👉 App Store link
👉 Docs for getting started
👉 Skatehive Discord
👉 Skatehive X/Twitter
👉 Skatehive Farcaster Channel
👉 Vote in Skatehive Witness

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After months of DIY coding and community collaboration, the Skatehive mobile app is officially live on Apple's App Store! 🎉 Getting approved was a pain in the ass – Apple's endless requirements meant we had to chop features and ship a bare-bones UI (not winning any beauty pageants 😅). But we're in, and now we can evolve it from here.

Skatehive is a decentralized skate community owned by skaters, for skaters. Publish clips, get support from the community, and earn crypto rewards through upvotes. No ads, no algorithms, just real skateboarding.

We've built a strong community with just a web app – now imagine the potential with mobile!

📱 Main Features (v1.0)

	Post skate clips and photos – Shoot or upload your skating moments right from your phone and publish to our Hive-powered community feed. Share your tricks, bails, park sessions, and stories instantly.
	Discover and follow skaters/crews worldwide – Explore a feed of raw skate content from around the globe. Find new skaters and crews to follow, and build your network. (The app’s all about connecting skaters – no algorithms curating your feed, just the latest posts from the community you love.)
	Upvote, comment, and support each other – Engage with posts by upvoting and commenting. Remember, upvotes on Hive aren’t just likes – they share cryptocurrency rewards. In Skatehive, community upvotes act like a decentralized sponsorship system, so when you upvote a rad clip, you’re literally tipping the skater who posted it. Likewise, receiving upvotes earns you crypto (powered by Hive). It’s peer-to-peer support for doing what you love!

Enjoy an ad-free, algorithm-free feed – Scroll a feed that’s pure skateboarding content. No ads, no creepy algorithms injecting random stuff – just authentic clips and stories from skaters

Rather than an opaque algorithm designed by a corporation, content is curated by your fellow skaters using the community’s upvotes. This means no limit to your creativity to appeal to an algorithm, just your peers! Everything is recorded on the Hive blockchain (so you maintain full ownership and transparency). But the app abstracts the crypto complexity away. You just see a slick social app for skate content, while Hive works its magic in the background (fast and feeless transactions!).

📲 How to Get Started

Download Skatehive from the App Store (free!). Log in with your Hive Posting Key – the low-permission key that can post but can't access your funds. New to Hive? A simpler sign-up is coming soon.

Once logged in, explore the feed, upvote clips, comment, and hit "Post" to share your own session.

What's Next

• Android App
• Easy Sign-Up – In-app account creation with invite codes coming soon
• Push Notifications – Get alerts when someone upvotes or comments
• SkateShop Partners with Distriator - Open Skatehive real world markets with HBD
• 3speak integration
• Suggest in the comments

Onboarding new users through a passion, not “crypto”: One of Hive’s current struggles is explaining the blockchain stuff to newcomers

Skatehive takes a different approach: we lead with skateboarding and hide the blockchain complexity in the back. A skater downloading our app doesn’t need to know about Hive or crypto at first – they just see a cool skateboarding social app that rewards them for participation. This could onboard users who might never sign up for a “crypto social network” but will gladly join a skate community that just so happens to run on a blockchain. It’s a real use case that showcases Hive’s power without forcing crypto jargon on people. If successful, it could serve as a blueprint for other niche communities to grow Hive’s user base via what they’re passionate about.

Scaling Hive’s reach: By tapping into the global skate scene, we’re potentially attracting millions of new eyes to Hive. Skatehive is already global on web – from Brazil to Uganda, skaters have been joining us

The mobile app will make it far easier for these users to stay active and for more people to hop on. More users means more on-chain activity (posts, transactions) which strengthens the Hive network effect. And each new Skatehive user inevitably becomes a Hive user (with a Hive account that can explore other communities too). We’re essentially acting as an on-ramp to Hive for an entire subculture.

Strengthening Hive’s image: Having a slick app in the Apple Store that’s powered by Hive (even if regular users don’t realize it’s blockchain) is great publicity for Hive. It demonstrates that Web3 social apps can compete in the App Store arena.

