Documentation needed for P2P architecture in gun branch

[michaelstingl]

Problem

The gun branch represents a complete architectural shift from client-server to P2P using Gun.js, but this radical change is not documented anywhere. The README still describes the old Prisma/Docker setup that no longer exists.

Current State

• The gun branch has removed all traditional backend infrastructure
• Everything runs P2P via Gun.js
• The only server is a minimal 26-line relay in /clean
• New developers have no way to understand the architecture

What's Missing

1. Updated README.md

   • Remove old Docker/Prisma instructions
   • Explain P2P-first approach
   • Document the new pnpm clean workflow

2. ARCHITECTURE.md

   • Explain Gun.js data model
   • Document the space concept (local/global)
   • Describe the universal relation system
   • Show data flow in P2P architecture

3. DEVELOPMENT.md

   • Gun.js patterns and best practices
   • How to work with composables/providers
   • Debugging P2P applications
   • Common Gun.js pitfalls

4. PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md

   • How to create plugins in the P2P world
   • Plugin data storage in Gun
   • Dynamic routing integration

Impact

Without documentation, new contributors cannot understand:

• Why there's a /server directory that's not used
• How authentication works without a backend
• Where data is stored
• How to develop in this P2P paradigm

Suggested Solution

Create comprehensive documentation that explains the P2P-first architecture and helps developers understand this innovative approach to building decentralized social platforms.

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Note: This issue was created after analyzing the codebase and discovering the undocumented architectural transformation from traditional client-server to pure P2P.

[michaelstingl]

Made good progress on this today! 🚀

Completed

• ✅ ARCHITECTURE.md - PR docs: add comprehensive ARCHITECTURE.md for P2P system #103 adds comprehensive P2P architecture documentation
• ✅ README.md updates - Already updated in the refactoring PR refactor: merge clean server into main server directory #102 (removed Docker/Prisma, added P2P info)

Still Needed

• DEVELOPMENT.md - Gun.js patterns and best practices
• PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md - How to create plugins in the P2P world

The ARCHITECTURE.md covers most of the critical concepts (Gun.js data model, space concept, universal relations, data flow). Once PR #103 is merged, developers will have a solid understanding of the P2P architecture.

Happy to continue with DEVELOPMENT.md next if that would be helpful!

[felixboehm]

Yes, please do so @michaelstingl . We will add to it ...

And I will pick the updated README from the PR that got closed.

[michaelstingl]

Update: Significant Progress Made! 🎉

Since this issue was created, we've made substantial progress on the documentation:

✅ Completed Documentation

1. ARCHITECTURE.md (PR docs: add comprehensive ARCHITECTURE.md for P2P system #103)

   • Complete P2P architecture explanation
   • Gun.js data model
   • Space concept (local/global)
   • Universal relation system
   • Data flow diagrams

2. PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md (Added today)

   • Comprehensive P2P plugin development guide
   • Based on successful event-plugin implementation
   • TypeScript + Gun.js patterns
   • Deployment instructions

3. CLIENT-DEPLOYMENT.md (Added today)

   • How to deploy Tribelike instances
   • GitHub Actions workflow with plugin support
   • Multiple deployment options (GitHub Pages, Netlify, etc.)

4. Live P2P Plugin 🚀

   • Successfully deployed first pure P2P plugin (event-plugin)
   • Live at https://tribelike.shniq.dev/plugins/event-plugin/
   • Serves as reference implementation

📝 Still TODO

1. Updated README.md

   • Still describes old architecture
   • Needs P2P-first explanation
   • Should reference new docs

2. DEVELOPMENT.md

   • Gun.js debugging tips
   • Common patterns
   • Testing strategies

Key Achievements

• Documented the complete P2P transformation
• Created working example with event-plugin
• Established deployment pipeline with plugin support
• Proven the P2P architecture works in production

The documentation now exists to help new developers understand and contribute to Tribelike's innovative P2P architecture!