Kindlingfor peopleThe protocol siteThe specificationThe libraryThe Circular
KindlingAn open protocol for finding people

Kindling v0.1 · an open protocol for finding people

The pool should belong to the people in it.

Skip past the demo

Load any product into any app.

A live demo, with invented people. These are the seven apps themselves, running on this page. Choose an app, then a product below it. Nothing you do here is sent anywhere.

The app

Skip past the app to the products

Showing Drip Line in Face Up. Everyone in it is invented.

Liveapps/face-up/index.html#load-drip-line

Loaded

Drip Line in Face Up

Climbing gym · 5 Pools

  1. Site
  2. Data
    Its 5 Pools, as JSON, and how Face Up reads each
    • Only with the address: the Pool is unlisted, so the app reads it only for someone who is in it or gives the app its address.
  3. App

A product, by category

Why, in four lines

  1. A dating app is only as valuable as its pool. People want someone nearby, so the biggest pool in each town wins, and a new app opens empty. By 2016, one company held most of the market. Nobody new gets in.

  2. The operator is paid while you are still looking. The wait is the product, so its interest runs against yours. Paywalled likes, rationed attention, boosts, streaks and fake urgency follow from that.

  3. People are worn out, and friendship never got infrastructure. Dating has apps that tire people out. Friendship has luck and group chats.

  4. Kindling makes the pool a commons. Your profile stays on your own page. Pools are open lists anyone can host and any app can read, only with your yes. A new app can open full on day one, you can leave without losing anyone, and the tricks stop paying. Try Kindling today: the apps, or see one Pool through three doors.

Try Kindling today: the appsWhy Kindling, with the recordThe library of use cases

The apps and the library are invented. They work in your browser, with invented people, and nothing is sent anywhere; nothing runs on Kindling at TranquilTech yet. The specification is published and stable. The spec, schemas and tools live on the protocol site.

Art. IWhat changes

Twelve things change when the pool is a commons.

Each one rests on sections of the specification, and each is demonstrated by a site in the library. The Why page explains them in plain words, after the public record that makes them necessary.

  1. 1Pools are a commons, not a moat.
  2. 2A new app starts full.
  3. 3One room, many doors.
  4. 4Leaving costs nothing.
  5. 5No money on the wait.
  6. 6Tricks stop paying.
  7. 7People, not a ranking.
  8. 8Safety that travels.
  9. 9Every shape of relationship.
  10. 10Nobody owns the directory.
  11. 11It outlives its makers.
  12. 12Email is the floor.

Read the twelve shiftsStart with the record

Art. IIThe library

A library of what could be built.

Invented organizations, each built on Kindling to show one thing that changes. The top shelf is matchmaking, where the size of the pool decides everything.

Dating app · hosts no Pools

Roomful

A dating app that hosts no Pools of its own. It opens full, reading the Pools you already said yes to.

Friendship app · hosts no Pools

Familiar Faces

A friendship app that reads the groups you already belong to, like the Tuesday walk that leaves from the library steps.

Community · 3 Pools

Many Moons

A community for consensual non-monogamy. You can be out in one Pool and private in another, and a household can show how it is connected, with every member’s yes.

Introductions · 3 Pools

Hearthhold

Introductions for chosen family: platonic partners, co-parents and later-life housemates. Stewards meet people before they vouch for them.

Matchmakers · 3 Pools

Late Supper

Matchmakers who meet you first, then propose one introduction at a time. Both people say yes, or nothing happens.

Below it: mutual aid that stays up in a storm, trades referrals, first-generation mentorship, a songwriter’s listeners, a festival, a climbing gym, a board-game server, a library’s notice board and a newspaper that reads them all. And seven apps to get around them. Every organization and person in the library is invented.

Open the libraryThe apps

Art. IIIWhat it is

An open protocol for finding people.

The introduction is the product.

Kindling is an open protocol for finding people, published as a specification before any product was built on it. Your profile is a page you already keep, and curators gather profiles into Pools for a scene, a city, a craft or a shared interest. Nobody enters a Pool without saying yes, and nobody in the middle makes money by keeping two people apart.

  • Not an app. Kindling is two open standards. Any site, app or printed zine can use them.
  • Not an operator. Pools are JSON files anyone can host. Nobody sits in the middle.
  • Not a store of your data. Kindling stores no profile data, and never copies your photos (§2.5).
Art. IVFor people

Your page, your yes, your exit.