– a unique value prop traditional apps can’t offer. This positive reception reflects well on Hive’s capabilities and might draw curiosity from other communities or developers.

We’re turning Hive’s strengths (fast, fee-less transactions; community governance; token rewards) into an experience any skater can appreciate without needing to be a crypto expert. This could significantly boost Hive’s adoption curve if we play our cards right.

🔮 What’s Next for Skatehive (Roadmap)

Seamless Sign-Up & Onboarding – Our top priority is making it dead-simple for new skaters to join. We are building a community-driven sign-up system that will allow creating a Hive account (for new users) through the app with minimal fuss. This might involve invite codes or email-based onboarding where existing Skatehive members can help newcomers get an account. The goal is to eliminate the current hurdle of having to go outside the app to create a Hive account. Soon, a new user should be able to download Skatehive and register inside the app in a few taps with an invite code. This will open the floodgates for skaters who don’t know anything about Hive yet.

Native Notifications & UX Enhancements – Now that Apple gave us the green light, we plan to start adding back some of those “chopped” features and more. Native push notifications are high on the list (so you can get an alert when someone upvotes or comments on your post, or when there’s a new challenge). We also want to refine the UI/UX (yes, that means a makeover for our not-so-pretty interface 😅). Expect a more polished look, smoother navigation, and overall better user experience in upcoming updates.

Performance and Stability – As with any 1.0 release, there will be bugs to squash and optimizations to make. We’ll be watching for community feedback to fix any crashes or glitches. Our devs (@mengao, @xvlad, @r4topunk and @vaipraonde) are ready to push rapid updates. If something feels slow or clunky, we’re on it.

Android Version Exploration – We know many skaters use Android, and we haven’t forgotten you! Now that we’ve proven out the concept on iOS, an Android app is on the horizon. We’ll take the lessons learned from iOS (and hopefully some shared code if possible) to accelerate Android development. Android users can still access Skatehive via our web app (which is mobile-responsive)

Continued Web/App Integration – We’re going to keep web and mobile evolving together. Features like our SkateSpot map, bounty system, magazine mode, etc., are part of Skatehive 3.0 on web

– we plan to bring as many of those into the mobile app as makes sense. Over time, the app will gain things like the spot map (find skate spots near you), leaderboards, and more, all powered by the same Hive back-end. Consistency and interoperability between web and app are key, so you can switch between your PC and phone seamlessly.

In essence, this iOS release is Skatehive Mobile 1.0. It’s a minimal viable product, deliberately kept simple to get past Apple’s gates. Now that we’re in, we have a clear runway to pack in the real goodies. Expect rapid iteration – and if you have ideas or requests, we’re all ears (truly, much of Skatehive’s progress so far has come from community suggestions).

🙏 A Huge Thank You to the Community

Massive shoutout to everyone who helped test early builds, gave design input, squashed bugs, and kept the stoke alive during development. In particular, @menga, @xvlad, @vaipraonde and @r4to (our coding wizards) put in crazy hours to turn an idea into a working app – mad respect to these homies for their dedication. And to all the skaters posting, commenting, and upvoting on Skatehive every day: you are the reason this community thrives. This app is as much yours as it is ours. 🤝

Please go ahead and download the app, try it out, and let us know what you think. Post your first clip from your iPhone, throw some upvotes around, and give us feedback. Did something crash? Missing a feature you desperately want? Tell us! We’re building this together, and your input will shape the upcoming updates.

The Hive ethos is all about community, and Skatehive embodies that: “Built by skaters. Powered by community.”

Every download, every post, every share helps not only Skatehive grow, but showcases what Hive technology can do. We’re proud of how far we’ve come with just a web app and a dream – and we’re even more excited about where we can go with a mobile app in hand.

So thank you all for believing in this project. Now let’s keep pushing – on our boards and in development. See you on the app, see you in the comments, and see you at the skatepark (with phone in pocket, of course 😉). The future of on-chain skateboarding is here, and we’re all riding it together.

— The Skatehive Team 🛹🔥

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What skatehive has built so far

A comprehensive decentralized platform ecosystem that connects skateboarders worldwide through blockchain technology, social media integration, and distributed media processing infrastructure.

