62 new projects contribute to digital commons

NLnet Foundation announces 62 new projects for the NGI Zero Commons Fund - the largest round of the programme yet. We congratulate the selected projects and look forward to the new capabilities these will bring to society. There were many more applications, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all applicants for their contributions towards digital commons and an open, trustworthy and more resilient internet.

From browser-based cellular networking to quantum-safe cryptography

The internet is the most complex technical and social infrastructure the world has seen yet. Preserving the public nature of the internet is not a given. Free and open source technologies, open standards, open hardware and open data help to strenghten the open web and the open internet. The projects selected by NLnet all contribute in their own way to this important goal, and will empower end users and the community at large on different layers of the stack. For example, there are people working a browser controlled ad hoc cellular network (Wsdr) which can be used to create small mobile networks where they are needed. The open hardware security key Nitrokey is aiming for formal certification of their implementation of the FIDO2 standard, and will be adding encrypted storage capabilities. There are also more applied technologies: the high end open hardware microscope OpenFlexure will enable among others e-health use cases such as telepathology, allowing medical professionals to work together to help people in more remote areas.

While on the topic of microscopic structures: there are again a number of projects which will be working on libre silicon and trustworthy hardware. This ranges from pad cell generators, automatic generation of analog and mixed Integrated Circuits and timing aware netlist optimisation with Logic Equivalence Checking to entire toolchains for VLSI design — and even concrete libre chip designs with proof of No Spectre bugs. There will also be efforts on high-end open hardware to analyse energy consumption (OpenEPT, BB3-CM5), creative tools for programmable PCB creation and collaborative computer assisted design (CAD).

Decentralised social media and professional print

Thanks to the W3C ActivityPub standard, an increasing amount of applications allow users to benefit from social interaction without having to register accounts everywhere, or having to worry about privacy invasive practices from proprietary social networks. The standard is used in forum tools, music sharing, creating and sharing 3D models, organising events and Polls in the Fediverse. The project Mastodon for institutions is adding features for large, institutional instances of Mastodon. Traditional media are not forgotten and can benefit from the work on modern type-setting tools that can create high quality print media (Typst, Vivliostyle).

And much more

This was just a small sample of the wide range of important contributions that will be worked on — there is much more, across the entire technology stack and beyond, from a low-level 8 bit compiler via wifi mapping and P2P mesh networks to cross-language symbolic execution via WASM and tools to collaboratively track track terms and conditions of online services and consumer product prices. Read on to meet all 62 projects selected in this funding round, or check out the complete overview of projects currently funded by NLnet.

If you applied for a grant
This is the selection for the December call of the NGI Zero Commons Fund fund only. We always inform all applicants about the outcome of the review ahead of the public announcement, whether they are selected or not. If you have not heard anything, you probably applied to a later call or a different fund that is still under review.

How do I find out which call round I applied to?

You can see which call round you applied to by checking the application number assigned to the project when you submitted the proposal. The number starts with the year and month of the call, so 2024-12- in the case of the December 2024 call. You see that same number featured in the emails we send you (It should not happen, but if you did apply to another call and did not hear anything, do contact us)

Meet the new projects!

(you can click or tap on the project name to fold out additional information)

Trustworthy hardware and manufacturing

• BB3-CM5 — Modular OSHW test & measurement equipment

  EEZ BB3 is a mature and recognized open source project that, in combination with EEZ Studio, offers a wide range of options for test & measurement development and automation. This project will further improve its performance, modularity and attractiveness by adding support for different MCUs and CPUs as a detachable module (Raspberry Pi CM4 form factor), new interfaces and by reorganizing the firmware in a way to simplify the addition of new EEZ DIB peripheral modules and enable running Linux.Design optimization will be carried out to reduce manufacturing and maintenance costs while taking into account that the existing certified EMC is not compromised. Finally, the new design will enable an increase in capacity (hosting up to 5 instead of 3 DIB modules), and the existing Mixed I/O modules will be adapted to work with a faster interface in a new more compact, half-width form factor.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/BB3-CM5

• CARGO — Automatic Generation of Analog + Mixed Integrated Circuits with Coriolis

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/CARGO

• Circuit Painter — Creative tool for programmable PCB creation

  Circuit Painter is a creative coding tool for generating functional printed circuit boards (PCBs). It enables users to easily automate circuit designs that involve repetitive tasks such as LED matrixes, sensors, and test boards. Circuit Painter is implemented as a simplified Python-based language, using vector graphics-inspired techniques such as matrix transformation to simplify board generation. It uses KiCad as a backend for rendering PCBs, and can directly export manufacturing files, or be used in conjunction with traditional routing for more complex designs. A web-based interface being developed to allow the tool to be used in a classroom or ad-hoc setting.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Circuitpainter

• Fully Open Chip Design — Silicon-proven toolchain for VLSI design

  Coriolis is an open-source toolchain dedicated to chip design. It integrates several open-source tools like Yosys, KLayout etc. and provides also dedicated tools for place & route. It addresses the actual open technologies (SkyWater, IHP and Global Foundries) to make open chips possible. The goal of this project is to improve the usability and the users' experience using Coriolis, from installing and configuring their flow to elaborating their designs. At the end, tutorials, documentation and packages will be available to make Coriolis a more usable toolchain to increase the European’s sovereignty in chips’ design and to promote open chips.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Coriolis

• Lens/FreeCAD integration — Collaborate on parametric CAD Models for hardware design

