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Bitcoin App Registry (BAR) – BRC-APP Protocol

A permissionless, no-gatekeeper, publisher-controlled on-chain registry for open-source applications on Bitcoin L1.

Built as a direct response to centralized app store censorship — including the April 2026 China ban of Bitchat.

Why BAR Exists

Apple and Google control distribution to over 3 billion devices. One regulatory email is enough to remove any app from an entire country.

Bitcoin was created to be permissionless money. BAR extends that same ethos to software distribution.

BAR lets any open-source developer permanently register their app on Bitcoin L1, update metadata, transfer ownership, and maintain a full immutable history — with zero gatekeepers.

No company. No DAO. No multisig. No approvals.

Key Features

  • Pure Bitcoin L1 (Taproot inscriptions via Ordinals)
  • Publisher retains full sovereignty (update & transfer ownership)
  • Append-only immutable history (full audit trail)
  • No platform fees, no 30% cuts, no review process
  • Supports any open-source app (Bitcoin-native or general FOSS)
  • chain_layer field for filtering (BTC, LN, Stacks, Rootstock, Starknet, none, etc.)
  • Designed to be easily indexed by BBOX, Zapstore, or custom explorers

Canonical Registry Address

bc1p0saw6z028y7h6eag3w6hx5an6mk5ta8qk7wx2d3gtqtrty243uvqvjzvew

This is the single discovery anchor for the entire BAR registry.

Protocol Specification (v1)

Protocol ID: brc-app

Full documentation: docs/BAR-Spec.md

JSON Schema

{
  "p": "brc-app",
  "op": "genesis" | "register" | "update" | "transfer",
  "app_id": "string",
  "owner": "bc1p...taproot-address",
  "name": "string",
  "repo": "string (URL)",
  "description": "string",
  "license": "string",
  "version": "string",
  "build_hash": "string (sha256:...)",
  "platform": ["android", "ios", "web", "linux", ...],
  "chain_layer": "none" | "BTC" | "LN" | "Stacks" | "Rootstock" | "Starknet" | "other",
  "previous": "string (previous inscription ID)" | null,
  "timestamp": number
}

Genesis Inscription

{
  "p": "brc-app",
  "op": "genesis",
  "name": "Bitcoin App Registry (BAR)",
  "description": "Permissionless, no-gatekeeper on-chain registry of open-source applications on Bitcoin L1. Publishers retain full control to update metadata and transfer ownership. Append-only immutable history. Built as a censorship-resistant alternative after events like the Bitchat China ban.",
  "creator": "community-driven",
  "registry_address": "bc1p0saw6z028y7h6eag3w6hx5an6mk5ta8qk7wx2d3gtqtrty243uvqvjzvew",
  "timestamp": 1745092800
}

Roadmap

  • v1 (Current) – Pure Ordinals, append-only registry
  • v2 – Recursive inscriptions for screenshots + verifiable builds

Contributing

This is a community-driven protocol. Contributions welcome:

  • Improve the spec
  • Build indexers / explorers
  • Add sample inscriptions
  • Integrate with BBOX or Zapstore

See CONTRIBUTING.md

License

MIT License – fully open source.

BAR is not just another directory.
It is sovereign infrastructure for the open-source Bitcoin ecosystem.

Once inscribed, no government, no corporation, and no centralized store can ever erase the canonical record of your app.

Time to inscribe the genesis and ship the first censorship-resistant app registry on Bitcoin.

Made by plebs for plebs