Murmurations

Semantic & Data Protocol

Distributed data sharing protocol for coordinating the storage, indexing and retrieval of data over a distributed network. Combines three key elements: Profiles (JSON documents hosted by nodes describing themselves), an Index (tracks all profiles in the network), and Aggregators (query the index to create maps, directories, and content aggregators). Designed to facilitate collaboration at scale by enabling interoperable data sharing across platforms and between networks while giving data creators control over their data

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Details

License GPL-3.0 (GNU General Public License v3.0 — all repositories including Protocol, Services, Library, Documentation, Tools, Aggregator, Node plugin)
Dev Status 🟢 Active
Dev Status Detail Released (V2 protocol live; MurmurMaps released 2025 incorporating DID/UCAN functionality; project described as reaching 'mature and stable state' with tools being archived; Index will continue to be hosted)
Owner Murmurations Protocol (community-driven, unfunded volunteer-led project); Open Collective for donations
Country International
Start Year 2019
Stack Go (MurmurationsServices: Index, Library, and microservices deployed in Kubernetes via Rancher); Svelte (MurmurMaps and Tools frontend); WordPress plugins (Node and Aggregator); ReactJS (earlier tools)
Funding Unfunded volunteer-led project; Open Collective for community donations
Last Investigated Jan 15, 2026

Use Case Domains

Group Formation & Governance Events & Coordination Mutual Aid & Exchange

Affordances

Cross-instance federation Composable groups

Semantic & Data Protocol Attributes

Origins Mapping / Discovery (decentralized mapping of purpose-driven and solidarity economy organizations and projects; addresses problems of centralized maps and directories managed by single entities becoming outdated)
Database JSON documents (profiles hosted by nodes as JSON files at their own URLs, validated against schemas); Index stores metadata and enables search; profiles can also be hosted on IPFS; MurmurMaps uses browser-stored DID key pairs
Query Language REST API (Index API V2 for searching profiles by schema, location, tags, last_updated timestamp; profile validation endpoint; batch import)
Data Formats JSON (Murmurations profiles are JSON documents validated against JSON Schema v7 with semantic versioning; composable and extensible field and schema libraries; uses existing standards including JSON Schema, Schema.org, RSS, JSON-LD, and RDF)
Collaborative Live Editing N/A (protocol is for distributed data sharing and indexing, not real-time editing)
Rich Text Editing N/A
Mobile Support N/A (Index and aggregators are server-side; MurmurMaps is a web application)
Web Support Yes (MurmurMaps web application for profile creation, index search, and map building; embeddable maps; WordPress aggregator plugin for web-based maps and directories)
Native Apps N/A (WordPress plugins for Node and Aggregator functionality; MurmurMaps is web-based)
Terms Self-hosting (can host own index, aggregators, profiles, and MurmurMaps instance) + Free public Index hosted by Murmurations team
Funds N/A (unfunded)
Based On JSON Schema, Schema.org, RSS, JSON-LD, RDF (leverages existing standards; extends Schema.org vocabulary with composable and extensible fields and schemas; 2025 update adds DIDs and UCANs for decentralized identity and capability-based authorization)
Semantic Web Compatibility Partial (JSON-LD output available; uses Schema.org vocabulary; RDF and RSS compatible; extends interoperability through composable fields; compared to Schema.org, adds data distribution and synchronization capabilities)
Protocol Maturity / Standardization Community Standard (open schema protocol; community-maintained specification)
Vocabulary / Ontology Type Regenerative economy / Organizations, projects, people, offers and wants mapping; open-source field library with composable schemas; anyone can define new schemas or fields via pull requests to the Library on GitHub
Usage Pattern API overlay (provides distributed discovery and indexing layer for decentralized data; splits centralized database functions — storage stays with nodes, indexing shared across network; indexes can peer-sync for full decentralization; aggregators create views from index data)