  This project advances an open source software stack that enables the free exchange of parametric CAD models for Open Source Hardware. FreeCAD -- software for designing and manufacturing physical objects in 3D -- has recently reached its 1.0 release milestone. Ondsel Lens, now also open source, is server software that complements FreeCAD. Together, Lens and FreeCAD enable users to share and configure designs: FreeCAD users can use Lens to collaborate, while others can customize parametric models through a Lens website and download them, for example for 3D printing. This project will enhance FreeCAD to better support collaboration via Lens and to incorporate models hosted on Lens servers into new designs. We will also improve the Lens plugin for FreeCAD, providing tight and seamless integration, for example enabling users to embed online models directly into their projects. This taps into the internet as a digital commons for open hardware, powered by a fully open software stack.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Lens-FreeCAD-integration

• Libre-Chip CPU with proof of No Spectre bugs — Open Hardware high performance CPU with speculative execution

  Modern computers suffer from a constant stream of new speculative-execution security flaws (Spectre-style bugs). To address this major category of flaws, we are working towards building a high-performance computer processor (CPU) with speculative execution and working on a mathematical proof that it doesn't suffer from any speculative-execution data leaks, thereby demonstrating that this major category of flaws can be eliminated without crippling the computer's performance.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Libre-Chip-proof

• LibreSilicon: Pad Cell Generator — Custom pad cells for integrated chip layout generation

  The LibreSilicon pad cell generator is the last missing puzzle piece needed for an integrated chip layout generation flow, from Design Rules and Mixed Signal designs to a layout which can be manufactured by foundries. A straightforward solution to turn the mixed signal HDL (Verilog-AMS) into a unified layout, helps to get rid of hairy IP issues when it comes to using standard cells and pad cells and other gateware from third party provider. Pad cells are used to generate the pad frame, the part of the chip around the internal logic which actually connects silicon circuits to the outside world through the pins of the package. Pad cells also protect the internal circuitry from overvoltage, overcurrent and electrostatic discharge (ESD).

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/LibreSilicon-PadCellGen

• Nitrokey 3 FIDO2 Level 2 — Achieve formal certification for open hardware security key

  The Nitrokey 3 Mini is an open-source and open hardware FIDO-compliant USB security key that currently holds FIDO2 level 1 certification. This project aims to achieve FIDO2 level 2 certification, which requires significantly higher security through hardware-based protection of cryptographic keys and operations. By ensuring all sensitive operations occur within secure hardware boundaries, this will become the first open-source FIDO authenticator with L2 certification. As governments increasingly deploy citizen services requiring L1-certified+ devices for authentication, this project addresses a critical gap in the market where only proprietary solutions from large manufacturers currently meet these standards. The certification process and technical implementation will be openly documented and shared with the community, providing a reference implementation that benefits the entire open-source security ecosystem and enables citizens and companies to use truly open hardware for accessing government services.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Nitrokey3-FIDO-L2

• Nitrokey 3 Storage — Add encrypted storage capabilities to Nitrokey 3

  The Nitrokey 3 Storage project develops a next-generation variant of the successful Nitrokey Storage 2 USB security key that combines modern authentication and cryptographic token capabilities with high-performance encrypted storage functionality. Building upon Nitrokey's extensive experience in secure USB devices and leveraging a more powerful microcontroller with embedded eMMC storage, this project addresses the significant performance limitations of existing solutions while maintaining open-source principles. The development will also ensure the device is future-proof for post-quantum cryptography applications. Unlike proprietary encrypted storage solutions currently available, the Nitrokey 3 Storage will be fully open-source device to seamlessly integrate security token features with high-performance encrypted storage, providing organizations and individuals with a comprehensive security solution that bridges the gap between pure authentication devices and secure storage systems, while contributing valuable open-source reference implementations to the broader security community.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Nitrokey-Storage

• OpenEPT Ecosystem — High-end open hardware to analyse energy consumption

  With the increasing prevalence of battery-powered embedded systems, the efficient utilization of limited energy resources has become a critical priority in firmware development. Our goal is to provide a compatible set of hardware and software tools that will facilitate analysis of energy consumption and support systematic firmware energy optimization. The Open Energy Profiler Toolset (OpenEPT) ecosystem will provide diverse hardware solutions, a user-friendly interface encapsulated in a GUI application, and a collaborative database infrastructure that brings together engineers and researchers to drive innovations in the field of battery-powered technologies. OpenEPT hardware will enable energy measurements for a diverse range of applications from low-power, single-cell battery-powered embedded systems to multi-cell LiPo battery-powered systems with high current consumption. The user-friendly OpenEPT Graphical User Interface will incorporate advanced features for analyzing firmware energy footprints and easy identification of energy bottlenecks in the system. The OpenEPT database infrastructure will facilitate collaboration between engineers and researchers by promoting data exchange. This shared data will be crucial for battery models development and validation, energy optimization in embedded systems, algorithm training and testing, educational purposes, and the further development of open-source solutions in battery-powered embedded systems.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/OpenEPT

• OpenFlexure Microscope — Enabling telepathology with open hardware high end microscopes

  The OpenFlexure Microscope is an open-source laboratory-grade robotic digital microscope. Robotic digital microscopy opens up huge potentials for remote collaboration in the diagnosis of disease, i.e. telepathology. Telepathology allows remote second opinions, or specialist diagnosis when no local specialist is available. It also opens up possibilities for scientific collaboration and online education. This project will enable us to work on the usability and robustness of our open source telepathology features. Clinical teams should be able to use the OpenFlexure Microscope for diagnosis in field conditions, anywhere in the world.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/OpenFlexure

• Timing Modeling and Integrated Verification in Naja — iming aware netlist optimisation with Logic Equivalence Checking

  Naja is an open-source Electronic Design Automation (EDA) project focused on the editing, optimization, and verification of post-synthesis netlists—data structures that describe the logical connectivity of electronic circuits after synthesis.