You don’t sign up for Kindling. You keep a page, and when someone would like to add you to a Pool, you decide.

  1. §2.1

    Your profile stays where you keep it.

    A Notion page, a Google Doc, a Carrd, your own site. Kindling reads what is there, h-card markup first, and stores no profile data. Photos are referenced by URL and never copied (§2.5).

  2. §5.1

    Nobody adds you without a yes.

    A curator who wants you in a Pool sends a handshake: the Pool’s name, its charter, who curates it and how they are verified, what it is for and who can see it. One click either way. There is no exception.

  3. §5.2

    A no is remembered.

    Say no once and the same curator can’t ask again without your permission. Say nothing and the request expires after 14 days. Nothing changes.

  4. §5.3

    Leave in a minute.

    Withdraw from any Pool at any time, from any message. Every implementation must process it within 60 seconds.

  5. §4.5

    You always see who is asking.

    Every profile and every curator carries a verification level, shown in words: email, OAuth, vouched for by the curator, or unverified.

  6. §7.2

    You choose who may write to you.

    Open to all, people in your Pools only, vouched only, or no first message until you both say you would like to hear from each other.

  7. §2.7

    Or opt out of all of it.

    Add a kindling-noindex directive to your page, and no compliant Pool, registry or crawler may list you.

Yes, signed by Hollis Grant on 30 July 2026, for Spec Readers.
This is what a yes looks like: signed, dated and kept with the entry. The ember appears only on a yes. Hollis is invented, and the Pool is planned.

Art. VFor curators

If you already introduce people, you are a curator.

The friend who sets people up. The moderator who knows everyone. The person who keeps a “people you should meet” doc. A Pool gives that work a charter and a consent rule.

  1. §3.2

    Write the charter.

    Name the Pool, say what it is for and what it is not, and choose who can see it: public, unlisted or invite-only.

  2. §5.4

    Choose how people come in.

    Universal opt-in is the default. Vouching required and curator-only adds can add a step before the handshake, and can never take away anyone’s right to decline or leave.

  3. §5.2

    Ask, then wait for a yes.

    You submit a profile URL and the handshake does the asking. You never list anyone silently.

  4. §3.1

    Host it anywhere.

    A Pool is a JSON manifest in a public Git repository or behind a small API. Move it, fork it or close it. It is yours, not ours.

  5. §9

    It outlives you.

    After 90 days without curation a Pool goes dormant, and its active members can elect a new curator by two-thirds. Failing that, it archives, readable and revivable.

Founding curators

We are looking for the first curators: people who will run a Pool, curate it well and write down what worked. They are deciding what curation is as a craft. It is not a waiting list for anything, and nobody pays to take part.

The project’s own Founding Curators Pool is planned, not open. On the Pools page you can see how it would work, with invented people in it. If you would like to be one of the real ones, write to josh@intellibotique.com.

See the Founding Curators Pool

Art. VIHow it works

Five steps, and then the protocol steps aside.

  1. §2.1

    1. You publish a page.

    Anywhere you already keep one. That page is your profile. There is no required format.

  2. §3.1

    2. A curator starts a Pool.

    A charter, a curator, a visibility and a consent model, in one JSON file anyone can host.

  3. §5.2

    3. The curator asks you.

    A handshake arrives by email with everything you need to decide, and one click either way.

  4. §3.4

    4. You say yes, or you don’t.

    On yes, the Pool reads your page in full and lists you with a record of your consent. On no, nothing is listed and the no is remembered.

  5. §6.1

    5. Someone asks, and two people write.

    Anyone can ask a Pool a plain question, and only people who said yes can answer. Messages ride on structured email. Then the protocol gets out of the way.

Art. VIIThe rules

The character of the protocol is in its MUSTs.

Most of the specification is plumbing. These are the lines that decide what kind of thing Kindling is. Each one links to the section that binds it.

  1. §5.1

    Silent inclusion is forbidden. There is no exception.

    A profile is never added to a Pool without the owner’s explicit consent, whatever the Pool’s consent model.

  2. §5.2

    A decline is remembered.

    Say no once and the same curator may not submit you again without your permission. Silence expires the request in 14 days.

  3. §5.3

    Leaving takes sixty seconds.

