[opensourcedex]

Hey is a free, open source cryptocurrency & blockchain project written in TypeScript and released under GPL-3.0. It has 29,369 GitHub stars, 1,806 forks and 7 open issues, and was last pushed 11 days ago. On this registry it ranks #1 of 3 tracked projects in Cryptocurrency & Blockchain, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available.

What is Hey?

Hey (hey.xyz) is a decentralized, permissionless social media application built on the Lens Protocol, aimed at Web3 developers and teams who want to self-host or fork a blockchain-backed social client.

What it is

Hey is an open-source social application built on top of the Lens Protocol, offering a social experience where users create profiles, publish content, interact with other users, and take part in a permissionless network powered by blockchain technology. The codebase is a TypeScript monorepo and the stack named in the README covers React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, GraphQL, Wagmi, Viem, PostgreSQL, pnpm, and Node.js. It sits in the Miscellaneous / Cryptocurrency & Blockchain category, is licensed under GPL-3.0, and carries 29,370 stars and 1,806 forks.

The repository exists to preserve a specific artifact rather than to track a live product. It is the last publicly available open-source version of Hey.xyz before May 15, 2026; development after that date is not open source and is not included here. The README states plainly that this should be treated as a historical snapshot rather than the current production source of Hey.xyz, and makes no claim that it matches what currently runs on the site. What it replaces, in practice, is a platform-hosted social client whose accounts and posts live in one company's database: here the client talks to Lens Protocol instead, and the repository supplies that client plus its development tooling.

Key capabilities

  • Profile creation, content publishing, and user-to-user interaction on top of Lens Protocol.
  • Next.js and React front end styled with Tailwind CSS, with GraphQL as the data layer.
  • Wallet and blockchain interaction through Wagmi and Viem.
  • PostgreSQL for persistence, alongside Redis, API authentication, wallet/private key, and storage configuration.
  • A pnpm monorepo (the topics also list turborepo) written in TypeScript.
  • Scripted workflows for pnpm dev, pnpm build, pnpm typecheck, and pnpm biome:check.
  • Environment configuration through .env.example files copied to .env, covering Lens configuration, database connection, Redis, API authentication, wallet keys, and storage.

Who uses it and how

  • Web3 developers who want to run or study a working Lens Protocol client rather than start from an empty project.
  • Teams that fork the repository to stand up their own deployment against Lens rather than depend on a hosted instance.
  • Self-hosters prepared to operate PostgreSQL, Redis, object storage, and secret management for wallet and API credentials.
  • Open-source contributors, given the hacktoberfest topic and a monorepo layout intended for external work.
  • Local evaluators running Node.js v22 or later with pnpm and Git, using NVM to pin the Node version.

Getting started

Clone the repository with git clone https://github.com/slymnoyann/hey.xyz.git, install dependencies at the root with pnpm install, then start the development environment with pnpm dev. Node.js v22 or later, pnpm, and PostgreSQL must be available first, and .env.example files must be copied to .env before the application will start.

How it compares

No list of paid products this project replaces is provided in the facts, and no comparable tools are named either, so on the evidence available it stands alone in this registry. It should be judged against other Lens Protocol clients rather than against general-purpose social platforms, and the closest reference point given here is Hey.xyz's own later, closed-source development.

When to use it — and when not to

A self-hoster must operate PostgreSQL, Redis, storage, and manage wallet private keys and API authentication secrets, so this is not a drop-in service. It is the wrong choice for anyone expecting the current, maintained Hey.xyz feature set, because development after May 15, 2026 is closed source and this snapshot may lag behind production architecture and security fixes. Note also that the README text supplied ends mid-instruction in the formatting section, so it should be read as an incomplete historical record rather than complete operating documentation.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Hey.xyz

Hey is a decentralized and permissionless social media application built with Lens Protocol.

Open Source Snapshot Notice

This repository represents the last publicly available open-source version of Hey.xyz before May 15, 2026.

Development and changes made to Hey.xyz after May 15, 2026 are currently not open source and are not included in this repository.

This repository is therefore preserved as a historical open-source snapshot of the Hey.xyz codebase as it existed before that date.

About

Hey is a decentralized social network built on top of the Lens Protocol.

The application provides a social experience where users can create profiles, publish content, interact with other users, and participate in a permissionless social network powered by blockchain technology.

This repository contains the source code for the open-source version of Hey that was available before May 15, 2026.

Important

This repository should be considered a historical snapshot, rather than the current production source code of Hey.xyz.

The production version of Hey.xyz may contain features, architectural changes, infrastructure changes, security improvements, and other modifications that are not present in this repository.

