Loïc Morel
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In this tutorial, we'll learn how to run applications on Pears, a peer-to-peer (P2P) technology developed by Holepunch and supported by Tether. The aim is simple: to make it possible to distribute and use web applications without relying on any centralized infrastructure (no servers, no hosts, no intermediaries). In other words, even if a cloud provider closes down or a country blocks a domain, the application lives on among network peers.
1. What is Pears?
Pears is a runtime environment, development tool and deployment platform for peer-to-peer applications. This open-source tool makes it possible to build, share and run software without a server or infrastructure, directly between users. In concrete terms, this means that instead of hosting an application on a central server, each user becomes a network node, sharing part of the application and data with other peers. The whole system forms a distributed network, with each instance cooperating to keep the service accessible.
This approach is based on a set of modular software bricks developed by Holepunch:
- Hypercore**: a distributed log that guarantees data consistency and security without a central database.
- Hyperbee**: an indexer on top of Hypercore, for efficient data organization and browsing.
- Hyperdrive**: a distributed file system used to store and synchronize application files between peers.
- Hyperswarm** and HyperDHT: network layers that enable discovery and connection between peers worldwide, without a central server.
- Secretstream**: an E2E encryption protocol to secure exchanges between two peers.
By combining these components, Pears makes it possible to create autonomous, encrypted and distributed applications, where each user actively participates in the network. This decentralized architecture eliminates infrastructure costs, censorship risks and SPOFs (Single Point of Failure).
2. Origin and philosophy of the project
Pears is being developed by Holepunch, a company founded by Mathias Buus and Paolo Ardoino (CEO of Tether and CTO of Bitfinex), with the mission of extending peer-to-peer logic beyond Bitcoin. Their ambition is to build the "Peer-to-Peer Internet", where every application can run without authorization, without servers, and without intermediaries. Holepunch is already behind Keet, a fully P2P video conferencing and messaging application.
This Pears installation tutorial is divided into several sections depending on your operating system. Go directly to the section corresponding to your environment to follow the appropriate instructions :
- Linux (Debian)** → Part 3
- Windows** → Part 4
- macOS** → Part 5
3. How to install Pears on Linux (Debian)
Installing Pears on a Debian system is relatively straightforward, but requires a few prerequisites, which we'll detail in this section.
3.1. update the system
First and foremost, it's important to make sure your system is up to date.
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
3.2. install dependencies
Pears relies on certain system libraries, notably
libatomic1, used by the Bare JavaScript runtime. Install it with the following command:sudo apt install -y libatomic1 curl git
3.3. install Node.js and npm via NVM
Pears is distributed via npm, the Node.js package manager. Although Pears does not depend directly on Node.js to function, it is necessary for installation. The recommended method for installing Node.js on Linux is NVM (Node Version Manager), which allows you to manage several versions of Node in parallel.
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/master/install.sh | bash
Then reload your terminal to activate NVM :
source ~/.bashrc
Check that NVM is installed:
nvm --version
Then install a stable version of Node.js (e.g. the current LTS):
nvm install --lts
Check Node.js and npm installations:
node -v npm -v
3.4 Installing Pears with npm
Once npm is available, you can install Pears CLI globally on your system. This will allow you to run the
pear command from any directory.npm install -g pear
3.5. Initialize Pears
After installation, simply run the following command in your terminal:
pear
On first start-up, Pears will connect to the peer-to-peer network to download the necessary components. This process requires no central server: files are obtained directly from other peers.
Once the download is complete, run the command again to check that everything is working:
pear
If everything is correctly installed, Pears Help will be displayed with a list of available commands.
3.6. Testing Pears with Keet
To check that Pears is fully operational, you can launch a P2P application already available on the network, such as Keet, Holepunch's open-source messaging and videoconferencing software.
pear run pear://keet
This command loads the Keet application directly from the Pears network, without passing through a central server. If Keet launches correctly, your Pears installation is fully functional.
Your Linux system is now ready to run and host peer-to-peer applications with Pears.
4. How to install Pears on Windows
Installing Pears on Windows is just as easy as on Linux, but requires a few special tools.
If you're using Linux, you can skip to step 6.