🌟 Vision & Mission

🏗️ Architecture Overview

The SkateHive ecosystem operates as a distributed microservices architecture where:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    SKATEHIVE 3.0 (Next.js)                  │
│              Main Web Application (Vercel)                  │
│     - User Interface & Content Creation                     │
│     - Hive Blockchain Integration                           │
│     - Wallet Management (Hive, Ethereum, Farcaster)         │
└──────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────┘
                   │
                   ▼
        ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
        │        TRANSCODING & AUTOMATION SERVERS        │
        │        (Redundant Processing Cluster)          │
        └───────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────┘
                │              │              │
                ▼              ▼              ▼

      ┌──────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐
      │   Mac Mini M4    │  │   Raspberry Pi   │  │   Oracle Server  │
      │    (Primary)     │  │   (Secondary)    │  │   (Third Node)   │
      ├──────────────────┤  ├──────────────────┤  ├──────────────────┤
      │ Video Transcoder │  │ Video Transcoder │  │ Video Transcoder │
      │ Instagram DL     │  │ Instagram DL     │  │ Instagram DL     │
      │ Account Manager  │  │ Monitoring       │  │ Automation Tasks │
      │ VSC Node         │  │ Cookie Monitor   │  │ Cookie Monitor   │
      └─────────┬────────┘  └─────────┬────────┘  └─────────┬────────┘
                │                     │                     │
                └─────────────────────┬─────────────────────┘
                                      ▼                     
                     ┌──────────────────────┐
                     │     IPFS (Pinata)    │
                     │   Permanent Storage  │
                     └───────────┬──────────┘
                                 │
                    ┌────────────┴────────────┐
                    ▼                         ▼
               ┌───────────┐           ┌──────────┐
               │   Hive    │           │ Ethereum │
               │Blockchain │           │ Network  │
               └───────────┘           └──────────┘

Network Architecture

• Tailscale Mesh Network: Secure peer-to-peer connectivity between all infrastructure nodes
• Funnel Public Access: HTTPS endpoints exposed via Tailscale for external API access
• Three-Tier Fallback: Mac Mini M4 (primary) → Raspberry Pi (secondary) → Render Cloud (tertiary)
• Auto-Recovery: Power outage resilience with automatic service restart

📁 Repository Structure

🎨 skatehive3.0/ - Main Web Application

Next.js 15 full-stack application - The heart of the SkateHive platform

Key Features:

• 🔐 Multi-Wallet Support: Hive Keychain, Farcaster, Ethereum (WalletConnect, MetaMask)
• 📝 Rich Content Creation: Markdown editor with image/video upload, Instagram integration
• 🎬 Video Processing: Upload, transcode, and publish videos with IPFS storage
• 📸 Instagram Integration: Direct posting from Instagram with automatic download
• 🗺️ Interactive Skate Map: Global skateboarding spots with user contributions
• 💰 Token Economics: erc20 tokens, coin creation, trading, and staking
• 🏆 Leaderboard: User rankings based on Hive Power and engagement
• 🎨 Magazine/Blog: Long-form content publication system
• 💬 Social Features: Comments, notifications, follow/unfollow
• 🎁 Airdrops: Token distribution campaigns
• 🏛️ DAO Governance: Community-driven decision making
• 🖼️ Zora Integration: Zora Coin minting, management and trading
• 📱 Responsive Design: Mobile-first with Farcaster Frame support

Technology Stack:

• Framework: Next.js 15.3.2 with App Router
• Styling: Tailwind CSS + Shadcn UI components
• Database: PostgreSQL (Supabase)
• Authentication: Multi-provider (Hive, Farcaster, Ethereum)
• State Management: React Context + TanStack Query
• Blockchain: Hive.js, Dhive, Viem (Ethereum)
• Storage: IPFS via Pinata
• Deployment: Vercel with edge functions

Key Directories:

• app/ - Next.js 15 app router pages and API routes
• components/ - Reusable UI components organized by feature
• lib/ - Utility functions, blockchain integration, API clients
• services/ - External service integrations (video, Instagram)
• hooks/ - Custom React hooks for state and effects
• types/ - TypeScript type definitions
• sql/ - Database schemas and migrations

