Last updated: February 21, 2025
This is the first public test of Argo and its virtual machine Pallas. We're a team of three founders, so we had to work hard to prioritize a set of features that was achievable in our timeframe. We have two primary goals during this test network:
The following list of features were not included within the scope of the first test network.
Local-First Networking
A full alpha release of Argo will include a local copy of Pallas. Combined with Wireguard or a similar protocol, your local Pallas instance will be able to network with other ships. Pallas can't do NAT hole punching today so we're not including a local copy of the virtual machine. All our code is open source, so if you want to run one anyway, you very much can.
Multiple Ports
Today, OPFN is the only active Port. A Port is a 3rd party host that runs your ship on their hardware. You'll want a Port if you're using any kind of software that requires a persisted network connection. Ships are completely defined by a small spec and are portable between physical machines, so you can't get locked in to a Port provider. You can read our ToS—which includes a high level summary—to understand our commitments to you.
Automated Sharing
Argo automatically records every website you visit using the Internet Archive's WARC file format. These files are stored in your private virtual computer. You can play them back whenever you want. When you want to share a webpage with another user, you have to manually indicate this via a hotkey, button, or menu. We think the best version of Argo should do this automatically, without leaking private information. We have some specific ideas about how to achieve this, but weren't able to include them in this first release.
Video and Other Large Files
Argo is capable of storing and serving large files like videos, music, eBooks, etc. It does not currently record these as you browse the Internet.