Plinked

Plinked is a term used in computing to describe a lightweight, asynchronous messaging protocol and accompanying platform designed to minimize bandwidth and latency for small payloads. It emphasizes small, frequent updates rather than large data transfers, and it is often described as suitable for Internet of Things, real-time dashboards, and peer-to-peer collaboration. The name blends the idea of a quick signal (plink) with the past participle form to reflect messages that propagate or are stored across a network.

The concept emerged in technical discussions during the mid-2010s and was formalized in a community-driven specification later published on open repositories. While not tied to a single vendor, several implementations appeared in open-source projects and academic prototypes, each adapting the core plinked layer to different platforms.

A typical Plinked stack comprises a plink layer for encoding and transporting small messages, a plink peer network for routing and discovery, and a plink store for caching and offline replay. Security is often built around end-to-end encryption and optional message signing. Developers access the protocol through language bindings and SDKs that expose plink channels and plink events.

Core features include low-overhead messaging, offline or intermittent connectivity support, modular extensibility through plink extensions, and plink channels that group related messages. The protocol supports both publish-subscribe and direct peer-to-peer messaging.

Plinked has been used in IoT telemetry, collaborative editing in bandwidth-limited environments, and lightweight dashboards. Adoption remains niche, with most use cases experimental or within research communities; mainstream messaging apps typically prioritize alternative protocols.

See also: List of related concepts.