JavaScript Jabber

How Holepunch Is Redefining Peer-to-Peer Apps with Bare.js — A New Era for JavaScript Developers -JSJ 681

28 snips
Jun 24, 2025
Mathias Madsen, CEO of Holepunch and a prolific open-source contributor, discusses how JavaScript is evolving with peer-to-peer technology. He shares his journey from discovering JavaScript in college to creating Bear.js, a minimalist runtime that simplifies app distribution across platforms. Mathias explains how Holepunch's Pair system enables direct application sharing without servers, revolutionizing app development. He highlights the flexibility of Bear.js, which allows seamless integration across devices, optimizing performance and developer experience.
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ANECDOTE

Inspired by Building BitTorrent Client

  • Mathias built a peer-to-peer BitTorrent client early in his career.
  • This experience deeply inspired him to pursue distributed systems in JavaScript.
INSIGHT

Pair System Simplifies App Distribution

  • Packaging and distributing full Node.js apps is complex and time-consuming.
  • HolePunch's Pair system simplifies app distribution by turning apps into modules shared peer-to-peer without servers.
INSIGHT

Bear.js Unifies JavaScript Runtime

  • Bear.js is a minimal JavaScript runtime with just core JS and a module system.
  • It runs uniformly across desktop, mobile, and embedded devices using different JS engines.
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