  This project will introduce two key components to Naja and the broader open hardware and EDA ecosystems: a flexible high-performance timing model engine designed for tight integration with placement and routing algorithms, and a built-in logic equivalence checking (LEC) infrastructure, optimized for incremental verification of netlist modifications—particularly in the context of Engineering Change Orders (ECOs). By addressing these important gaps in timing-aware design and incremental formal verification, the project aims to contribute important technological bricks to the open-source community, supporting the development of more capable and reliable open source EDA tools.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Naja-LEC-TimingModelEngine

• Verilog-AMS in Gnucap — Improve performance and Verilog-AMS coverage in Gnucap

  Verilog-AMS is a widely used standardised modelling language for physical systems, such as electronic circuits. In this project we will continue the work on a first free/libre reference implementation. The overall goals are to improve simulation in terms of speed and feature coverage.

  In this project Gnucap will implement more of the standards, specifically features related to the digital domain. New features will include the delay and signal strength modelling capabilities as well as sparse output in form of value change dumps. We will reassess and improve the performance of Verilog behavioural models and revise the mixed mode simulation algorithm. We will enhance the compatibility with Spice simulators improving the upgrade path from Spice based modelling applications. This includes the syntactical support for popular behavioural modelling devices enhancing the use of existing Spice macros within a Verilog environment. Basic scripting commands compatible with Nutmeg will be provided. We will continue the work related to data exchange between EDA tools, such as schematic and layout editors. We will extend towards compatible device representation that works across different applications enabling the seamless interchange of complete circuit models.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Gnucap-performance

• Wsdr — Cloud-based Cellular Network in a Browser

  While several open-source cellular network implementations have emerged over the past decade, most remain complex and inaccessible to non-experts—limiting broader exploration and innovation in the field.

  This project aims to change that by introducing a browser-based cellular network powered by WebUSB and WebAssembly. By connecting a USB software-defined radio (SDR), users can deploy cellular networks without requiring deep engineering knowledge or complex setups.

  The WebSDR architecture runs a full BTS (Base Transceiver Station) directly in the browser, while BSC/MSC components operate in the backend - either locally or in the cloud. This allows rapid, plug-and-play deployment of 2G networks for a wide range of use cases, including emergency response, off-grid expeditions, temporary installations, and prototyping.

  By making cellular technology more accessible, the project fosters openness, hands-on experimentation, and inclusive innovation in wireless communications - establishing 2G as a practical starting point for building and understanding more advanced 4G and 5G networks.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/WSDR

Network infrastructure incl. routing, P2P and VPN

• Configurable Communication Channels for qaul — Distributed messaging over verifiable P2P channels

  qaul is a privacy-preserving, internet-independent, off-the-grid, delay-tolerant P2P mesh messenger that can be used even in emergency situations. In this project, we will implement configurable communication channels in qaul. This implementation will create an enhanced proximity-aware and connection-aware publish/subscribe protocol with verifiable channels. These channels can be configured for open discussions, trusted information channels, distributed spam protection, or distributed network protection. The project will also optimize the onboarding process for new users in local communities.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/P2P-channels

• DjNRO upgrade and wifi mapping — Find nearby wifi access points in federated wifi communities

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/DjNRO

• Librecast Studio — Community platform for multimedia collaboration and events

  Multicast is both a network technology and a design methodology where the recipient is always in control of the data they receive and the medium in which they receive it. Multicast design is based on consent.

  Building on Librecast's multicast network layer, Librecast Studio is developing a multi-purpose community platform enabling communities to build their own spaces for multimedia collaboration and events. This will allow groups of people to organize, work, play, and participate in communities for any purpose.

  Unlike many other platforms used for live events and playback, Librecast Studio delivers separate streams of raw data, letting the end user choose what they hear, see, and how it is rendered.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Librecast-Studio

• Waterfall — Agile framework for the development and deployment of watermarking schemes

  Traffic watermarking is a powerful but underutilized technique for network traffic analysis, primarily applied today in evaluating the security of anonymity systems like Tor. This project aims to develop Waterfall, a system designed to provide a unified, flexible framework for the development and deployment of a variety of traffic watermarking schemes. Waterfall operates by intercepting network traffic, embedding and detecting watermarks at multiple points in the network. The goal of Waterfall is to be versatile enough to replicate representative watermarking schemes from the research literature, while adapting them to be more effective and creating new versions. In addition, Waterfall allows the analysis of new protocols such as Tor's Conflux protocol, a recent improvement in Tor's performance that may also increase its susceptibility to watermarking attacks.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Waterfall

Software engineering, protocols, interoperability, cryptography, algorithms, proofs

• Bab — Efficient proof of validity of streamed data

  Content-addressable storage (CAS) lets peers resolve secure digests to strings, but faces a dilemma: if a string cannot be transferred in full, peers cannot tell whether what they received so far is legitimate data. Discarding the data leads to redownloads and might make large downloads in spotty networks impossible. Persisting untrusted data allows peers to place arbitrary data on your machine. We write a Rust implementation of the Bab hash functions which solve this issue.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Bab

