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150 changes: 20 additions & 130 deletions README.md
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# Awesome Volunteer Computing [![Awesome](https://awesome.re/badge.svg)](https://awesome.re)
# About This Project
In today’s era of rapid AI and LLM (Large Language Model) development, we see groundbreaking models released almost daily. However, one critical issue is often overlooked: the massive computational resources required to train these models.

**volunteer computing** — the practice of donating idle computing power to help solve real-world scientific and humanitarian problems.

Early pioneers like **[GIMPS](https://www.mersenne.org/)** and **[distributed.net](https://www.distributed.net/)** paved the way for modern platforms that aggregate these resources into powerful virtual supercomputers, enabling research otherwise impossible.
> Below is the curated list of awesome platforms, projects, and tools for volunteer computing
---
## The Problem
Training foundational models like GPT, LLaMA, or DeepSeek requires access to enormous GPU clusters—something only a handful of tech giants and well-funded startups can afford. The capital expenditure (CAPEX) involved is extremely high, creating a significant barrier to entry. This results in:
* A monopoly on foundational model development
* Limited accessibility for researchers, hobbyists, and small organizations
* A lack of transparency around model training data and practices

## 📚 Contents
## What Can Be Done?
While renting cloud GPU clusters is one path, it's financially impractical for most. An alternative solution is volunteer computing—a model where people contribute their idle computing power for a shared, community-driven cause.

- [Platforms & Infrastructure](#platforms--infrastructure)
- [Hybrid or Multi-Platform](#hybrid-or-multi-platform)
- [Desktop-Native](#desktop-native)
- [Mobile-Based](#mobile-based)
- [Browser-Based](#browser-based)
- [For Developers](#for-developers)
- [Volunteer Projects](#volunteer-projects)
- [Research & Papers](#research--papers)
- [Communities & Forums](#communities--forums)
- [Related Concepts](#related-concepts)
- [Articles & Videos](#articles--videos)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
Volunteer computing is not new. Projects like Folding@Home have proven that distributed efforts can achieve massive scale.
By applying this approach to AI, we can build a community-powered foundational model—one that is:
* Free
* Open
* Ethical
* Privacy-conscious

---

## ⚙️ Platforms & Infrastructure

Volunteer computing systems people can join or build on top of.

### 🧬 Hybrid or Multi-Platform

- 🌸 **[Petals](https://petals.dev/)** – Peer-to-peer network that runs large language models (LLMs) like BLOOM across distributed GPUs and contributors’ machines.

### 💻 Desktop-Native

- 🧩 **[BOINC](https://boinc.berkeley.edu/)** – The gold standard in open-source volunteer computing, powering dozens of scientific research projects.
- 🖥️ **[GridRepublic](https://www.gridrepublic.org/)** – A user-friendly frontend for managing BOINC projects and participation.
- 💡 **[Charity Engine](https://www.charityengine.com/)** – Turns donated computing power into charitable donations or rewards for users.
- 🧪 **[XtremWeb](http://www.xtremweb.net/)** – Research platform for global distributed computing used by academic institutions.

### 📱 Mobile-Based

- 📲 **[DreamLab](https://www.vodafone.com/vodafone-foundation/focus-areas/dreamlab-app)** – Vodafone Foundation’s mobile app that powers medical and nutritional research while your phone charges.

### 🌐 Browser-Based

- 🕸️ **[distri.js.org](https://distri.js.org/)** – A minimalist JavaScript framework enabling distributed computing inside any modern web browser using Web Workers.
- 🐼 **[Pando](https://github.com/pando-project/pando)** – A personal volunteer computing platform for the Web, allowing easy setup for personal or shared computations via JavaScript. ([See Paper](https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1804/1804.01482v1.pdf))

---

## 🛠️ For Developers

Libraries, SDKs, and tools for building or contributing to volunteer computing systems.

- 🧰 **[BOINC Development Resources](https://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/wiki/SoftwareDevelopment)** – Comprehensive guide covering the SDK, APIs, server/client setup, and creating BOINC-compatible applications.
- 🌳 **[webrtc-tree-overlay](https://github.com/elavoie/webrtc-tree-overlay)** – A library for building scalable WebRTC P2P mesh networks in a tree overlay structure, useful for browser-based distributed applications.
- 🔧 **[Volunteer Grid Toolkit (VGT)](https://sourceforge.net/projects/vgt/)** – A toolkit for experimenting with volunteer grid computing concepts. *Note: Check project activity/relevance.*
- 🔗 **[GridCoin Developer Information](https://wiki.gridcoin.us/Developer-Information)** – Resources for integrating blockchain-based incentives (GridCoin) with distributed computing (primarily BOINC).

