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Comment by jakebsky | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, that's right. The production network's data layer (Personal Data Servers) are architecturally federated now (i.e. there are multiple PDS hosts) but still operated by a single organization (Bluesky Social, PBC), so it's still centralized.

The goal in early 2024 is to enable federation with other PDS hosts, so that users can choose where they keep their data (posts, likes, preferences, etc).

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Can I run my own network today? Is there an open server implementation?

Ed: Apparently you can play in the sandbox, but not set up a seperate network? Or federate with prod?

https://atproto.com/blog/federation-developer-sandbox

https://github.com/bluesky-social/pds

Yup, you could. Although connecting your own PDS hosts to the Bluesky production network won't be possible for a little while longer. Creating custom algorithms (feeds) is already possible, as it participating in the developer sandbox network, including PDS hosting.

The architecture is explained briefly here: https://blueskyweb.xyz/blog/5-5-2023-federation-architecture

Code/docs are here:

1. AT Protocol (atproto) is documented here: https://atproto.com

2. App Web/Android/iOS app: https://github.com/bluesky-social/social-app

3. API (AppView) and PDS (Personal Data Server): https://github.com/bluesky-social/atproto

4. The Relay (formerly BGS) https://github.com/bluesky-social/indigo

5. Custom algorithm (Feed Generator): https://github.com/bluesky-social/feed-generator

6. Sandbox PDS distribution: https://github.com/bluesky-social/pds/blob/main/SANDBOX.md

Thanks. Would it be possible to set up a real self-hosted, federated instance today, so I could set up a community and let others run their own pds'?

You definitely could but it's pretty technically involved and not as easy as it will be in the future. And it would have to be siloed off from the production Bluesky/atproto network at the moment.

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