• embedded-cal — An embedded systems-friendly verified crypto provider

  Embedded-cal develops a verified implementation of the cryptographic provider in Rust which is compatible with popular embedded platforms. This cryptographic provider will be 1) fast on popular embedded platforms; 2) resistant to certain classes of side-channel attacks; 3) usable without the Rust standard library. The module will lever the available hardware acceleration support of popular microcontroller units for embedded systems and fill in the gaps in hardware support through software implementations. The module will be formally verified for secret independence using the hax framework, a verification tool for high assurance code.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/embedded-cal

• Machine Usable Output for Sequoia — Reliable, scriptable memory-safe OpenPGP with JSON input/output

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/MachineReadable-sq

• Nitrokey 3 FIDO2 Level 2 — Achieve formal certification for open hardware security key

  The Nitrokey 3 Mini is an open-source and open hardware FIDO-compliant USB security key that currently holds FIDO2 level 1 certification. This project aims to achieve FIDO2 level 2 certification, which requires significantly higher security through hardware-based protection of cryptographic keys and operations. By ensuring all sensitive operations occur within secure hardware boundaries, this will become the first open-source FIDO authenticator with L2 certification. As governments increasingly deploy citizen services requiring L1-certified+ devices for authentication, this project addresses a critical gap in the market where only proprietary solutions from large manufacturers currently meet these standards. The certification process and technical implementation will be openly documented and shared with the community, providing a reference implementation that benefits the entire open-source security ecosystem and enables citizens and companies to use truly open hardware for accessing government services.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Nitrokey3-FIDO-L2

• Owi 2 — Cross-language symbolic execution via Wasm

  Owi is a toolkit for Wasm. It features a symbolic execution engine that can be used to analyze languages compiling to Wasm. So far, it has built-in support for Wasm, C, C++, Rust and Zig. It allows to perform automatic bug-finding, test-case generation, solver-aided programming and proof of programs. It differs from other engines by a few characteristics: it performs *parallel* symbolic execution, it does not perform approximations, it supports multiple SMT solvers, and can be used for cross-languages programs analysis. For instance, it identified a bug in the Rust standard library. The most exciting current goals are to extend it to be able to support new programming languages such as Haskell, TinyGo, OCaml and Guile, along with the ability to analyze real world projects by adding compatibility with various build systems and modeling complex interactions with the host system.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/OWI-2

• Quantum-Safe Cryptography in Sequoia PGP — Implement draft-ietf-openpgp-pqc in Sequoia PGP

  Sequoia is a complete implementation of OpenPGP (as defined by IETF RFC 9580), and various related standards. To address the challenges of quantum computing, cryptographic standards are incorporating new algorithms. For OpenPGP, the new algorithms are specified in a draft which is close to being finalized. This project will add support for post-quantum cryptography to Sequoia when using the Botan cryptographic library as backend, the RustCrypto backend, and the Windows CNG backend.

  Another closely related effort involves using symmetric cryptography in places where traditionally asymmetric cryptography is used in OpenPGP. Symmetric cryptography is less susceptible to attacks from quantum computing, and provides performance benefits, enabling novel workflows that improve the user experience and alleviate some of the challenges that post-quantum cryptography brings. This project will therefore also add support for the new symmetric cryptography mechanisms in Sequoia using a number of backends.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Sequoia-PQC

• raylib — Project creator/builder + feature development for raylib graphics library

  raylib is a C library intended for high-performance graphics applications creation. It was originally created for education with a focus on simplicity, not only on its exposed API but also on its open source code architecture and its build system. In 12 years raylib has greatly went beyond education to many other fields and today it's being used for videogames development, tools development, data visualization, graphics programming, academic research, embedded devices and, in general, for low-level graphics output in any kind of display. raylib has been binded to +50 programming languages and a very strong community and ecosystem have been created around it.

  Future plans for raylib include multiple modules improvements, with a new software backend to support GPU-less computers, with a focus on RISC-V powered devices; improved high-DPI support and skeletal animation system for 3d models; full collection of examples review (+150 examples) with the addition of new ones; new support tooling to ease raylib usage and setup: raylib project creator and raylib project builder; and multiple actions to increase raylib visibility and users reach.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/raylib

• Renderling ecosystem — Renderling

  Renderling is a state-of-the-art, GPU-driven renderer that focuses on maximizing GPU capabilities for efficient scene rendering. The project is currently in the alpha stage and aims to enhance its adoption by addressing ecosystem challenges and collaborating with insdustry leaders from Mozilla and more. Renderling's development prioritizes performance, safety, and modern rendering techniques such as forward+ rendering, physically based shading and global illumination. The project is designed to support both native and web platforms, with a particular focus on the creation of "instant games" that are portable across platforms.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Renderling-Ecosystem

• SDCC — Modern compiler for 8-bit microcontrollers

  The Small Device C Compiler is the free (apart from GCC having an AVR port) compiler for 8-bit microcontrollers (µC). It is competing with various non-free compilers. 8-bit µC are common in peripheral devices of larger systems, SDCC is an essential part of the free software ecosystem, in particular for developing firmware. We aim to both improve SDCC support for various target hardware, as well as implement machine-independent improvements to make SDCC more competitive vs. non-free compilers. Hardware-specific improvements planned include improving support for Padauk's popular low-cost microcontrollers, improving support for the Rabbit microcontrollers common in older IoT devices, improving code generation for the f8 port, and improving support for Toshiba TLCS microcontrollers. The focus for machine-independent improvements will be in enhancing support for recent ISO C standards, an optimization to reduce memory usage for local variables, and implementing a link-time optimization to optimize out unused functions and objects. The latter is the one feature most-requested by SDCC users in recent years.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/SDCC-C23

• Serverless and Metadata Reduction for XMPP — Implement RELOAD within XMPP and reduce medata exposure

