Calimero Documentation¶
Why Calimero Exists¶
The Internet was designed to be peer-to-peer. From its origins in DARPA’s research on packet switching — a response to the fragility of circuit-switched networks like telephony — the Internet’s architecture has always favored decentralization. Protocols such as TCP/IP and SMTP embody this spirit: open, resilient, and without a central authority. Calimero builds upon that same idea.
- Calimero is not a blockchain.
- Calimero is an application layer built on top of the network — a place for collaboration, computation, and coordination between peers.
- Where a blockchain would rely on consensus, Calimero uses CRDTs (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) for distributed consistency without global agreement.
Calimero is the layer you reach for when you don’t need the guarantees (or costs) of consensus — when local autonomy and asynchronous coordination are enough.
Build Self-Sovereign Applications with CRDT-Powered P2P Sync¶
Calimero Network is a framework for distributed, peer-to-peer applications with automatic conflict-free data synchronization, user-owned data, and verifiable off-chain computing.
| Attribute | What it means |
|---|---|
| Local-first by default | Your data stays on your node; you control replication |
| DAG-based CRDT sync | Conflict resolution without coordination, resilient offline |
| Event-driven architecture | Real-time updates emitted across participating nodes |
| Encrypted P2P channels | End-to-end secure sharing between context members |
| WASM runtime | Build applications in Rust, ship deterministic WebAssembly |
| Multi-chain integrations | Connect NEAR, ICP, Ethereum, Stellar, ZKSync for attestations |
Calimero is a privacy-focused application layer for peer-to-peer collaboration. This site stays concise on purpose: each section orients you in a few minutes, then links directly to the canonical GitHub READMEs for full architecture and workflows.
Quick Actions¶
| Start here | What you get |
|---|---|
| Launch a local network | Bootstrap merod + Merobox and observe a context end-to-end. |
| Build from a template | Scaffold a Rust + React app with create-mero-app. |
| Explore a reference app | Learn from maintained examples such as Battleships or Shared Todo. |
| Understand the architecture | See how contexts, nodes, state sync, and identity fit together. |
Choose Your Path¶
| If you are… | Go to… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to Calimero | Introduction | Philosophy, architecture snapshot, and repo map. |
| Shipping an application | Builder Directory | Toolchain checklist, dev loop, and SDK links. |
| Evaluating existing apps | App Directory | Spot maintained demos with direct README links. |
| Securing deployments | Privacy · Verifiability · Security | Isolation model, identity delegation, auditability patterns. |
| Looking for tooling | Tools & APIs | Runtime, admin, SDK, and automation catalog. |
Highlights¶
- Contexts as private networks — CRDT-backed state and scoped storage so teams can collaborate without global consensus.
- Hierarchical identities — Root keys delegate client keys per device, integrating with NEAR, Ethereum, Starknet, and ICP wallets.
- Modular runtime —
merodorchestrates networking (libp2p), storage, and WASM apps with JSON-RPC/WebSocket surfaces. - Repository-first docs — Detailed flows live in project READMEs such as
calimero-network/coreandcalimero-network/merobox.