Show threadAral BalkanJan 22

Hah… just noticed something interesting that looks like it’s going to be another advantage to Web Numbers¹… look at these Kitten² screenshots and tell me if you can spot something unexpected.

Hint: it’s what’s missing.

There are no 404 errors for common hack attempts trying to exploit WordPress vulnerabilities, etc. In fact, it’s entirely quiet. Because those folks watch DNS :)

¹ https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/
² https://kitten.small-web.org/

#WebNumbers #SmallWeb #peerToPeerWeb #personalWeb #Kitten #SmallTech

Aral BalkanJan 22

Hey, guess what?

I just saw the first Small Web site (the Kitten Chat example¹ from Kitten²) running at a Web Number³:

https://91.98.66.193/

👉 Update: I’m shutting it down in a few moments so it might not be there when you try it :)

Come say hi (I don’t know how long I’ll keep it on for, will update this when I turn it off.)

🥳

PS. This is only in the ip-address-support branch of Kitten right now and should be considered experimental. Will likely make it into main today.

¹ https://codeberg.org/kitten/app/src/branch/main/examples/kitten-chat
² https://kitten.small-web.org
³ https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/

#SmallWeb #WebNumbers #SmallTech #peerToPeerWeb #Kitten

app

A web development kit that’s small, purrs, and loves you.

Codeberg.org
Aral BalkanJan 20

🥳 Multiple major releases today

• @small-tech/auto-encrypt v5.0.0 (https://codeberg.org/small-tech/auto-encrypt#readme)
• @small-tech/auto-encrypt-localhost v10.0.0 (https://codeberg.org/small-tech/auto-encrypt-localhost/#readme)
• @small-tech/https v6.0.0 (https://codeberg.org/small-tech/https/#readme)

These releases bring short-lived certificates, IP Address (IPv4 and IPv6) support, and ACME Renewal Information (ARI) support to Auto Encrypt and @small-tech/https, implement a consistent asynchronous API across all three packages, and include loads of little fixes and code quality improvements.

This brings us very close to getting Web Numbers¹ support implemented natively in Kitten².

OCSP support is removed from Auto Encrypt and Windows support is dropped from all three packages as Microsoft is complicit in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people³ and Small Technology Foundation⁴ stands in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Furthermore, Windows is an ad-infested and surveillance-ridden dumpster fire of an operating system and, alongside supporting genocide, you are putting both yourself and others at risk by using it.

Enjoy!

💕

🇵🇸 To support families facing genocide in Gaza, consider donating to them via Gaza Verified: https://gaza-verified.org/donate/

¹ https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/
² https://kitten.small-web.org/
³ https://www.bdsmovement.net/microsoft
⁴ https://small-tech.org/

#SmallWeb #SmallTech #AutoEncrypt #AutoEncryptLocalhost #https #TLS #NodeJS #web #dev #ACME #LetsEncrypt #WebNumbers #Kitten #BDS #Palestine #Gaza #FreePalestine

auto-encrypt

Automatically-provisioned TLS certificates for Node.js servers using Let’s Encrypt.

Codeberg.org
Show threadAral BalkanJan 17

So, going forward, Auto Encrypt¹, Kitten², and Catalyst³ will be seamlessly (automatically; with zero config) supporting Web Numbers⁴ (IPv4, IPv6), and, of course, should you want to point one at your server for old time’s sake, legacy domain names too.

I still have some dev to do on this on the Kitten side of things but I’m hugely excited about being able to remove another centralised component – DNS – from the Small Web⁵ (peer-to-peer, personal web) as we inch nearer to making it available this year to everyday people who use technology as an everyday thing.

¹ https://codeberg.org/small-tech/auto-encrypt
² https://kitten.small-web.org
³ https://catalyst.small-web.org
⁴ https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/
⁵ https://ar.al/2024/06/24/small-web-computer-science-colloquium-at-university-of-groningen/

#SmallWeb #SmallTech #SmallTechnologyFoundation #peerToPeerWeb #personalWeb #WebNumbers #decentralisation #web #dev #humanRights #democracy

Aral BalkanJan 17

Yay, first shot of Auto Encrypt¹ running a HTTPS web server at a Web Number (IP address).

https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/

Next step: find out why some of the tests are failing on the Linux box, fix, and implement Web Numbers support in Kitten² and Catalyst³.