---

## 🧪 Volunteer Projects

Scientific and research projects powered by public computing contributions.

- 🔬 **[Folding@home](https://foldingathome.org/)** – Simulates protein folding to better understand diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s.
- 🧬 **[Rosetta@home](https://boinc.bakerlab.org/)** – Predicts protein structures and supports synthetic biology innovation.
- 🌱 **[World Community Grid](https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/)** – Runs humanitarian research on health, sustainability, and climate change.
- 🌌 **[Einstein@Home](https://einsteinathome.org/)** – Searches for gravitational waves and pulsars in massive astrophysical datasets.
- 🪐 **[Asteroids@Home](http://asteroidsathome.net/)** – Reconstructs asteroid shapes based on brightness curve analysis.
- 👽 **[SETI@home](https://setiathome.berkeley.edu/)** – Based at UC Berkeley, a scientific experiment to Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
- 💥 **[LHC@home](https://lhcathome.web.cern.ch/)** – Simulates CERN’s Large Hadron Collider experiments to advance particle physics.

#### 📘 [Wikipedia: List of Volunteer Computing Projects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_volunteer_computing_projects) – A comprehensive and categorized list of past and present volunteer computing projects.

---

## 📚 Research & Papers

Academic insights and deep technical dives into distributed volunteer computing.

- 📄 **[BOINC: A Platform for Volunteer Computing](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1903.01699)** (D. Anderson, 2019) – Describes the architecture, features, and implementation of the widely used BOINC middleware.
- 📈 **[The Computational and Storage Potential of Volunteer Computing](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4241887_The_Computational_and_Storage_Potential_of_Volunteer_Computing)** (D. Anderson & G. Fedak, 2006) – Analyzes measurements from ~330k hosts to assess the capacity of volunteer computing beyond CPU power.
- ⚙️ **[Research on the Task Assignment Problem with Maximum Benefits in Volunteer Computing Platforms](https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/12/5/862)** (L. Wang et al., 2020) – Explores task scheduling strategies for maximizing benefits in VCPs considering deadlines.
- 👥 **[Retaining volunteers in volunteer computing projects](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45461278_Retaining_volunteers_in_volunteer_computing_projects)** (D. Nov, O. Arazy, D. Anderson, 2011) – Investigates factors influencing volunteer retention and contribution levels.
- 💡 **[Personal Volunteer Computing](https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1804/1804.01482v1.pdf)** (S. Cahon et al., 2018) – Proposes a more personal, web-based approach to volunteer computing and introduces the Pando platform.
- ❤️ **[Volunteer computing: A model of the factors determining contribution to community-based scientific research](https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1772690.1772766)** (O. Nov, D. Anderson, O. Arazy, 2010) – Develops and tests a model of user motivation based on SETI@home survey data and activity logs.

---

## 👥 Communities & Forums

Places to ask questions, meet contributors, or follow development.

- 💬 [BOINC Message Boards](https://boinc.berkeley.edu/dev/forum_index.php)
- 📢 [Reddit: r/BOINC](https://www.reddit.com/r/BOINC/)
- 🗨️ [BOINC Discord](https://discord.gg/boinc)
- *(Project-specific forums, like Folding@home's, also exist)*

---

## 📺 Articles & Videos

Resources to learn more about the real-world impact and concepts of volunteer computing.

- 📰 [What is Volunteer Computing? – TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/news/what-is-volunteer-computing) – General overview article.
- 🌐 [Volunteer computing - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_computing) – Comprehensive encyclopedia article.
- CERN Explainer: [What is volunteer computing? | LHC@home](https://lhcathome.web.cern.ch/about/volunteer-computing) – Explanation from the perspective of a major project.
- Khan Academy: [Citizen science (article)](https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computers-and-internet/xcae6f4a7ff015e7d:computing-innovations/xcae6f4a7ff015e7d:crowdsourcing-innovations/a/citizen-science) – Discusses volunteer computing as a form of citizen science.

---

## 🔗 Related Concepts

Areas closely related to or overlapping with volunteer computing.

- **Citizen Science:** Public participation in scientific research, often involving data collection or analysis. Volunteer computing is sometimes considered a sub-field.
- [Zooniverse](https://www.zooniverse.org/): Popular platform for web-based citizen science projects (classification, transcription).
- [SciStarter](https://scistarter.org/): Hub for discovering citizen science projects.
- **Distributed Computing:** General term for systems where components are located on different networked computers, communicating and coordinating actions.
- **Grid Computing:** Often involves more formal resource sharing agreements and infrastructure, typically within or between organizations, compared to the public volunteer model.