    Withdraw from any Pool at any time through the messaging channel. Implementations must process it within a minute of receipt.

  4. §2.5

    Your photos are never copied.

    Referenced by URL only. Kindling and Pools store no photo bytes. Your images stay where you put them.

  5. §1.3

    Nothing is charged at the connection layer.

    The protocol defines no chargeable surface between two people who want to meet. That is a stated non-goal, not a pricing decision.

  6. §4.5

    Who you’re talking to is always shown.

    Every profile carries a visible verification level: email, OAuth, curator-vouched or unverified. A conforming UI must render it every time.

  7. §5.5

    Auto-accept can never be silent.

    Off by default, at most five rules, a notification for every event, and revocable after the fact. Convenience never outranks consent.

  8. §7.2

    Say no to strangers if you want to.

    Per-profile rules: open to all, pool-mates only, vouched only, no cold messages. Implementations must honor them, and shared block lists sit underneath.

  9. §9

    A Pool outlives its curator.

    Ninety days of inactivity and the Pool goes dormant. Active members can elect a new curator by two-thirds. Failing that it archives, readable and revivable.

  10. §6.1

    Email is the floor.

    Messaging rides on structured email, so it inherits decades of spam filtering and needs no new network. Richer transports may come; email stays as the fallback through v1.

Kindling maintainers, for the protocolSpecification v0.1, published and stable. Section numbers won’t move until a major version.

Art. VIIIKindling on Kindling

Kindling runs on Kindling.

The project plans to run five Pools of its own, to support Kindling’s development and its larger mission. None of them is open yet, and nobody is in them. Each is shown with invented people, so you can see how it would work.

Pool 1

Founding Curators

Curator-only addsPlanned

People who already do introduction work, invited by the maintainers to run the first Pools and write down what curation is as a craft.

Curated by the Kindling maintainers, with Rosa Delgado-Park as invented co-curator. Shown with 7 invented members.

Pool 2

Client Builders

Universal opt-inPlanned

Developers building Kindling clients, readers, hosts and tools, in any stack.

Curated by the Kindling maintainers, with Imani Brooks as invented co-curator. Shown with 3 invented members.

Pool 3

Spec Readers

Universal opt-inPlanned

People who read the specification and the RFCs closely and say where they are ambiguous, missing something, or overreaching.

Curated by the Kindling maintainers, with Tobias Weiler as invented co-curator. Shown with 4 invented members.

Pool 4

Toward a Working Group

Vouching requiredPlanned

People willing to stand for the Working Group that governs Kindling by v1.0: two elected implementer seats, one IndieWeb seat and a rotating advisory.

Curated by the Kindling maintainers, with Tobias Weiler and Ingrid Solberg as invented co-curators. Shown with 3 invented members.

Pool 5

Writers and Researchers

Universal opt-inPlanned

People who write about social technology, the friendship recession and the open-protocol revival, and want to talk to the curators and builders doing the work.

Curated by the Kindling maintainers, with Mei-Lin Zhou as invented co-curator. Shown with 3 invented members.

See the five PoolsRead their settings

Art. IXWhere things stand

Mycelial, the first implementation. On purpose, not the only one.

The first implementation is planned inside Mycelial, where Pools become how members of a community find each other within and across Groves. It is planned for the first quarter of 2027.

Mycelial is one Kindling client. If you serve a scene Mycelial doesn’t, build a different one. The spec is stable, the schemas are open, and the protocol doesn’t care which client anyone uses.

Where things stand, 28 September 2026
Specificationv0.1 is published and stable. Changes before v0.2 land as opt-in additions or clearly marked deprecations.
Running on itNothing at TranquilTech, yet. The protocol shipped before any product depends on it, on purpose.
First implementationPlanned inside Mycelial for the first quarter of 2027.
Nextv0.2 in draft: cryptographic identity, cross-Pool identity portability, and voluntary post-introduction gratitude.
Art. XThe money

Sustainability without extraction.

Nobody pays to be introduced, anywhere. Here is where the money comes from instead.

  1. §1.3

    Nothing is charged at the connection layer.

    The protocol defines no chargeable surface between two people who want to meet. That is a stated non-goal, not a pricing decision.

  2. now

    Today, TranquilTech pays.

