Atproto Spaces Alpha: Private Data on a Public Network
The AT Protocol's biggest update yet introduces Spaces, a new primitive for gated, non-public data with access control (not encryption). Alpha code, SDKs, and a hosted PDS are live for experimentation.
The AT Protocol just shipped its biggest update since launch: Atproto Spaces, a new primitive for storing and syncing non-public data while keeping the platform's core advantages—portable identity, interoperable data, and permissionless participation. The alpha is live now with running code, SDKs, a sample app, and a hosted PDS.
Until now, everything on atproto was public by design: posts, follows, likes, blocks—all broadcast through a global firehose. That locked the network open but made it impossible to build features like private settings, gated forums, or subscription-only content. Spaces change that.
What is a space?
A space is essentially a miniature atproto network with access control. It can hold a single record or scale to a billion. Users still have DIDs, host data in repositories, and use Lexicons to define records. The key difference: a space authority (a DID) decides who can read the data. Records live in per-space permissioned repos on the author's PDS.
Important caveat: Spaces provide access control, not confidentiality. Data isn't encrypted—anyone with access can read it. That's a deliberate design choice, but it means Spaces aren't for secrets.
The sync protocol is lighter than the public one, with no relay. Apps sync space data directly from PDS hosts, enabling real-time sync without rebroadcasting content to the whole network.
What's in the alpha
- Hosted PDS: Get an invite code from your BPS account and experiment without running infrastructure. Expect data to be wiped; the PDS dies after the alpha.
- Self-hosted PDS: Docker image
ghcr.io/bluesky-social/atproto:pds-spaces-alpha, compatible with the reference PDS distribution. Do not run in production. - Example app: bulletin.my—a bulletin board where only your followers can see posts. Code on GitHub.
- SDKs: TypeScript
@atprotopackages as alpha snapshots, installable with thealphatag.
Ecosystem implementations are already emerging: ZDS (Zig), atproto-crates PDS (Rust), rsky PDS (Rust), and HappyView (AppView framework).
What to watch
This is a true alpha—breaking changes, schema migrations without clean upgrades, and a proposal that may diverge from the code. The team plans weekly updates on Thursdays. If you're building on atproto, this is your chance to shape the spec before it hardens.
Spaces give you access control, not confidentiality. The data in a space is readable by any user or application with access to that space, it's not encrypted.
Source: AT Protocol
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