Rehashing this... if the main concern for atproto clients writing directly to the PDS is not having optimistic writes, then I don't get why we'd want to move towards a app server architecture as opposed to a local-first one. Are there other examples when server side computation is necessary?
The politics of purely client-side apps
pfrazee.leaflet.pubSep 14, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Other PDS
Compare other ATproto Personal Data Servers (PDS): see providers, regions, and tips for choosing where your handle and social data should live.
Other PDS
Compare other ATproto Personal Data Servers (PDS): see providers, regions, and tips for choosing where your handle and social data should live.
Embracing ATProto, part 1: Setting up a PDS
In this series of posts, I'll explore my journey into setting up my workflows and services for atproto. The first step is setting up my PDS. Let's start with a bit of explanation for all this lingo.
How do we talk about atproto to non-developers?
The beauty of AT Protocol is that all of your data from different apps is available on your PDS, your own folder on the internet containing your stuff as JSON. This means that you can switch which app you use to view that data, without losing anything. It also makes it very easy to make connections between data stored using different lexicons, or just display activity in one place. Sifa does a nice job of this on your profile page. For web developers, and people who understand webhosting, the concept is reasonably easy to understand. I know that any atproto app I join is going to store data in my PDS, any other people will be able to see it.
PDS operator guide — atproto-crates
Operating atproto-pds: production status, endpoint surface, storage profiles, build flags, the full environment variable reference, and the deployment modes that are deliberately not wired up.
Beyond the Statusphere: Part 1, Resolving the User's PDS - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Atmosphere
Learn why it's important to resolve the user's PDS and use that in your ATProto applications.
Adversarial ATProto PDS Migration | Blog
An ATProto account lives on a Personal Data Server (PDS), and that service needs to be hosted somewhere by someone. There are a lot of options here, like a Raspberry Pi in your closet, a rented VPS in a datacentre, or a batteries-included service like bsky.social.
Atproto for distributed systems engineers - AT Protocol
In this article we're going to explore atproto from the perspective of distributed backend engineering.
the single most important part of atproto is the PDS as a user-controlled auth and storage layer to which clients can connect directly. death to appviews
Authenticated Transfer Enables Orchestration - nekomimi
blog.nekomimi.petEvery post, like, and blog entry on atproto sits in your Personal Data Server (PDS) as structured data you own, which means building experiences that are extremely customized to you has never been easier. atproto + AI is incredibly powerful! #atproto
Atproto Is the Context Window You Own - The Tropopause
pckt.blogI recently got super into the ATProto spec and how different services use PDS to store the data, I put together a quick client-only website that presents all those records in a single, consolidated feed of all my activity: at.diego.codes
at.diego.codes — Diego Vicente
at.diego.codesAn underappreciated #atproto feature is that whenever apps want to update your data: 1. they ask your PDS for permission, 2. your PDS asks you, 3. you can say no, + 4. your PDS enforces your wishes As of today, the @tranquil.farm PDS UX lets you give "partial no" answers to question 3. Bravo!
Trezy
This is awesome. I made a PR last week to add better support and display for permission-sets to the OAuth consent screen for @tranquil.farm. Now every time I log in to my Atmosphere account, I can actually see my fingerprints on Tranquil. 😍 #atproto
to reiterate on this, an AppView server should NOT be interposed between the user and the PDS: the client and PDS are in the user sphere of trust, but the service is adversarial. the PDS is the most important write sink and should be primary, since an app can't be trusted to not shut off PDS writes
mary🐇
doesn't mean i shouldn't try. mary.my.id/musings/atproto-and-oauth
