Drew DeVault

An introduction to the Gemini network protocol — a simple, intentionally limited alternative to the web for exchanging hypertext documents. Gemini uses TLS with self-signed certificates and TOFU, a minimal request/response cycle, and a strict document format (gemtext) that separates content from presentation. The author argues that web browsers are hopelessly complex and that Gemini addresses a meaningful subset of web use-cases more cleanly. Key design virtues highlighted: simplicity (a client can be written in an afternoon), deliberate non-extensibility, and opinionated formatting with no inline links, images, or stylesheets. The author also shares their own Gemini projects: libgmni/gmni/gmnlm (C11 client library and tools), gmnisrv (a high-performance C11 server), and kineto (an HTTP-to-Gemini gateway in Go).

What is this Gemini thing anyway, and why am I excited about it?