Open Source Status

Period Source Code Status
Before May 15, 2026 Open source
May 15, 2026 Last open-source development period
After May 15, 2026 Currently not open source

The purpose of this repository is to preserve and provide access to the codebase that was publicly available prior to the transition.

No claim is made that this repository represents the current implementation running on Hey.xyz.

Tech Stack

This version of Hey is built using modern web and Web3 technologies, including:

  • TypeScript
  • React
  • Next.js
  • Tailwind CSS
  • GraphQL
  • Lens Protocol
  • Wagmi
  • Viem
  • PostgreSQL
  • pnpm
  • Node.js

The repository is structured as a monorepo and contains the application source code and supporting development tooling.

Requirements

Before running the project locally, make sure you have the following installed:

Using NVM is recommended for managing Node.js versions.

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/slymnoyann/hey.xyz.git
cd hey.xyz

If you are using a fork or another copy of this repository, replace the URL accordingly.

2. Install Node.js

If the repository contains an .nvmrc file, you can use:

nvm install
nvm use

Verify your Node.js version:

node -v

3. Install pnpm

If pnpm is not already installed:

npm install -g pnpm

Verify the installation:

pnpm -v

4. Install dependencies

From the repository root:

pnpm install

Environment Variables

The application requires environment variables for local development and certain services.

Where .env.example files are provided, copy them to .env before starting the application.

For example:

cp .env.example .env

Depending on the package or application being used, additional environment configuration may be required.

Typical configuration may include:

  • Lens configuration
  • Database connection
  • Redis configuration
  • API authentication
  • Wallet/private key configuration
  • Storage configuration
  • Application configuration

Security

Never commit private keys, API secrets, database credentials, or other sensitive values to Git.

Use local .env files for development and properly managed secrets for production environments.

Development

Start the development environment with:

pnpm dev

Once the development server is running, open the local URL displayed in the terminal.

Build

To create a production build:

pnpm build

Type Checking

Run TypeScript type checking with:

pnpm typecheck

Linting and Formatting

Check the codebase for formatting and linting issues:

pnpm biome:check

Automatically fix supported formatting and linting issues:

pnpm biome:fix

Project Structure

The repository follows a monorepo-style structure.

Some of the main directories and files include:

.
├── .github/
├── .husky/
├── .vscode/
├── public/
├── script/
├── src/
├── .gitignore
├── .nvmrc
├── biome.json
├── ecosystem.config.cjs
├── generated.ts
├── index.html
├── package.json
├── pnpm-lock.yaml
├── possible-types.ts
├── tsconfig.json
└── vite.config.mjs

The exact structure may vary between historical commits and branches.

Maintenance Scripts

The repository includes several scripts for development and maintenance.

Clean the repository

node script/clean.mjs

This can be used to clean generated files and installed dependencies.

Update dependencies

node script/update-dependencies.mjs

Sort package files

node script/sort-package-json.mjs

Development Notes

This repository contains a historical version of Hey and may require adjustments to run against currently available third-party infrastructure.

In particular, external services and protocols may have changed since this version was published, including:

  • Lens Protocol APIs
  • GraphQL endpoints
  • RPC endpoints
  • Third-party APIs
  • Database schemas
  • Authentication systems
  • Storage providers
  • Blockchain networks
  • Wallet infrastructure

As a result, a successful local build does not necessarily mean that the application can be deployed to production without modification.

Contributing

Contributions to this historical snapshot are welcome through forks and pull requests where appropriate.

However, please keep in mind that this repository represents a historical open-source version of Hey and does not represent the current private development codebase of Hey.xyz.

Disclaimer

This repository is provided for archival, educational, research, and development purposes.

It represents the open-source Hey.xyz codebase available before May 15, 2026.

Features and development introduced after May 15, 2026 are currently not included because the corresponding source code is not publicly available.

The current Hey.xyz application may differ substantially from the code contained in this repository.

License

This project is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0).

See the LICENSE file for the complete license text.

Historical Context

Hey was created as a decentralized and permissionless social network built with Lens Protocol.

This repository preserves an important point in the project's development history: the final open-source state of the application before May 15, 2026.

If you are studying the architecture, experimenting with Lens-based social applications, or interested in the evolution of decentralized social networks, this repository can serve as a reference implementation for that period.

Hey.xyz

A historical open-source snapshot of Hey before May 15, 2026. 🌿

Frequently asked questions

Is Hey free to use?

Hey is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Hey do?

Decentralized social networking for the Web3 era

What is Hey written in?

Hey is primarily written in TypeScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/heyxyz/hey, and it has 29,369 GitHub stars.