Academy NetworkDownload
One small app. No account, no setup. You become part of the library.
Academy Network is an app, not a website, and it runs on every desktop platform: Windows, macOS, and Linux. You install it once and it does everything: it joins the peer-to-peer network over Tor, syncs the library to your device, and lets you read, write, and review guides, online or off. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to configure.
Get the app
| Platform | File | Size | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 / 11 | installer (.exe) | 13 MB | 1.0.3 (release 52) | Current release |
| Linux | installer (.deb) portable (.AppImage) | 20 MB 98 MB | 1.0.3 (release 52) | Current release |
| macOS 12+ | build from source | - | - | Build from source |
Academy Network runs on every desktop platform. Windows, macOS, and Linux, all from one codebase, so anyone can join from the computer they already own. Wherever the app runs, it is the same full node: it holds the library, syncs over Tor, and lets you read offline.
The whole app is one small install, around 12 MB, because Tor and the networking core are built in as a single static binary. There is no separate Tor to install, no runtime to add, and no accounts server to reach. It runs entirely on your device.
Verify your download
Every source release is threshold-signed: a release names an exact commit and carries signatures from a quorum of the release roster (M of N keys), never one person's key. The signed manifest and roster chain are published at /release.json, /release.sigs, and /release-roster.json; the app itself checks them (Network page, entirely at your request) and seed nodes verify them before every auto-update.
To check an installer:
- Compare its SHA-256 against the published checksums. The current Windows installer:
76f7c7172f25750c9e94bd0ce5335692e5daa2dc083ec35a491e81bec77f456c - For the strongest check, build from source at the signed release commit and compare behavior; the installer is produced from exactly that tree. The threshold signatures cover the source, so nobody, including the project, can slip different code into a signed version.
System requirements
The app is deliberately light. If your computer is from the last decade, it will run:
| Resource | Needs |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10+, macOS 12+, or a modern Linux |
| Memory | Comfortable on 2 GB RAM; target is a 10-year-old laptop |
| Disk | A 12 MB installer, plus disk for the library. Guide text is always kept in full and compressed; downloaded media has a budget you set (5 GB by default, raise or lower it in Settings), so the media library spreads across many nodes and no single machine has to hold it all. |
| Network | Any internet connection for syncing over Tor. Slow and intermittent connections are fine; sync resumes. Reading works fully offline once synced. |
What happens on first run
There is no onboarding to click through. You open the app and it works:
- It generates your identity locally, a key on your machine. You never make an account, and no email or name is ever asked for.
- It connects to the network over Tor and starts syncing. The approved guide text comes first, so the library is browsable within minutes; media and history fill in afterward in the background.
- Your computer becomes a node: it holds a full copy of the text and helps serve it to others. You can cap the bandwidth and disk it donates at any time.
- You start reading. Writing, reviewing, and voting are all in the same window when you want them.
Where to start
The library is open, and it grows only if people write in it:
- Write a guide. Read what belongs on the network and how review works, then draft one in the app. A subject with no guide is an invitation, not a gap.
- Run a seed node. An always-on node on a cheap VPS is the most useful infrastructure you can donate; see Get involved.
- Understand how the network stays community-controlled forever on the Governance page.
The source lives at git.academynetwork.net, the project's own self-hosted Git server.