DeForum - A Web Forum on OrbisDB

A web forum demo application built on OrbisDB, leveraging TACo to create non-public posts with pre-specified conditions for access.

Introduction

This application emulates a web forum, complete with posts, comments, images, and personal profiles. It relies on the following items:

OrbisDB on Ceramic - A decentralized database to hold the various forum artifacts users create (such as posts, comments, etc.) TACo - A decentralized access control layer, through which decryption rights to non-public forum content (posts, comments, reactions, etc.) are verified and enforced by a decentralized cohort of TACo nodes. ThirdWeb SDK - Uses their IPFS upload feature for image file storage

Installation

First, create this repository on your local machine. Next, install the dependencies:

nvm use 20
pnpm install

Environment Setup

You will need to create a copy of the example environment file:

cp .env.example .env.local

ThirdWeb

Next, you will need a value for your NEXT_PUBLIC_THIRDWEB_ID. Log into your ThirdWeb Dashboard and go to the "Settings" tab on the upper left-hand side. Create a new API key with "Storage" as an enabled service with read + write access. Once done, copy the "Client ID" and assign it to your env value.

WalletConnect

You will also need to obtain a Client ID from WalletConnect as the demo uses it for its wallet provider. Log into your WalletConnect Cloud Dashboard and create a new project (with the "App" type selected). Once created, copy the "Project ID" and assign it to NEXT_PUBLIC_PROJECT_ID.

OrbisDB

The next few values will be associated with OrbisDB. To make things simple, we will use the hosted OrbisDB Studio and the shared node instance it provides for this demo, but keep in mind that you can set up your own instance whenever you want (more details at OrbisDB).

First, go ahead and sign in with your wallet.

Once signed in, the studio will default to the "Contexts" tab at the top. On the right-hand side you will see your environment ID. Go ahead and assign that value to ENV_ID in your new .env file.

Next, set up a context. These help developers segment their data models and usage based on the applications they are meant for. Create a new context (you can call it "forum-app" if you'd like), and assign the resulting string to CONTEXT_ID in your .env file.

Finally, you will create three tables using the OrbisDB model builder feature that this application will use for storing user data.

In your Orbis Studio view, select the "Model Builder" tab at the top and create a new model named "profile" using the profile definition in this document. Once created, assign the resulting identifier to NEXT_PUBLIC_PROFILE_ID. Do the same for comment --> NEXT_PUBLIC_COMMENT_ID and post --> NEXT_PUBLIC_POST_ID.

Getting Started

You are now ready to run the application.

Running in developer mode:

pnpm dev

Building:

pnpm build

Learn More

To learn more about OrbisDB please visit the following links

OrbisDB Overview OrbisDB SDK OrbisDB Website