    TranquilTech maintains v0.1 and pays for the first year of registry hosting. The protocol is free, and the project’s own Pools would be free.

  3. v0.2

    Gratitude, later, and only if you want to.

    Voluntary post-introduction gratitude is in the v0.2 draft. It comes after an introduction, never before, and the spec says it can never be turned into a paywall.

Art. XIFor builders

Clone, validate a Pool, run a query. Under ten minutes, or it’s a bug.

Build a Kindling client in your stack: a list, a search view, a printed zine. Send us the link and the registry lists it. The whole technical story lives on the protocol site; here is the short version.

# validate a Pool manifest
npx kindling-validate https://example.com/pools/queer-creatives-la

# parse a profile URL into structured JSON
npx kindling-parse https://noor.example.com

# ask a Pool a question in plain language
npx kindling-discover --pool https://example.com/pools/queer-creatives-la \
  --query "who is up for a hike this weekend?"

The repository ships the spec, the JSON schemas for profiles, Pools, handshakes and messages, a validator, a parser, a reference handshake server, a starter discovery agent, a block-list publisher and the registry source. It ships no consumer app. That’s the point.

Four ways to conform

  • §11.1

    Pool host. Implements the manifest, the handshake and continuity, and publishes a .well-known/kindling-pool file.

  • §11.2

    Pool UI. Shows the verification level beside every profile, honors all three spam layers, supports leaving, never includes silently.

  • §11.3

    Parser. Prefers h-card, records what was inferred, respects noindex, stores no photo bytes.

  • §11.4

    Messaging client. Validates every envelope, shows verification level, applies identity-based gating.

Read the builder’s guideSource on GitHub

Art. XIIQuestions

Plain answers.

Is this a dating app?
No. Kindling is not an app of any kind. It is a protocol: two open standards that any app, site or printed zine can use. A Pool can be for dating, friendship, bandmates, pen pals or peer support, and its charter says which. There is no feed to scroll and nobody ranking you.
Do I need an account?
No. Your profile is a page you already have. The first time a Pool brings you in, you confirm your email, and that address becomes your Kindling identity (§4.2). You can sign in with an identity provider instead (§4.3).
Can someone add me without asking?
No. Silent inclusion is forbidden, with no exception (§5.1). Every Pool entry carries a record of the yes that allowed it (§3.4).
What happens if I say no?
Nothing is listed. The no is recorded for that Pool, and the same curator can’t ask again unless you let them (§5.2).
How do I leave?
Send one message, from any Pool, at any time. It must take effect within 60 seconds (§5.3).
Who can write to me?
Only the people you allow (§7.2). Unverified senders are held back (§7.1), and shared block lists sit underneath (§7.3).
What does it cost?
Nothing at the connection layer (§1.3). Nobody pays to be introduced.
Is anything running yet?
Not at TranquilTech. The v0.1 specification is published and stable. The project’s five Pools are planned and shown with invented people, and every organization in the library is invented. The first implementation is planned inside Mycelial for the first quarter of 2027.
Who owns Kindling?
Nobody can, and that includes us. The code is Apache 2.0 and the spec text is CC BY 4.0. TranquilTech maintains v0.1, independent maintainers join at v0.2, and by v1.0 a Working Group governs, with TranquilTech as one voice among several.
Is Kindling a foundation?
No. This site’s address is kindling.foundation, but no foundation or other legal entity exists. TranquilTech publishes Kindling today, and the plan above is how that changes.
What if TranquilTech disappeared?
The Pools would keep working. Profiles would still be readable, and other implementations would still run.
Art. XIIIWays in

Read it, run a Pool, or build on it.

Read the spec

Twelve numbered sections, stable across v0.1. Open issues for ambiguities, gaps and overreach. Implementers, identity-protocol veterans and IndieWeb regulars especially.

Read the specification

Run a Pool

If you already introduce people, write to the maintainers at josh@intellibotique.com. See how a Pool runs first.

See how a Pool runs

Build a client

Any stack, any interface. A list, a search view, a printed zine. Send the link and the registry lists it.

Start building
Art. XIVContacts

Write to a person.

Protocol maintainers
Spec questions, implementation partnerships, contributing.
josh@intellibotique.com
Code of conduct
Conduct concerns, incident reports, community standards.
josh@intellibotique.com
Source
github.com/IntelliBotique/kindling