri-based launcher)
Terms Self-hosting + Edge device + Planned cloud hosting
Funds Unknown
Based On Holochain (with Semantic Web/RDF concepts)
P2P Architecture Agent-centric DHT (via Holochain for Neighbourhoods)
Overlay Network App-wide (each Neighbourhood is separate network)
Content Addressing Yes (Language-based: <language_hash>://<address>)
Local-First Yes (agent-centric with local Perspectives)
E2EE Yes (Neighbourhoods are private by default)
CRDTs Lib Language-dependent (can use Automerge, Yjs, or others)
Byzantine Fault Tolerance Yes (inherited from Holochain)
Signature Cryptographic signatures (DID-based, Ed25519)
Permissions Cryptographic Capabilities (DID-based + Social DNA rules)
Semantic Web Compatibility RDF-compatible (custom implementation)
Smart Contract Yes (via Social DNA - Prolog-based)
Protocol Stack Position Application-layer (built on TCP/IP)
Asset / Value Embedding None — ADAM (Agent-centric Distributed Application Meta-ontology) is a meta-protocol spanning layer with no native token. Individual Languages built on ADAM may embed tokens (e.g., a Holochain Language or an Ethereum Language), but the ADAM layer itself has no protocol-native economic mechanism.
Development Tools GraphQL API (warp & juniper-based server on localhost:4000/graphql); Ad4mClient TypeScript/Rust SDKs (@coasys/ad4m on npm, ad4m-client on crates.io); ad4m-connect helper library for capability management; CLI tools (ad4m for client, ad4m-executor for runtime); Deno runtime for Language execution; Prolog engine for Social DNA queries and Perspective link queries; Ad4mModel class with TypeScript decorators for high-level data modeling; React hooks (ad4m-react-hooks) and Vue hooks (ad4m-vue-hooks)
Deployment Options Self-hosted local executor (ad4m-executor runs as personal runtime on user's device); AD4M Launcher (system tray application for managing executors); Perspect3ve (agent-centric browser and generic social UI); edge devices; planned cloud hosting (CAL-compliant); headless executor mode for server deployment
Authentication & Identity Decentralized ID (DID) — did:key: method (e.g., did:key:z6Mk...); each agent identified by DID with cryptographic keys; every Expression and Link cryptographically signed by authoring agent; automatic provenance on all data; DID creation or import on first initialization; keystore unlock for existing agents; MetaMask integration for blockchain identity (EAS, EntanglementProofs)
Storage Model Hybrid: Local Perspectives (private, agent-centric RDF triple graphs stored locally — similar to Solid Pods but agent-centric) + Distributed Neighbourhoods (shared collaborative graphs synced via Holochain DHT or centralized fallback); every piece of data is an Expression (cryptographically signed statement by an agent); Perspectives contain Links (subject-predicate-object triples where all items are URLs pointing to Expressions)
Interoperability Universal spanning layer — Languages are pluggable protocol adapters that can wrap any storage/communication technology (HTTP, IPFS, Solid, Holochain, blockchains, custom APIs); Expressions addressed via universal URL scheme <language_hash>://<address>; self-recursive architecture (core concepts Agents/Languages/Perspectives are themselves implemented as Languages, enabling evolution); Neighbourhoods enable portability of social structure across apps
Social Graph Yes (agent-centric social graph; Perspectives model relationships as RDF-like Links between agent Expressions; Neighbourhoods are shared social contexts independent of any single app; Social DNA embedded in Neighbourhoods defines group expectations and patterns; Social Organisms emerge from Neighbourhoods with Social DNA; publicly shared agent Perspectives visible to other agents; friends-lists modeled as Perspectives containing agent expressions)
Protocol Maturity / Standardization Community Standard (open specification maintained by project community; not submitted to formal standards body)
Update Policy Agent-centric / Language-defined — update semantics are delegated to individual Languages; Perspectives (local subjective graphs) are mutable by the owning agent at will; shared Neighbourhoods inherit the update rules of their underlying Language (e.g., DHT append-only for Holochain Languages, or blockchain semantics for EVM Languages); no global update policy imposed by the ADAM layer.