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| Original author(s) | syuilo |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2014; 11 years ago (2014) |
| Stable release | |
| Repository | |
| Written in | TypeScript |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Available in | 28 languages |
| Type | Microblogging |
| License | GNU Affero General Public License 3.0 |
| Website | misskey-hub |
Misskey (Japanese:ミスキー,romanized: Misukī) is anopen source,federated,social networking service[2][3] created in 2014 by Japanese software engineer Eiji "syuilo" Shinoda.[4] Misskey uses theActivityPub protocol for federation, allowing users to interact between independent Misskey instances, and other ActivityPub compatible platforms. Misskey is generally considered to be part of theFediverse.[5]
Despite being a decentralized service, Misskey is not philosophically opposed to centralization.[6]The name Misskey comes from the lyrics of Brain Diver, a song by the Japanese singerMay'n.[7]
Misskey was initially developed as a BBS-styleinternet forum by high school student Eiji Shinoda in 2014.[8] After introducing a timeline feature, Misskey gained popularity as the microblogging platform it is today.[citation needed]
In 2018, Misskey added support forActivityPub, becoming afederated social media platform.[9][10]
The flagship Misskey server, Misskey.io, was started on April 15, 2019.[citation needed]
Misskey, alongsideMastodon andBluesky, has received attention as a potential replacement forTwitter followingTwitter's acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022.[citation needed]
On April 8, 2023, Misskey.io incorporated as MisskeyHQK.K. As of February 2024, over 450,000 users were registered, making it the largest instance of Misskey.[11] Misskey.io iscrowdfunded. The administrator of Misskey.io is Japanese system administrator Yoshiki Eto, who operates under the alias Murakami-san. Eiji Shinoda serves as director.[12]
In July 2023, Twitter introducedextreme restrictions on theirAPI in order to combatscraping from bots. Some users were critical of the changes, and as a result migrated to other social networks. The number of users registering on Misskey.io, Misskey's official instance and the largest one, increased rapidly, with other Misskey instances also receiving a spike in signups.[13][14] In response to this trend, Skeb, a platform for sharing art, announced on July 14, 2023 that it would sponsor the Misskey development team.[15]
In early 2024, Misskey was targeted by a spam attack from Japan. The cause of the attack is believed to be a dispute between rival groups on a Japanese hacker forum and aDDoS attack on aDiscord bot. Mastodon instances with open registration were used in the attack.[16]
Misskey is open source software and is licensed under theAGPLv3.[citation needed] The Misskey API is publicly available and is documented using theOpenAPI Specification, which allows users to build automated accounts and use it on any Misskey instance.[citation needed] The service is translated usingCrowdin.
Misskey is developed usingNode.js.TypeScript is used on both thefrontend and backend.PostgreSQL is used as its database.Vue.js is used for the frontend.[17]
Posts on Misskey are called "notes". Notes are limited to a maximum of 3,000 characters (a limit which can be customized by instances), and can be accompanied by any file, including polls, images, videos, and audio.[18] Notes can be reposted, either by themselves or with another "quote" note.[19]
Misskey comes with multiple timelines to sort through the notes that an instance has available, and are displayed in reverse chronological order. The Home timeline shows notes from users that you follow, the Local timeline shows all notes from the instance in use, the Social timeline shows both the Home and Local timeline, and the Global timeline shows every public note that the instance knows about.[citation needed]
Notes have customizable privacy settings to control what users can see a note, similar toMastodon's post visibility ranges. Public notes show up on all timelines, while Home notes only show on a user's Home timeline. Notes can also be set to be available only for followers. Direct messages using notes can be sent to users.[citation needed]
