Flux, a tiny protocol that rethinks email from the ground up
Hi HN, I have been experimenting with a messaging protocol called FLUX. The goal is to explore what email might look like if it was designed today instead of in the 1980s. FLUX tries to simplify a few things that feel complicated in the current email stack. Identity is based on cryptographic keys instead of usernames and passwords. Messages are signed and verified automatically. The transport is real time and does not depend on the traditional SMTP relay model. The current implementation is small and meant as a prototype. The whole server is only a few hundred lines of Python so the protocol…
In plain words
Flux is a messaging protocol designed as a modern alternative to email. It uses cryptographic keys for identity instead of usernames and passwords, automatically signs and verifies messages, and employs real-time transport rather than the traditional SMTP relay model. The prototype implementation consists of a few hundred lines of Python, making it accessible for experimentation and review. Flux is intended for developers interested in exploring how messaging infrastructure might work if built today rather than in the 1980s.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN, I have been experimenting with a messaging protocol called FLUX. The goal is to explore what email might look like if it was designed today instead of in the 1980s. FLUX tries to simplify a few things that feel complicated in the current email stack. Identity is based on cryptographic keys instead of usernames and passwords. Messages are signed and verified automatically. The transport is real time and does not depend on the traditional SMTP relay model. The current implementation is small and meant as a prototype. The whole server is only a few hundred lines of Python so the protocol is easy to read and experiment with. Repo: https://github.com/levkris/flux-protocol I am mostly interested in feedback on the protocol design. What problems would appear in a real deployment. What parts are unnecessary. What would need to exist for something like this to actually work on the open internet. Thanks for taking a look. levkris (wokki20)
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