¹ https://codeberg.org/small-tech/auto-encrypt#readme
² https://kitten.small-web.org
³ https://catalyst.small-web.org/

#WebNumbers #SmallWeb #AutoEncrypt #Kitten #Catalyst #peerToPeer #web #dev

Aral BalkanDec 21

Just added Web Reachability API (at least that’s what I’m calling it) support to https://ip.small-web.org.

It’s for testing the reachability of your Small Web servers (using a domain or, more importantly, an IPv4/IPv6 address). I’m using it to implement Web Numbers¹ support in Auto Encrypt² and Kitten³.

Protocol:

• At http://<endpoint> return an empty HTTP 200 response that includes the following custom header: 'web-reachability-id': ‘<uuid>'
• Hit: https://ip.small-web.org/reach/<endpoint>/<uuid>/
• If you get a 200 response back, your endpoint is reachable. Anything else signals an error.

Enjoy! 💕

¹ https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/
² https://codeberg.org/small-tech/auto-encrypt
³ https://kitten.small-web.org

#WebReachabilityAPI #WebNumbers #IpAddresses #reachability #Kitten #AutoEncrypt #SmallWeb #peerToPeerWeb #SmallTech

Your IP address

Show threadAral BalkanDec 19

🎉 Another quick Node Pebble release (version 5.4.0)

• Adds short-lived profile support. (Thanks to Aaron Gable for showing me how¹)

This should help if you’re implementing support for IP-address certificates.

https://codeberg.org/small-tech/node-pebble

Related: Read up on how the Small Web will launch next year using Web Numbers:

https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/

Enjoy! 💕

¹ https://github.com/letsencrypt/pebble/issues/525

#SmallWeb #SmallTech #NodePebble #LetsEncrypt #peerToPeerWeb #WebNumbers

node-pebble

A Node.js wrapper for Let’s Encrypt’s Pebble (a small RFC 8555 ACME test server not suited for a production certificate authority)

Codeberg.org
Hacker NewsJun 29, 2025

Web Numbers

https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/

#HackerNews #WebNumbers #DataAnalysis #TechTrends #InternetStatistics #DigitalGrowth

Web Numbers

Domains? Where we’re going, we don’t need domains! Until the end of this year, the only way to have a secure web site is to have it accessible via a domain name. That, however, is changing. And the design of the Small Web will be changing along with it. IP addresses are about to make a comeback on the web in a big (ok, small) way, thanks to upcoming support for security certificates for IP addresses by Let’s Encrypt.

Aral Balkan
Aral BalkanJun 26, 2025

Thanking the @letsencrypt folks for the excellent work they do, and especially for their upcoming support for security certificates for IP addresses which is nothing short of revolutionary for the future of the (Small) Web.

https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/getting-ready-to-issue-ip-address-certificates/238777/22

#SmallWeb #security #IPAddresses #WebNumbers #LetsEncrypt #SmallTech #decentralisation #peerToPeerWeb #findability

Aral BalkanJun 25, 2025

Introducing Web Numbers

Domains? Where we’re going, we don’t need domains!

Get ready for an exciting new (old?) way to address (small) web sites in 2026.

https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/

💕

(Thanks to @letsencrypt.)

#WebNumbers #SmallWeb #domainNames #IPAddresses #TLS #HTTPS #LetsEncrypt #web #decentralisation #SmallTech

Web Numbers

Domains? Where we’re going, we don’t need domains! Until the end of this year, the only way to have a secure web site is to have it accessible via a domain name. That, however, is changing. And the design of the Small Web will be changing along with it. IP addresses are about to make a comeback on the web in a big (ok, small) way, thanks to upcoming support for security certificates for IP addresses by Let’s Encrypt.

Aral Balkan