The Sovereign Tech Stack

Table of Contents

• 1. Identity: SSH Keys & Nostr
• 2. Communication: FlowCrypt
• 3. Storage: Storacha (IPFS/Filecoin)
• 4. Why pico.sh? (The Minimalist Sovereign Host)
  • Summary

The shift toward tools like pico.sh, Nostr, and Storacha represents a move away from the "Platform-as-a-Service" (PaaS) model toward a "User-as-a-Platform" model. Centralized platforms (like Medium, GitHub Pages, or Substack) act as intermediaries that own the interface, the database, and the identity.

In contrast, the "Sovereign Stack" separates the data from the service.

1. Identity: SSH Keys & Nostr #

Traditional platforms use email/password or OAuth (Google/Facebook login). This makes your identity a "tenant" in their database. If they ban you, you lose your identity and your audience.

• SSH Keys as Identity: As noted in the pico.sh philosophy, your SSH public key is your account. There are no passwords to reset or databases to be breached. It leverages the robust OpenPGP and SSH standards for authentication (Sequoia PGP).
• Nostr (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays): Unlike Twitter, Nostr uses cryptographic keypairs. You own your private key; the relays only host the data. If a relay censors you, you simply move your keys to a different relay, and your followers find you because they follow your public key, not a platform-specific handle.

2. Communication: FlowCrypt #

Centralized email (Gmail, Outlook) is "plaintext" at rest on the provider's servers. Even if the connection is encrypted (TLS), the provider holds the keys.

• FlowCrypt: By integrating OpenPGP, FlowCrypt ensures end-to-end encryption. The core argument for this over centralized messaging is "Zero-Knowledge". The service provider cannot read the content of your messages even if subpoenaed or breached because they never possess the private key.

3. Storage: Storacha (IPFS/Filecoin) #

Centralized storage (AWS S3, Google Drive) relies on location-addressing. You find a file because it is at amazon.com/your-file. If Amazon moves the file or deletes it, the link breaks.

• Storacha: Based on IPFS and Filecoin, this uses content-addressing. Files are identified by a CID (Content Identifier)—a cryptographic hash of the file itself.
• Why it matters: It creates a "Permanent Web." As long as one node in the world has the file, the link remains valid. It removes the "single point of failure" inherent in centralized servers.

4. Why pico.sh? (The Minimalist Sovereign Host) #

Pico.sh is the "connective tissue" for this stack. Most decentralized tools are difficult to use; Pico makes them terminal-native.

Summary #

We use these tools to achieve Digital Autonomy. In the event of platform collapse or policy changes (the "Enshittification" cycle), a user on the Pico/Nostr/Storacha stack remains unaffected because their identity and data exist independently of the hosting provider.