---

## 🤝 Contributing

Found a project we missed? Want to improve descriptions or links? Contributions welcome! Please see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for how to get started.

---

## 📄 License

[CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication)](LICENSE)

> Inspired by [awesome](https://awesome.re), the community-driven standard for curated knowledge.
## The Vision
* A truly open-source model built by the community, for the community
* Transparent training datasets—chosen and vetted collectively
* Models that can be fine-tuned and deployed without fear of hidden limitations or licensing issues
* Respect for privacy and ethical data use baked into the training process
136 changes: 136 additions & 0 deletions tools.md
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# Awesome Volunteer Computing [![Awesome](https://awesome.re/badge.svg)](https://awesome.re)

**volunteer computing** — the practice of donating idle computing power to help solve real-world scientific and humanitarian problems.

Early pioneers like **[GIMPS](https://www.mersenne.org/)** and **[distributed.net](https://www.distributed.net/)** paved the way for modern platforms that aggregate these resources into powerful virtual supercomputers, enabling research otherwise impossible.
> Below is the curated list of awesome platforms, projects, and tools for volunteer computing
---

## 📚 Contents and tools

- [Platforms & Infrastructure](#platforms--infrastructure)
- [Hybrid or Multi-Platform](#hybrid-or-multi-platform)
- [Desktop-Native](#desktop-native)
- [Mobile-Based](#mobile-based)
- [Browser-Based](#browser-based)
- [For Developers](#for-developers)
- [Volunteer Projects](#volunteer-projects)
- [Research & Papers](#research--papers)
- [Communities & Forums](#communities--forums)
- [Related Concepts](#related-concepts)
- [Articles & Videos](#articles--videos)
- [Contributing](#contributing)

---

## ⚙️ Platforms & Infrastructure

Volunteer computing systems people can join or build on top of.

### 🧬 Hybrid or Multi-Platform

- 🌸 **[Petals](https://petals.dev/)** – Peer-to-peer network that runs large language models (LLMs) like BLOOM across distributed GPUs and contributors’ machines.

### 💻 Desktop-Native

- 🧩 **[BOINC](https://boinc.berkeley.edu/)** – The gold standard in open-source volunteer computing, powering dozens of scientific research projects.
- 🖥️ **[GridRepublic](https://www.gridrepublic.org/)** – A user-friendly frontend for managing BOINC projects and participation.
- 💡 **[Charity Engine](https://www.charityengine.com/)** – Turns donated computing power into charitable donations or rewards for users.
- 🧪 **[XtremWeb](http://www.xtremweb.net/)** – Research platform for global distributed computing used by academic institutions.

### 📱 Mobile-Based

- 📲 **[DreamLab](https://www.vodafone.com/vodafone-foundation/focus-areas/dreamlab-app)** – Vodafone Foundation’s mobile app that powers medical and nutritional research while your phone charges.

### 🌐 Browser-Based

- 🕸️ **[distri.js.org](https://distri.js.org/)** – A minimalist JavaScript framework enabling distributed computing inside any modern web browser using Web Workers.
- 🐼 **[Pando](https://github.com/pando-project/pando)** – A personal volunteer computing platform for the Web, allowing easy setup for personal or shared computations via JavaScript. ([See Paper](https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1804/1804.01482v1.pdf))

---

## 🛠️ For Developers

Libraries, SDKs, and tools for building or contributing to volunteer computing systems.

- 🧰 **[BOINC Development Resources](https://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/wiki/SoftwareDevelopment)** – Comprehensive guide covering the SDK, APIs, server/client setup, and creating BOINC-compatible applications.
- 🌳 **[webrtc-tree-overlay](https://github.com/elavoie/webrtc-tree-overlay)** – A library for building scalable WebRTC P2P mesh networks in a tree overlay structure, useful for browser-based distributed applications.
- 🔧 **[Volunteer Grid Toolkit (VGT)](https://sourceforge.net/projects/vgt/)** – A toolkit for experimenting with volunteer grid computing concepts. *Note: Check project activity/relevance.*
- 🔗 **[GridCoin Developer Information](https://wiki.gridcoin.us/Developer-Information)** – Resources for integrating blockchain-based incentives (GridCoin) with distributed computing (primarily BOINC).

---

## 🧪 Volunteer Projects

Scientific and research projects powered by public computing contributions.