  This project will enhance XMPP’s privacy and resilience by reducing metadata exposure and enabling decentralized, serverless communication. Work will focus on developing new protocol specifications to minimize metadata, particularly by encrypting roster (contact list) information, and implementing these changes in the Libervia ecosystem through Tor integration to anonymize connections and reduce IP tracking, as well as roster end-to-end encryption. A second focus area is advancing serverless communication by implementing the RELOAD protocol (XEP-0415) and leveraging end-to-end authentication via XEP-0416 and XEP-0417. By reducing reliance on centralized servers and minimizing metadata, this project strengthens XMPP and Libervia’s privacy and availability, enabling their use in environments where servers may be unavailable or inaccessible.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/ServerlessXMPP

• Zosimos — GPU accellerated image buffer and compute system

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Zosimos

Operating Systems, firmware and virtualisation

• Advanced UEFI Capsule Update for coreboot with EDK II — Secure firmware updates, also via fwupd

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/UEFICapsuleAdvUpdate

• Capability-based security for Redox — Capsicum style cabilities in Redox

  Redox OS is a Unix-like microkernel-based operating system written in Rust, intended for both the cloud and the desktop. In this project we will replace Redox's internal file descriptor representation with capability descriptors, optimized for both security and performance. This will provide a foundation for capability-based security on Redox, and possibly capability extensions from other UNIX-like systems, while also supporting POSIX-style file descriptors for application compatibility.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Capability-based-RedoxOS

• Embeddable Common Lisp — Common Lisp for browser environments

  Embeddable Common Lisp is a Free and Open Source Software implementation of the Common-Lisp language as described in the X3J13 ANSI specification with focus on conformance, practical use and portability. This project follows through after a recent port of the runtime to Web Assembly to implement convenient environment for Common Lisp development and for deploying Common Lisp applications directly in web browsers and other WASM-enabled runtimes. This includes further improving ECL internals for interoperability and modularity by porting it to WASI.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/ECL

• io_uring-like IO for Redox — Introduce ring buffers in Redox to increase I/O performance

  Redox OS is a Unix-like microkernel-based operating system written in Rust, intended for both the cloud and the desktop. The purpose of this project is to implement ring buffers for requests and data transfers between key microkernel components, and to measure the potential for performance gains. We will be examining ring buffers connecting drivers to system services, system services to the kernel, and system services to applications. We will also investigate compatibility APIs such as liburing.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/RedoxOS-ringbuffer

• Kernel DMA Protection Patcher (kdmap-patcher) — Automated UEFI patching for pre-boot DMA protection

  Direct Memory Access (DMA) attacks remain an often overlooked vector in many threat models, despite increasing attention in recent I/O interconnects. While Thunderbolt 4 introduces spec-mandated mitigations via Kernel DMA Protection, millions of systems using USB4, Thunderbolt 1–3, and similar modern DMA-capable interconnects remain vulnerable due to unpatched or misconfigured firmware.

  Kernel DMA Protection Patcher (kdmap-patcher) is a Free Software, OS-agnostic UEFI (BIOS) extension designed to harden systems against DMA attacks from the pre-boot stage. It programmatically detects and remediates vendor-specific UEFI firmware bugs that disable or misconfigure DMA protection. Where protections are entirely absent, kdmap-patcher extends UEFI firmware with a device-tailored configuration enabling Kernel DMA Protection. Once mitigations are applied, kdmap-patcher seamlessly hands off control to the OS bootloader, enabling a significantly improved DMA security posture from the earliest stages of the boot process.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/kdmap-patcher

• Oils for Unix — An upgrade path for legacy shell

  The Oils project is an upgrade path from the widely used GNU bash and POSIX shell to a better language and runtime. OSH runs existing shell scripts of any size, while YSH is a new shell without legacy, and with real data structures and reflection. Oils is implemented with high-level, memory safe languages, but it's as fast as shells written in C. In this grant, we focus on validating OSH with real-world Linux distro builds. We also investigate new use cases for shell programming (with reflection) and new shell interfaces (GUIs).

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/OSH-everywhere

• Open-source firmware for modern AMD boards — Open-source firmware for modern AMD boards part 1

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Coreboot-Phoenix

• Pnut — Reproducible build of GCC on POSIX shell

  The C programming language underpins many critical components of modern infrastructure, with most programming languages relying on it, directly or indirectly, for their bootstrap. Given this pivotal role, reproducible builds for C are fundamental for the adoption of reproducible builds across the software landscape. The Pnut project aims to create a new bootstrapping path for GCC and the C ecosystem, leveraging Diverse Double-Compilation and POSIX shell instead of the usual auditable binary seed approach. This approach reduces the number of steps by starting at a higher abstraction level, in addition to not having platform specific seeds. The ultimate goal of Pnut is to deliver fully reproducible and auditable bootstrap for GCC, starting with Linux x86, requiring only a POSIX compliant shell and human-readable source files.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Pnut

• Servo Editability and Interactivity Enhancements — Keyboard interaction within the Servo browser

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Servo-Editability

• Wsdr — Cloud-based Cellular Network in a Browser

  While several open-source cellular network implementations have emerged over the past decade, most remain complex and inaccessible to non-experts—limiting broader exploration and innovation in the field.

  This project aims to change that by introducing a browser-based cellular network powered by WebUSB and WebAssembly. By connecting a USB software-defined radio (SDR), users can deploy cellular networks without requiring deep engineering knowledge or complex setups.

