Geyms

Geyms is a fictional, open-source software project that provides a decentralized data storage and sharing platform intended to improve privacy and resilience on the internet. It envisions a client experience without a central server, with files stored across a network of peers and addressed by cryptographic content hashes. Users run clients on devices that chunk files, distribute them among participating nodes, and retrieve data using verifiable pointers.

Key features include end-to-end encryption, content addressing, versioning, offline access, and cross-device synchronization. The system emphasizes data integrity through cryptographic proofs and a modular architecture that allows optional gateways for interoperability with traditional networks.

Architecture consists of client applications, a peer-to-peer storage layer, a lightweight metadata index, and optional gateway services. Data blocks are stored across multiple nodes, with redundancy configurable by users or operators. A separate indexing service maintains provenance and access control information, while clients verify integrity against content hashes.

History notes: the project was announced in 2021 by a volunteer community and released publicly in 2022, with several major revisions appearing through 2023 and 2024.

Reception: Geyms has attracted interest among privacy-focused communities and researchers as an example of decentralized storage design. Critics point to setup complexity, performance variability, and dependency on active participation from nodes for optimal reliability.

See also: distributed file system; decentralized storage; peer-to-peer networks; content-addressed storage.