Mau Developer Documentation ¶

Welcome to the Mau developer documentation! This guide will help you understand Mau as a concept and show you how to build peer-to-peer social applications using the Mau convention.

Documentation Structure ¶

Getting Started ¶

• Introduction - What is Mau and why it exists
• Core Concepts - Understanding Mau’s fundamental architecture
• Quick Start Tutorials - Three progressive tutorials:
  • GPG Fundamentals - Understand the primitives (15 min)
  • Mau CLI - Use the command-line tool (10 min)
  • Mau Package - Build applications with Go (20 min)

Building Applications ¶

• Storage and Data Format - Working with files, JSON-LD, and Schema.org
• Authentication & Encryption - PGP, signing, and privacy
• Peer-to-Peer Networking - Kademlia, discovery, and syncing
• HTTP API Reference - Server endpoints and client requests

Advanced Topics ¶

• Building Social Apps - Practical patterns and examples
• Privacy & Security - Best practices for handling user data
• Performance & Optimization - Scaling and efficiency tips

Reference ¶

• API Documentation - Complete Go package reference
• Schema.org Types - Common types for social applications
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

What is Mau? ¶

Mau is a peer-to-peer convention for building decentralized social applications. Unlike traditional social networks that rely on central servers, Mau applications:

• Store data as files on the user’s filesystem
• Use PGP for identity, authentication, and encryption
• Discover peers using Kademlia DHT and mDNS
• Exchange data over HTTP/TLS with mutual authentication
• Support structured content using JSON-LD and Schema.org vocabulary

Why Build with Mau? ¶

For Developers ¶

• Simple implementation - Files, HTTP, and well-established standards
• Freedom to innovate - No platform restrictions or approval processes
• Interoperability - Applications share the same data format
• Web-compatible - Existing websites can become Mau peers

For Users ¶

• True ownership - Data lives on their disk, not a company’s server
• Privacy by default - End-to-end encryption with PGP
• No censorship - No central authority to ban or moderate
• Cross-application - One identity works across all Mau apps

Architecture at a Glance ¶

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      Your Application                        │
│  (Chat, Blog, Social Network, Game, IoT Controller...)      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     Mau Convention                           │
│                                                              │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐      │
│  │   Storage   │  │ Peer Network │  │  HTTP API    │      │
│  │  (Files +   │  │  (Kademlia + │  │  (Sync +     │      │
│  │   PGP)      │  │   mDNS)      │  │   Serve)     │      │
│  └─────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              User's Filesystem + Network                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Example ¶

Here’s a minimal Mau application that posts and syncs content:

 1package main
 2
 3import (
 4    "github.com/mau-network/mau"
 5    "log"
 6)
 7
 8func main() {
 9    // Initialize Mau instance
10    client, err := mau.NewClient("/path/to/mau/directory")
11    if err != nil {
12        log.Fatal(err)
13    }
14
15    // Create a social media post
16    post := map[string]interface{}{
17        "@context": "https://schema.org",
18        "@type":    "SocialMediaPosting",
19        "headline": "Hello, decentralized world!",
20        "author": map[string]interface{}{
21            "@type": "Person",
22            "name":  "Alice",
23        },
24        "datePublished": "2026-02-27T07:30:00Z",
25    }
26
27    // Save encrypted and signed
28    err = client.SavePost("hello-world.json", post)
29    if err != nil {
30        log.Fatal(err)
31    }
32
33    // Start syncing with peers
34    client.StartSync()
35}

That’s it! Your post is now:

• ✅ Saved locally as an encrypted, signed file
• ✅ Available to your network over HTTP
• ✅ Syncing with peers automatically

Next Steps ¶

1. Read the Introduction to understand Mau’s philosophy
2. Follow the Quick Start Guide to build your first app
3. Explore Building Social Apps for practical patterns

Community & Support ¶

• GitHub: mau-network/mau
• Issues: Report bugs and request features
• Discussions: Ask questions and share ideas

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This documentation is for developers building on Mau. For the full protocol specification, see the main README.md.