  The WebSDR architecture runs a full BTS (Base Transceiver Station) directly in the browser, while BSC/MSC components operate in the backend - either locally or in the cloud. This allows rapid, plug-and-play deployment of 2G networks for a wide range of use cases, including emergency response, off-grid expeditions, temporary installations, and prototyping.

  By making cellular technology more accessible, the project fosters openness, hands-on experimentation, and inclusive innovation in wireless communications - establishing 2G as a practical starting point for building and understanding more advanced 4G and 5G networks.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/WSDR

Measurement, monitoring, analysis and abuse handling

• Maven Heaven — Scan, review, curate and fix metadata of Java packages

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/MavenHeaven

• OpenEPT Ecosystem — High-end open hardware to analyse energy consumption

  With the increasing prevalence of battery-powered embedded systems, the efficient utilization of limited energy resources has become a critical priority in firmware development. Our goal is to provide a compatible set of hardware and software tools that will facilitate analysis of energy consumption and support systematic firmware energy optimization. The Open Energy Profiler Toolset (OpenEPT) ecosystem will provide diverse hardware solutions, a user-friendly interface encapsulated in a GUI application, and a collaborative database infrastructure that brings together engineers and researchers to drive innovations in the field of battery-powered technologies. OpenEPT hardware will enable energy measurements for a diverse range of applications from low-power, single-cell battery-powered embedded systems to multi-cell LiPo battery-powered systems with high current consumption. The user-friendly OpenEPT Graphical User Interface will incorporate advanced features for analyzing firmware energy footprints and easy identification of energy bottlenecks in the system. The OpenEPT database infrastructure will facilitate collaboration between engineers and researchers by promoting data exchange. This shared data will be crucial for battery models development and validation, energy optimization in embedded systems, algorithm training and testing, educational purposes, and the further development of open-source solutions in battery-powered embedded systems.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/OpenEPT

• T-Rust - In Rust we Trust — Scan, review, curate and fix metadata of Rust crates

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/T-Rust

Middleware and identity

• Accessible KDE File Management — Accessible file dialogs throughout KDE applications

  This project aims to make a core part of computing with KDE software, namely file management, fully accessible. Many applications and frameworks by KDE are used in high-profile institutions and the public sector. Even though a main point of focus of this project is the improvement of accessibility in KDE's default file manager Dolphin, most of the work benefits framework code which is used in many of the most popular applications in the FLOSS ecosystem. As such, this project will empower people with disabilities around the world to perform more computer-driven tasks efficiently.

  The accessibility improvements to "Open/Save" dialogs, the keyboard shortcut editor, and various other panels and dialogs will simplify integration of people with handicaps in various social and work contexts including public institutions and private companies, which in turn will allow more of them to base their digital infrastructure on open standards and digital commons in line with EU's value "to be free from discrimination on the basis of […] disability".

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/KDE-Dolphin-a11y

• Building blocks for Resilient Time — Implement NTPv5 in ntpd + bootstrap procedure

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/ntpd-rs-NTPv5

• Reduced Feature-set Packet Filter — High throughput software firewall

  The RFPF project aims at bridging the performance gap between the traditional software firewalls (typically choking at 10 Gbit/s line speeds or less) and the already ubiquitous 100 Gbit/s Ethernet. We are developing a user-space software firewall capable of sustaining 100 Mpps processing rates while doing multiple longest prefix matching (LPM) lookups in large datasets (such as BGP or GeoIP) on each packet. The main focus is on locally dampening large-scale packet-flooding attacks, while still being sufficiently flexible for many general-purpose firewalling application scenarios. RFPF uses a multithreaded, lockless userspace datapath, and forwards 60+ Mpps while doing multiple LPM lookups per packet with randomized traffic load, all at a fraction of max. CPU frequency. Working both on Linux and FreeBSD, RFPF currently relies on Netmap for fast packet I/O in user space, with a more efficient DPDK based datapath variant being on the near-term roadmap, along with improvements in our LPM lookup engine.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/RFPF

Data and AI

• AtomicServer Local-First — AtomicServer Local-First Headless CMS

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/AtomicServer-LocalFirst

• Data Package implementation in TypeScript — Reference implementation of data definition language and data API

  Data Package is a standard consisting of a set of simple yet extensible specifications to describe datasets, data files and tabular data. It is a data definition language (DDL) and data API that facilitates findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability (FAIR) of data. TypeScript implementation of the Data Package standard provides all the necessary functionality for working with data packages in Node.js or similar environments — including validating and extending metadata, and reading or writing data in various formats such as CSV, TSV, JSON, and OpenDocument Format (ISO/IEC 26300) as used by e.g. Excel and LibreOffice.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/DataPackage-TS

• FedCM for Solid — User-friendly Federated logins for Solid Community Server

  "FedCM for Solid" bridges the gap between the emerging Federated Credential Management API and the Solid ecosystem. By implementing an extension for the Community Solid Server, this project enables Solid-OIDC identity providers to become compatible with FedCM. This makes it possible for users to log into Solid apps without needing to remember and manually enter their Identity Provider URL, significantly improving user experience. In parallel, the project will deliver a FedCM test suite, helping others to integrate FedCM in their own decentralized systems. Together, these efforts will promote a more user-friendly authentication flow for Solid, and help ensure that the development of FedCM accommodates decentralized web architectures.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Solid-FedCM

• Open Prices - Scaling price collection — Crowdsourced consumer product price collection

  Open Prices is the first open database of food prices collected through crowdsourcing. In less than a year, over 100,000 prices have been added by the Open Food Facts community. This project aims to scale price collection by developing machine learning tools to extract prices and barcodes from store shelf images. We will also build tools to improve data quality and enable community moderation. The overall goal is to make price data openly available for consumers, researchers, and public bodies, and to foster transparency, accessibility, and reuse of food pricing information.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/OpenPrices

• SolidOS — Data management tool and browser for Solid

  SolidOS is envisioned as a full-featured web-based operating system for any Solid-compliant personal data store, offering a window into Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s vision for a decentralized web. It serves as the default frontend for the community server, like solidcommunity.net. This project will deliver a modern, modularized SolidOS frontend with a streamlined CSS theme and clearly defined user-friendly "happy paths".