- 🔬 **[Folding@home](https://foldingathome.org/)** – Simulates protein folding to better understand diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s.
- 🧬 **[Rosetta@home](https://boinc.bakerlab.org/)** – Predicts protein structures and supports synthetic biology innovation.
- 🌱 **[World Community Grid](https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/)** – Runs humanitarian research on health, sustainability, and climate change.
- 🌌 **[Einstein@Home](https://einsteinathome.org/)** – Searches for gravitational waves and pulsars in massive astrophysical datasets.
- 🪐 **[Asteroids@Home](http://asteroidsathome.net/)** – Reconstructs asteroid shapes based on brightness curve analysis.
- 👽 **[SETI@home](https://setiathome.berkeley.edu/)** – Based at UC Berkeley, a scientific experiment to Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
- 💥 **[LHC@home](https://lhcathome.web.cern.ch/)** – Simulates CERN’s Large Hadron Collider experiments to advance particle physics.

#### 📘 [Wikipedia: List of Volunteer Computing Projects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_volunteer_computing_projects) – A comprehensive and categorized list of past and present volunteer computing projects.

---

## 📚 Research & Papers

Academic insights and deep technical dives into distributed volunteer computing.

- 📄 **[BOINC: A Platform for Volunteer Computing](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1903.01699)** (D. Anderson, 2019) – Describes the architecture, features, and implementation of the widely used BOINC middleware.
- 📈 **[The Computational and Storage Potential of Volunteer Computing](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4241887_The_Computational_and_Storage_Potential_of_Volunteer_Computing)** (D. Anderson & G. Fedak, 2006) – Analyzes measurements from ~330k hosts to assess the capacity of volunteer computing beyond CPU power.
- ⚙️ **[Research on the Task Assignment Problem with Maximum Benefits in Volunteer Computing Platforms](https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/12/5/862)** (L. Wang et al., 2020) – Explores task scheduling strategies for maximizing benefits in VCPs considering deadlines.
- 👥 **[Retaining volunteers in volunteer computing projects](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45461278_Retaining_volunteers_in_volunteer_computing_projects)** (D. Nov, O. Arazy, D. Anderson, 2011) – Investigates factors influencing volunteer retention and contribution levels.
- 💡 **[Personal Volunteer Computing](https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1804/1804.01482v1.pdf)** (S. Cahon et al., 2018) – Proposes a more personal, web-based approach to volunteer computing and introduces the Pando platform.
- ❤️ **[Volunteer computing: A model of the factors determining contribution to community-based scientific research](https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1772690.1772766)** (O. Nov, D. Anderson, O. Arazy, 2010) – Develops and tests a model of user motivation based on SETI@home survey data and activity logs.

---

## 👥 Communities & Forums

Places to ask questions, meet contributors, or follow development.

- 💬 [BOINC Message Boards](https://boinc.berkeley.edu/dev/forum_index.php)
- 📢 [Reddit: r/BOINC](https://www.reddit.com/r/BOINC/)
- 🗨️ [BOINC Discord](https://discord.gg/boinc)
- *(Project-specific forums, like Folding@home's, also exist)*

---

## 📺 Articles & Videos

Resources to learn more about the real-world impact and concepts of volunteer computing.

- 📰 [What is Volunteer Computing? – TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/news/what-is-volunteer-computing) – General overview article.
- 🌐 [Volunteer computing - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_computing) – Comprehensive encyclopedia article.
- CERN Explainer: [What is volunteer computing? | LHC@home](https://lhcathome.web.cern.ch/about/volunteer-computing) – Explanation from the perspective of a major project.
- Khan Academy: [Citizen science (article)](https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computers-and-internet/xcae6f4a7ff015e7d:computing-innovations/xcae6f4a7ff015e7d:crowdsourcing-innovations/a/citizen-science) – Discusses volunteer computing as a form of citizen science.

---

## 🔗 Related Concepts

Areas closely related to or overlapping with volunteer computing.

- **Citizen Science:** Public participation in scientific research, often involving data collection or analysis. Volunteer computing is sometimes considered a sub-field.
- [Zooniverse](https://www.zooniverse.org/): Popular platform for web-based citizen science projects (classification, transcription).
- [SciStarter](https://scistarter.org/): Hub for discovering citizen science projects.
- **Distributed Computing:** General term for systems where components are located on different networked computers, communicating and coordinating actions.
- **Grid Computing:** Often involves more formal resource sharing agreements and infrastructure, typically within or between organizations, compared to the public volunteer model.

---

## 🤝 Contributing

Found a project we missed? Want to improve descriptions or links? Contributions welcome! Please see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for how to get started.

---

## 📄 License

[CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication)](LICENSE)

> Inspired by [awesome](https://awesome.re), the community-driven standard for curated knowledge.