General Questions

1. What is Radicle? How is it different from Git/GitHub?

Radicle is a peer-to-peer code collaboration platform built on Git. Unlike centralized platforms like GitHub, there is no single entity controlling the network or user data. Repositories are replicated across peers in a decentralized manner. Radicle is an alternative for people and organizations who want full control of their data and user experience, without compromising on the social aspects of collaboration platforms.

2. Who is using Radicle currently? How many users does it have?

Radicle is still in beta and hasn't officially launched yet. Many people in the community are already using it internally. The product is set to launch in March 2024, and we are just starting to onboard users.

3. What is the business model/monetization strategy for Radicle?

We have not disclosed our monetization plans yet. Radicle has raised $12 million in venture funding previously.

4. What is the relationship between Radicle and the $RAD cryptocurrency?

Technically, Radicle the software is separate from $RAD, which is a governance token for the Radworks organization funding Radicle's development. RAD holders can vote on Radworks governance proposals.

5. How much funding has Radicle raised? How many people are working on it?

Publicly disclosed funding is $12 million. The current codebase is a little under 2 years old, with over 4 years of work on the problem in total. We currently have around 12 people working on the protocol, CLI, web UI, and content.

Technical Questions

6. How does Radicle handle code discoverability and search, compared to centralized platforms? (needs to be updated)

Basic search functionality exists, but this area is still a work-in-progress. We expect more improvements in search/discovery in the future.

7. Can Radicle handle large binary files like datasets or machine learning models? (needs to be updated)

While Radicle uses Git internally, which doesn't handle large binary files efficiently, we are considering adding support for solutions like git-annex or allowing interoperability with BitTorrent for large file support. However, the platform is not designed for sharing movies or music like previous P2P platforms.

8. How does Radicle ensure persistence and availability of repositories when nodes go offline?

(can be better, mention seed nodes)

Repositories are replicated across multiple peers on the network, so they remain available as long as at least one hosting node is online. Users have fine-grained control over which repositories they personally host and seed.

9. How does Radicle handle issues, pull requests, code reviews etc. compared to GitHub?

Radicle has its own models for issues and pull requests (called "patches"). It supports non-destructive updates to patches and code reviews tied to patch revisions. These collaborative objects are stored within the Git repository itself.

10. Is there a way to run Radicle over Tor, I2P or other censorship-resistant networks?

Yes, Radicle is designed with Tor support via SOCKS5 proxy in mind. We have plans for native Tor support.

Each node can choose which repositories to host based on configured policies. Nodes can block specific repositories or peers exhibiting abusive behavior.

12. Is there a way to host private/permissioned repositories on Radicle for limited audience?

Yes, Radicle supports private repositories that are only shared among a trusted set of peers, not the entire network. These are not encrypted at rest but rely on selective replication.

13. What is the process for migrating existing GitHub projects to Radicle?

There are community tools under development for migrating issues. We are planning full migration tooling for the future.

14. Is there a way to easily mirror repositories that are hosted on GitHub, GitLab, etc. to also be seeded on Radicle?

There is no built-in mirroring yet, but you can set up a cron job to pull from GitHub and push to Radicle periodically.

15. Does Radicle have plans to support Windows?

Currently Radicle only supports Unix-based systems like Linux and macOS. We plan to add Windows support if there is demand, likely via MSYS2.

16. How does Radicle ensure consistency and prevent multiple versions of the "same" repository?

Radicle assigns stable identities to repositories that can be cryptographically verified. Changes in repository ownership are signed by previous owners forming a verifiable chain of provenance.

User Experience

16. Are there plans to add multilingual/localization support to the UI?

We will add multilingual support if there is enough demand from the community.

17. How does the user experience of using Radicle command line tools compare to Git?

Radicle is built on top of Git, so the workflow is quite similar. rad commands are provided for Radicle-specific functionality. A web UI is also available.

18. What is the suggested development workflow when using Radicle?

The workflow is similar to using Git with a platform like GitHub. You clone a repository, make changes locally, then push to your node which syncs data with the network. Collaboration happens via issues, patches (pull requests), and code review.

19. Are there tools/plugins for code editors to work with Radicle repositories?

None yet, but we are considering building integrations with popular IDEs in the future based on demand.

If you have any other questions, drop into our support channel on Zulip.