Mycel
A coordination substrate for living communities
What it is
Mycel is a lightweight coordination network inspired by mycelium — the underground fungal networks that connect forests, route nutrients, and maintain resilience without any central organism in charge.
It is not a social media platform. It is infrastructure that quietly makes real-world coordination easier, works when the internet doesn't, and is designed to strengthen human relationships rather than substitute for them.
The problem it addresses
Current platforms monetize attention, amplify anxiety, and simulate connection without providing it. The result is epidemic loneliness alongside compulsive engagement — people more connected than ever and more isolated than ever.
Mycel is designed around a different question: what would infrastructure look like if its goal was to get you off the app and into the world?
How it works
The ambient map
The main view is not a feed. It is a soft, living map of presence: who is around, what they have to offer, what they need. You sit at the center. Connections to your peers radiate outward, thickening where real exchange happens.
Two-speed signaling
Presence, resource availability, community mood. No urgency. Like knowing your neighbors' general state without constant contact.
Encrypted direct coordination — a need, an offer, a crisis signal. Appears when something requires action. Dissolves when it's done.
Trust-weighted topology
Connections strengthen with meaningful exchange history and atrophy without it. Bots and noise are starved of visibility organically — no moderation team, no algorithm, just organic topology.
Anti-addiction by design
No engagement algorithms. No notification dark patterns. No metrics that create status competition. Presence events expire. The network rests when nothing is happening.
The goal is a tool people pick up when they need it and put down without difficulty — like a good shovel.
Getting started
1. Open the app
Visit the link below on your phone or computer. The app works in any modern browser — no app store needed.
On your first visit, tap Create new identity. Your key is generated on your device and never leaves it.
2. Add a peer
Tap the + button in the top right. If you're standing next to someone, show them your QR code and have them scan it — or scan theirs.
You can also paste a key manually if someone sends it to you via any channel.
3. Set your presence
Tap the bar at the bottom (or tap your own node in the center of the map). Set your capacity, mood, and what you can offer or could use.
Your presence is broadcast to peers and expires after one hour. The app quietly republishes while it's open.
4. See your network
The map shows your peers. Node size reflects trust. Colors show capacity: green = available, yellow = limited, grey = unavailable.
Tap any node to see their details, offers, needs — and send gratitude.
5. Coordinate in person
That's the point. See that your neighbor has firewood and you need some? Walk over. The app creates reasons to meet, not reasons to stay in the app.
Try it
Built on Nostr
Mycel uses the Nostr protocol — simple signed JSON events, decentralized relays, no central authority. Your identity is a cryptographic keypair. No registration, no phone number, no central server.
All trust scores are computed locally on your device. No server knows your trust graph. Presence events are published to relays and expire automatically.
Relation to Global Governance Frameworks
Mycel is developed under the Global Governance Frameworks research initiative as the practical infrastructure layer for bioregional coordination, the Social Fabric Framework, and the Hearts care economy. It is designed to stand alone as useful infrastructure regardless of that broader context.