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/SolidOS

Services + Applications (e.g. email, instant messaging, video chat, collaboration)

• AtomicServer Local-First — AtomicServer Local-First Headless CMS

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/AtomicServer-LocalFirst

• Dino — User-friendly and secure instant messaging based on XMPP

  Dino is an open-source messaging application. It uses XMPP as an underlying protocol, which allows federated, provider-independent communication and offers a world-wide network of interconnected servers. Dino aims to be secure and privacy-friendly while at the same time offering a good user experience and a modern feature set.

  This project is about adding various additional usability and privacy features such as Message moderation in groupchats (XEP-0425), message deletion (XEP-0424) and local message deletion, improved password handling and connection establishment via SASL2 (XEP-0388), Bind2 (XEP-0386), FAST (XEP-484) and storing secrets in the system keyring, improved file transfers including sending multiple images in the same message via Stateless File Sharing (XEP-0447), improving the UX in MUCs by using more efficient protocols like MUC Affiliation Versioning (XEP-0463) and by making further use of occupant IDs (XEP-0421) in the context of message correction and message deletion. It will also extending support of message formatting via Message Markup (XEP-0394).

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Dino-UX

• FedCM for Solid — User-friendly Federated logins for Solid Community Server

  "FedCM for Solid" bridges the gap between the emerging Federated Credential Management API and the Solid ecosystem. By implementing an extension for the Community Solid Server, this project enables Solid-OIDC identity providers to become compatible with FedCM. This makes it possible for users to log into Solid apps without needing to remember and manually enter their Identity Provider URL, significantly improving user experience. In parallel, the project will deliver a FedCM test suite, helping others to integrate FedCM in their own decentralized systems. Together, these efforts will promote a more user-friendly authentication flow for Solid, and help ensure that the development of FedCM accommodates decentralized web architectures.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Solid-FedCM

• Flatline Server — Independent server for Signal protocol

  This project develops a self-hosted, single-node prototype of the Signal server by removing its cloud service dependencies, allowing users and organizations to run their own private, secure communication networks independent of centralized US-based infrastructure.

  Key tasks include forking and adapting the Signal server codebase, building a containerized infrastructure stack, modifying the Molly client to support server selection, and creating DevOps scripts for easy deployment.

  The result will be a proof-of-concept server, a public demo deployment for testing, documentation for connecting libsignal-based clients such as Whisperfish, and proposals for further research into decentralizing Signal. The project aims to preserve Signal's high security standards and compatibility while increasing autonomy and privacy in secure messaging.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Flatline

• Flock XR — 3D visual creativity and coding tool

  Flock XR is a visual creativity and coding tool that allows young people to create 3D experiences in a web browser. Flock XR allows young people and beginners to create apps relevant to the virtual worlds that they use socially. Through creating with Flock XR, young people develop technical and creative skills such as coding and working in 3D space with 3D models and animations. They will be able to create using extended reality features including VR, Augmented Reality, 3D printing and spatial audio. This puts them on the path to amazing career opportunities across many industries. Flock XR is being developed with an inclusion first approach using co-design techniques with young people in our pilots. After a successful schools pilot we are focussing on improving user experience, stability and access for all.

  Flock XR builds on established open source tools, Blockly and Babylon.js to bring modern 3D creation to young people on the devices they already use. We’re designing Flock XR for users who may have older hardware and limited data access. And we take young people’s rights, safety and data privacy very seriously. We’re extending young people’s reality with Flock XR and giving them the skills to create the virtual worlds that humanity needs.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/FlockXR

• Podlibre — Dedicated, customizable podcast editor

  Podlibre is an all-in-one, customizable podcast editor designed to empower podcasters with a tool they can rely on daily. In the past decade, the popularity of podcasts has exploded - but so far there was no good podcast-specific workflow for creators to handle the process. Obviously one can use generic sound editors, but these are typically geared toward music production and lack features that make it easy for podcasters and journalists to produce consistent podcast content. With a customizable workflow and plugin architecture, Podlibre allows users to tailor their experience while integrating with third-party services. It provides all essential features in one place, including noise reduction, mouth noise editing, multi-channel audio editing, music insertion, local transcription with manual correction, chapter editing, metadata editing (ID3, RSS), local publishing, and publishing to hosting platforms (Castopod, Funkwale, Faircamp).

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Podlibre

• Signature PDF — PDF editing and server-based digital signing workflow

  Signature PDF allows users to sign PDFs online, individually or with others. The project offers as well the possibilities to reorganize pages (merge, sort, rotate, delete, extract pages, etc.), edit metadata, and compress PDFs. This tool aims to be a free alternative to existing proprietary web services, offering users more control and guarantee of what happens to the PDF processed by the software.

