An exploratory proposal for ATProto governance
Groundwork is a consent-based governance protocol for ATProto — circles, roles, and the record of how authority actually got granted, not just who currently holds it. This app is a working demo of that protocol, not just a description of it.
This is a working prototype. Data lives in your browser first. Use Demo mode (top right) to explore without writing anything real, or sign in with your Atmosphere account in live mode to sync real records to your own PDS. Export/Import live in Settings.
Groundwork itself is a proposal, not a standard. It's one answer to an open question in the ATProto ecosystem — what should group and community structure look like — offered for real use and real critique, not asserted as the only way.
Groundwork draws on sociocracy. Small groups with a defined scope make decisions by consent — not consensus. Consent means the group can move forward when no one has a serious, reasoned objection. Roles are portable: people hold them, not departments — and how someone came to hold a role is part of the record, not just the fact that they do.
This guide is a work in progress — both the tool and the protocol behind it are evolving.
What Groundwork is, and isn'tGroundwork is an exploratory proposal for governance infrastructure built on ATProto — a concrete answer to an open question in the ecosystem: what should group and community structure actually look like, at the protocol level? Most existing approaches model a group as a membership list. Groundwork's core argument is that the history of how authority was granted — who consented to what, and when — is itself part of what makes a community a community, not just metadata about it.
This app is a working demonstration of that idea, not just a description of it. The hope is that it eventually becomes genuinely useful for coordinating real ATProto working groups — not only a proof of concept, but a tool people actually reach for. Groundwork isn't trying to become the standard; the goal is a protocol that can interoperate with other governance models as they emerge, not replace them.
Key termsOpen a role and use Propose Edits to draft changes. Bring the draft to a circle call or group chat. When the circle reaches consent, click Approve Edits to make it official. Every action is recorded in the Journal.
Archiving a roleWhen an operational role is archived, its accountabilities return to the Circle Lead's draft as a starting point for redistribution. The Circle Lead's role shifts to Evolving — ready for the circle to decide what happens next.
Keyboard shortcutsThis is your personal circle — the foundation of your Groundwork presence. An aim describes why a circle exists. You might update this to reflect your goals, your practice, or what you're working toward.
Your time, attention, and the decisions that belong to you. A domain defines what's yours to govern. Update this to describe the space you hold.