4.1. open PowerShell in administrator mode
First of all, run PowerShell with administrator rights :
- Click on the Start menu;
- Type PowerShell ;
- Right-click on "Windows PowerShell" ;
- Select "Run as administrator".
4.2. download NVS
Pears is installed via npm, the Node.js package manager. On Windows, the method recommended by Holepunch is to use NVS (Node Version Switcher), which is more stable than NVM on this system.
In PowerShell, run the following command to install the latest version of NVS :
winget install jasongin.nvs
4.3. install Node.js
After installation, restart PowerShell and enter the following command:
nvs
You should see a list of available Node.js versions. Select the first one by pressing the
a key on your keyboard.Node.js is installed.
4.4. Check installations
Make sure Node.js and npm are accessible:
node -v npm -v
Both commands must return a version number.
4.5. Installing Pears with npm
Once Node.js and npm are available, install Pears CLI globally on your system:
npm install -g pear
This will install the
pear binary in your global npm directory.4.6. Check and initialize Pears
Once installation is complete, run :
pear
On first launch, Pears will automatically download the necessary components from the peer-to-peer network. This process may take a few moments.
If all has gone well, you should see the CLI Pears help screen with a list of available sub-commands (run, seed, info...).
4.7. Testing Pears with Keet
To check that Pears is fully operational, you can launch a P2P application already available on the network, such as Keet, Holepunch's open-source messaging and videoconferencing software.
pear run pear://keet
This command loads the Keet application directly from the Pears network, without passing through a central server. If Keet launches correctly, your Pears installation is fully functional.
Your Windows system is now ready to run and host peer-to-peer applications with Pears.
5. How do I install Pears on macOS?
Installing Pears on macOS is similar to installing it on Linux, but requires a few adjustments specific to the Apple environment. Let's discover these steps together.
If you're using Linux or Windows and have already installed Pears, you can proceed directly to step 6.
5.1. Check system requirements
Before installing, please ensure that Xcode Command Line Tools is present on your system. This package provides the necessary compilation tools for Node.js and its dependencies.
To do this, open a terminal with the keyboard shortcut
Cmd + Space bar, then type Terminal and press the Enter key. You can then enter this command in the terminal to launch the installation:xcode-select --install
If the tools are already installed on your system, macOS will inform you.
5.2. install NVM
Pears is distributed via npm, the Node.js package manager. Although Pears does not depend directly on Node.js to function, it is necessary for installation. The recommended method for installing Node.js on macOS is NVM (Node Version Manager), which allows you to manage several versions of Node in parallel.
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/master/install.sh | bash
Then reload your terminal to activate NVM :
source ~/.zshrc
If you use bash rather than zsh, run :
source ~/.bashrc
Then check that NVM is installed:
nvm --version
The terminal should return the version of NVM installed on your system.
5.3. install Node.js and npm
Then install a stable version of Node.js (e.g. the current LTS):
nvm install --lts
Once installation is complete, check the installed versions:
node -v npm -v
Both commands must return a version number.
5.4 Installing Pears with npm
Once npm is available, you can install Pears CLI globally on your system. This will allow you to run the
pear command from any directory.npm install -g pear
5.5. Initialize Pears
After installation, simply run the following command in your terminal:
pear
On first start-up, Pears will connect to the peer-to-peer network to download the necessary components. This process requires no central server: files are obtained directly from other peers.
Once the download is complete, run the command again to check that everything is working:
pear
If everything is correctly installed, Pears Help will be displayed with a list of available commands.
5.6. Testing Pears with Keet
To check that Pears is fully operational, you can launch a P2P application already available on the network, such as Keet, Holepunch's open-source messaging and videoconferencing software.
pear run pear://keet
This command loads the Keet application directly from the Pears network, without passing through a central server. If Keet launches correctly, your Pears installation is fully functional.
Your macOS system is now ready to run and host peer-to-peer applications with Pears.
6. How do I use an application on Pears?
Once Pears is up and running, you can run the application of your choice directly with the following command:
pear run pear://[KEY]
Simply replace
[KEY] with the application key you wish to use.To learn how to run our Plan ₿ Academy platform on Pears, check out this comprehensive tutorial :
And to find out how to use the Keet messaging application you've just launched on Pears, check out this tutorial :
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