  Signature PDF is easily deployable on a server of any size, a laptop, a container image or a Yunohost instance. Scope of the project is to implement verification of signed PDFs, integration into third-party software, improve smartphone ergonomy and accessibility, and other improvementes to meet the requests/needs identified by users.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/SignaturePDF-UX

• solidtime — Privacy-friendly time tracking for teams and individuals

  Solidtime is a powerful open-source time tracking application built for both teams and individuals. It supports multi-organization setups, offers a flexible role- and permission-based user system, and includes comprehensive tools for managing projects, tasks, and clients. With both web and desktop applications, solidtime ensures a seamless and consistent experience across devices and work environments. Our mission is to provide an open, extensible, and self-hostable time tracking platform that gives users full control over their sensitive, business-critical, or personal data, helping organizations stay compliant with data privacy regulations such as GDPR.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Solidtime

• The Ultimate Bookkeeping System — Bookkeeping but in a portable, offline-first and privacy-friendly way

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/TUBS

Vertical use cases, Search, Community

• ActivityPub Polls for WordPress — WordPress plugin for social polls

  This project will develop an ActivityPub-based poll plugin for WordPress that integrates with the WordPress ActivityPub plugin. The plugin will feature a modern editor interface using Gutenberg blocks, a public-facing view for displaying polls and results, and robust ActivityPub-based vote handling. While the WordPress ActivityPub plugin originally focused on broadcasting content to the Fediverse, it is increasingly becoming a foundation for interactive features. This project will contribute to this evolution by enhancing internal APIs where necessary to support third-party extensions. The goal is to strengthen WordPress as a sovereign platform for online identity, enabling to host polls natively without having to create additional identities/accounts on other platforms to carry out common Fediverse activities.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/WP-ActivityPub-polls

• Funkwhale Federation — Extend ActivityPub capabilities for Funkwhale

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Funkwhale-AP

• Icosa Gallery — Community-led 3D creation and sharing tools

  Icosa maintains three projects that build upon the legacy of Google's Tilt Brush, Blocks and Poly. We are developing open-source, community-led 3D creation and sharing tools. Open Brush, which allows users to paint in 3D space, creating immersive artworks. Open Blocks provides intuitive tools for low poly 3D modeling, enabling the construction of virtual objects and environments. Icosa Gallery serves as a 3D model hosting platform, providing a central location for sharing, viewing, and distributing 3D assets. We aim to enhance the interoperability and content processing pipeline with improved format conversion, and streamlined workflows. The reusability of the Icosa Gallery will be improved making it more useful for integrating into existing websites, editor tools for the Gallery Viewer will be created, and integrations with Blender and Godot will be enhanced. These improvements will solidify the foundation of this open-source 3D ecosystem, facilitating wider creation and distribution of 3D content.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Icosa-Gallery

• Interoperability of Events in the Fediverse — A common approach to using the ActivityPub Event object type

  Events are at the heart of social life and deserve to be treated accordingly in the Fediverse. Although events are already supported by many ActivityPub applications, they often lack standardised implementation, which limits interoperability within the network. A fundamental milestone of this project is therefore to finalise and refine the current Fediverse Enhancement Proposals (FEPs) for events, in particular FEP-8a8e, and to investigate enhancements for advanced features such as super/child events, recurring events and RSVP actions. In addition, we will investigate the Fediverse Auxiliary Service Provider Specifications (FASPs) for discoverability and filtering of public events. Other aspects include further development of the Event Bridge for the ActivityPub WordPress plugin, working with GatherPress to make it a comprehensive ActivityPub event solution for WordPress, and contributing to other Fediverse projects on a case-by-case basis to align their event implementations. This may also include improving event support in applications that currently have very limited support. In addition, the project will serve as a knowledge hub and facilitate communication between developers working on events in ActivityPub. This includes hosting presentations to raise public awareness about the progress and (social) potential of events in the Fediverse.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Fediverse-event-interop

• NodeBB context discovery — Improving safety, long-form text + threaded discussion elements

  The project summary for this project is not yet available. Please come back soon!

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/NodeBB-collections

• Typst PDF Accessibility — Increase a11y of Typst's output

  PDF files are often the only venue through which vital information is shared in business, education, and government. Even so, these files more often than not inaccessible to those of low or no vision. This not only prevents compliance with the European Accessibility Act and similar legislation in other countries, but prevents equal participation. This project proposes to implement all the features and tools needed for accessible PDF creation into Typst, a growing open-source automated writing platform. With this project, Typst will implement technical standards for accessibility and give authors tools to accommodate human factors of accessible documents.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Typst-Accessibility

• Vivliostyle — Typesetting system leveraging web technologies

  Vivliostyle is an open-source typesetting system that uses web technologies to create print and digital publications. It extends the layout capabilities of modern web browsers to support advanced CSS features for paged media, such as page floats, footnotes, and cross-references. The project includes Vivliostyle.js, the core library that runs on all modern browsers and enables advanced page layout, and Vivliostyle CLI, a command-line tool for generating PDFs and EPUBs from HTML or Markdown files with specified themes and stylesheets. Lastly there is Vivliostyle Pub, a web application that simplifies the creation and editing of publications, with content and style editors and real-time preview. The goal is to empower people to create beautiful publications without relying on proprietary software and leverage the power of web standards and ecosystems.

  ▸ For more details see: https://nlnet.nl/project/Vivliostyle

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Still hungry for more projects? Check out the overview of all our current and recent projects...

Inspired? If you are working on a project that contributes to the Next Generation Internet you can submit a proposal. The next deadline is August 1^st 2025.

Acknowledgements

The NGI0 Commons fund is made possible with financial support from the European Commission's Next Generation Internet programme, under the aegis of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology (grant agreement No. 101135429). Additional funding is made available by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).