Farcaster client Warpcast launched a native way to develop apps for the decentralized social media protocol. Called mini apps and live as of Tuesday, this tooling system is similar to the existing Farcaster Frames feature, which enables people to launch dapps directly into their social media feeds. 

“A mini app view is a full HTML/CSS/JS webpage, so it's both easier and harder in some ways” than launching a Frame, Warpcast developer horsefacts explained in a social media post. “Easier because you can use a full interactive canvas and any web framework you want, harder because there's more to set up than a simple image.”

Farcaster is one of the most popular decentralized social media protocols designed so users can own their data. In June 2024, Fortune reported the Ethereum ETH -0.92% -based protocol had about 50,000 daily users.

Dan Romero, co-creator of Farcaster, told The Block that mini apps are specifically a Warpcast feature, “but it can work on any app” built on Farcaster. 

Like Farcaster Frames, which enable builders to make any post on Farcaster into an interactive app, mini apps could be used to mint NFTs, build games and create polls, among other activities. Horsefacts posted a link to a game called FlappyCaster, a popular crypto game where players maneuver a cartoon bird through various obstacles. 

Romero posted a link to a post he wrote on the meaning of “sufficient decentralization” using web3 newsletter and publishing platform Paragraph. 

Mini apps will be able to be launched from Frames as well as “deep links,” a type of URL that sends users directly to a specific page in an app rather than a website or store. For now, the developer documentation notes that only Warpcast-specific URLs will be supported, though the team “may introduce a new Frame button type … if these experiments succeed.”

The system is also tapping Neynar, a Farcaster developer platform. 

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。