Aurora Prism Roadmap 🗺️#

Current Version: v1.0 (Hybrid Mode)#

Aurora Prism currently operates in Hybrid Mode: firehose for followed users + on-demand fetching for everything else.

🚀 Upcoming Features#

🏠 Personal AppView Mode (v2.0)#

Status: Planned Priority: High

A lightweight, firehose-less mode for self-hosting and privacy-focused users.

What is Personal Mode?#

A configuration option that transforms Aurora Prism into a minimal, single-user AppView that fetches content on-demand instead of indexing the entire network.

Key Features#

• Firehose-less operation - Disable network indexing entirely
• On-demand fetching - Fetch posts/profiles only when viewed
• Aggressive caching - Cache everything you view for fast subsequent loads
• Minimal storage - Only store content you actually interact with
• Low bandwidth - No need to consume the entire firehose
• Privacy-first - Only index what you personally view

Use Cases#

• 🏡 Self-hosting - Run on Raspberry Pi, home server, or VPS
• 🔒 Privacy mode - Don't store network-wide data you'll never use
• 💰 Cost savings - Drastically lower storage and bandwidth costs
• 👥 Small communities - Perfect for 1-100 users who follow similar people
• 🧪 Development - Test without needing full firehose infrastructure
• ✈️ Offline-first - Build personal cache for offline reading

Technical Implementation#

Configuration:

# Enable personal mode
APPVIEW_MODE=personal          # Options: "network" (default), "personal"
ENABLE_FIREHOSE=false          # Disable firehose consumer
CACHE_ONLY_FOLLOWED=true       # Only cache followed users
MAX_CACHED_USERS=500           # Limit cached users (optional)
PERSONAL_MODE_CONCURRENCY=10   # Concurrent PDS fetches

Architecture Changes:

1. Disable Firehose Consumer

   • Skip Jetstream/relay connection entirely
   • Remove firehose event processing overhead
   • No need for cursor tracking or backfill

2. On-Demand Everything

   • Timeline: Fetch from each followed user's PDS
   • Profiles: Fetch from user's PDS
   • Posts: Fetch from author's PDS
   • Notifications: Poll user's PDS
   • Search: Federated search across PDSs

3. Smart Caching

   • Cache all fetched content in PostgreSQL
   • TTL-based invalidation (configurable)
   • LRU eviction for storage limits
   • Pre-fetch followed users' recent posts

4. Resource Optimization

   • Database: ~100MB-1GB (vs 100GB+ for network mode)
   • Memory: ~512MB-1GB (vs 2GB+ for network mode)
   • Bandwidth: ~10-100MB/day (vs GB/day for firehose)

Comparison: Network Mode vs Personal Mode

Implementation Phases#

Phase 1: Core On-Demand Fetching ✅ (Already Implemented!)

• On-demand post fetching (feed-generator-client.ts)
• On-demand feed generator discovery
• PDS resolution and record fetching
• Event processor integration

Phase 2: Personal Mode Configuration

• Add APPVIEW_MODE config option
• Conditional firehose consumer startup
• Personal mode validation and warnings
• Documentation and setup guide

Phase 3: Timeline Optimization

• Fetch timeline from followed users' PDSs
• Parallel fetching with rate limiting
• Smart caching with TTL
• Pre-fetch strategies (background jobs)

Phase 4: Resource Limits

• Configurable cache size limits
• LRU eviction for old content
• Storage usage monitoring
• Automatic cleanup jobs

Phase 5: UX Improvements

• Loading indicators for on-demand fetches
• Offline mode support
• Cache warmup on login
• Background sync workers

Phase 6: Advanced Features

• P2P cache sharing (optional)
• Federated search across personal AppViews
• Export/import cached data
• Hybrid mode (firehose for followed + on-demand for rest)

Future Enhancements#

Optional P2P Features:

• Share cached data with friends' personal AppViews
• Distributed caching for communities
• Peer-to-peer discovery of new content

Mobile Support:

• Native mobile apps with personal AppView backend
• Sync between devices
• Offline-first reading experience

📋 Other Roadmap Items#

v1.1 - Polish & Performance#

• Complete Bluesky web client rebranding
• Optimize database queries
• Add metrics dashboard improvements
• Better error handling and user feedback

v1.2 - Advanced Moderation#

• Custom labeler support
• Community moderation tools
• Content filtering improvements
• Block/mute list management

v1.3 - Federation Features#

• Multi-AppView federation
• Cross-AppView search
• Shared blocklists
• Instance reputation system

🎯 Vision#

Aurora Prism aims to be the most flexible AT Protocol AppView:

1. Network Mode - Full firehose indexing for public instances
2. Personal Mode - Lightweight self-hosting for individuals
3. Hybrid Mode - Best of both worlds (configurable mix)

This flexibility makes Aurora Prism suitable for:

• 🌐 Public AppViews (thousands of users)
• 🏠 Personal AppViews (self-hosters)
• 👥 Community AppViews (small groups)
• 🏢 Enterprise AppViews (private networks)

🤝 Contributing#

Want to help build Personal Mode? Check out:

• DEVELOPMENT.md - Setup development environment
• GitHub Issues - Find tasks
• Discord - Join the community

Last Updated: 2025-01-17