Gordian Clubs

P2P Protocol

Specification and reference implementation for autonomous cryptographic objects (ACOs) — self-contained Gordian Envelopes that bundle content, cryptographic permits (SSKR shares, FROST thresholds, XID keys, public keys, passwords), and provenance marks. Clubs operate without servers or network connectivity: anyone holding a valid permit can open the envelope using cryptography alone. Clubs publish Editions linked by provenance marks and signed individually or by a FROST publishing group, enabling autonomous group coordination, access-controlled data distribution, and offline-resilient communication. Inspired by Project Xanadus 1991 Clubs concept

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Details

License BSD-2-Clause Plus Patent License (clubs-rust, clubs-cli-rust)
Dev Status 🧪 Alpha
Dev Status Detail Beta / community review — clubs-rust library and clubs-cli-rust reference implementation released; first working proof-of-concept demonstrated Oct 2025 Reclassified 2026-09-14: 'first working proof-of-concept demonstrated' is earlier-stage language than Beta's 'feature-substantially-complete... approaching production-readiness.'
Owner Blockchain Commons LLC (not-for-profit benefit corporation founded by Christopher Allen, April 25, 2019; Berkeley, California). Lead Researcher: Wolf McNally
Owner - List
  • Blockchain Commons
Governing Body Blockchain Commons LLC (not-for-profit benefit corporation)
Governing Body - List
  • Blockchain Commons
Country USA (Berkeley, California)
Start Year 2025
Stack Rust (clubs-rust core library; clubs-cli-rust command-line interface)
Funding Blockchain Commons donations and patron sponsorships (GitHub Sponsors, BTCPay)
Funding - List
  • Blockchain Commons
Last Investigated Sep 14, 2026

Topology view

This tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.

Topology view: Gordian ClubsThis tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.GordianClubsdCBOR (Based on, Built on, Composes with)dCBORGordian Envelope (Based on, Composes with, Speaks protocol)GordianEnvelopeHubert (Basis for, Interoperates with, Requires)HubertSSKR (Based on, Composes with, Interoperates with)SSKRXID (Based on, Composes with)XIDUniform Resources (Composes with)UniformResourcesBlockchain Commons (Developed by, Funded by, Stewarded by)BlockchainCommonsGordian Suite (Member of suite)GordianSuite
  • dCBOR (Tool): Based on, Built on, Composes with
  • Gordian Envelope (Tool): Based on, Composes with, Speaks protocol
  • Hubert (Tool): Basis for, Interoperates with, Requires
  • SSKR (Tool): Based on, Composes with, Interoperates with
  • XID (Tool): Based on, Composes with
  • Uniform Resources (Tool): Composes with
  • Blockchain Commons (Organization): Developed by, Funded by, Stewarded by
  • Gordian Suite (Suite): Member of suite

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Use Case Domains

Platform Evolution & Sovereignty

Affordances

Consent-based governance Data portability

P2P Protocol Attributes

Owner - List
  • Blockchain Commons
Origins Blockchain Commons (built atop the Gordian stack: Envelope, dCBOR, UR)
Data Formats Gordian Envelope (CBOR-based smart documents)
Native Apps CLI tool (clubs-cli-rust); library bindings for application integration
Terms Open source, free to use
Funding - List
  • Blockchain Commons
Based On Gordian Envelope; dCBOR; SSKR; FROST threshold signatures; Provenance Marks; XID; ChaCha20-Poly1305
Governing Body - List
  • Blockchain Commons
P2P Architecture Object-based (not network-based) — Clubs are autonomous cryptographic objects that can be transmitted via any channel (email, USB, QR code, BitTorrent, IPFS); no inherent network protocol
Content Addressing Provenance marks chain Editions cryptographically; SHA-256 Merkle digests via Gordian Envelope
Local-First Yes — fully offline-capable; no servers, no phoning home, no external verification required
E2EE Yes — encryption via permits using ChaCha20-Poly1305; multiple permits can coexist allowing different parties to access the same content via different cryptographic paths
Signature Schnorr / FROST threshold signatures for Editions; individual or group publishing
Permissions Cryptographic permits: symmetric keys, password-stretched keys, public keys, SSKR shares, FROST multisig thresholds, XID keys; emerging quantum-resistant options
Protocol Stack Position Application layer — autonomous group coordination and access-controlled data distribution
Protocol Maturity / Standardization Pre-standardization — reference implementation phase; integration with Hubert (BCR-2025-006) for asynchronous coordination

Relationships

How this tool connects to other tools and organizations, from relationships reviewed by the OpenHaven data steward. They describe how projects connect, not how good they are.

Based on
Built on
Developed by
  • Blockchain Commons
Funded by
  • Blockchain Commons
Member of suite
  • Gordian Suite
Requires
Speaks protocol
Stewarded by
  • Blockchain Commons
Composes with
Interoperates with
Basis for