🎬 skatehive-video-transcoder/ - Video Processing Service

Node.js + FFmpeg service for video optimization and IPFS upload

Features:

• Format Conversion: Any video → web-optimized H.264/AAC MP4
• IPFS Upload: Automatic Pinata upload with CID generation
• File Size Limits: Configurable max upload (currently 200MB)
• Rich Logging: JSON logs with user info, file details, processing time
• Statistics API: Success rates, processing metrics, user activity
• Docker Containerized: Easy deployment and scaling

Technology Stack: Node.js, Express, FFmpeg, Multer, Pinata SDK

API Endpoints:

• POST /transcode - Upload and process video files
• GET /healthz - Service health check
• GET /logs - Recent processing operations (JSON)
• GET /stats - Aggregated statistics and metrics

Configuration:

• Port: 8081
• Max Upload: 200MB (configurable via MAX_UPLOAD_MB)
• External URL: https://minivlad.tail9656d3.ts.net/video/transcode

📱 mobileapp/ - React Native Mobile Application

Expo/React Native app for iOS and Android - Native mobile experience for SkateHive

Features:

• 📱 Native Experience: Optimized for iOS and Android platforms
• 🔐 Secure Authentication: Encrypted keychain storage for Hive keys
• 📝 Content Creation: Post photos and videos with IPFS upload
• 🎬 Video Feed: Dedicated video content browsing
• 🏆 Leaderboard: Community rankings and engagement metrics
• 🔔 Notifications: Real-time notification system
• 👤 Profiles: User profiles with followers/following
• 📰 Feed: Infinite scroll with following/trending tabs

Technology Stack: React Native, Expo, TypeScript, React Query, @hiveio/dhive

Key Directories:

• app/ - Expo Router screens and navigation
• components/ - Reusable UI components
• lib/ - Hive utilities, upload services, API clients
• assets/ - Images, fonts, and static files

---

📱 skatehive-instagram-downloader/ - Social Media Content Service

FastAPI service for downloading Instagram/YouTube content with IPFS storage

Features:

• Multi-Platform: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, 1000+ sites via yt-dlp
• Cookie Authentication: Instagram authentication to bypass rate limits
• IPFS Integration: Automatic Pinata upload with gateway URLs
• RESTful + Slug API: JSON POST and base64 URL slug support
• Health Monitoring: Cookie validation and expiration tracking
• File Management: Configurable retention and size limits (max 1.5GB)

Technology Stack: Python 3.11, FastAPI, yt-dlp, Pinata SDK

API Endpoints:

• POST /download - Download content via JSON payload
• GET /d/<base64_slug> - Download via URL slug
• GET /health - Service health with cookie status
• POST /cookies/validate - Validate Instagram cookies
• GET /cookies/status - Cookie expiration status

Configuration:

• Port: 6666
• Cookie File: data/instagram_cookies.txt (Netscape format)
• External URL: https://minivlad.tail9656d3.ts.net/instagram/download
• Blockchain Integration: Hive blockchain posting, Ethereum/Farcaster protocols
• Content Management: Video uploads, blog posts, community interactions
• Skate Mapping: Interactive maps for skate spot sharing
• Community Features: Bounties, leaderboards, DAO governance
• Multi-protocol Support: Aioha (Hive), Wagmi/Viem (Ethereum), React Query

Technology Stack: Next.js 14, TypeScript, Chakra UI, Tailwind CSS, React Query

Key Integrations:

• Backend video processing services
• IPFS content delivery
• Multiple blockchain networks
• Social authentication systems

🔗 Shared Infrastructure

The webapp (skatehive3.0) and mobile app (mobileapp) share common backend infrastructure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    SHARED INFRASTRUCTURE                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐                      │
│  │   Webapp     │     │  Mobile App  │                      │
│  │ (skatehive3.0)     │ (mobileapp)  │                      │
│  └──────┬───────┘     └──────┬───────┘                      │
│         │                    │                              │
│         ▼                    ▼                              │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐                │
│  │     api.skatehive.app (leaderboard-api) │                │
│  │  • /api/v1/feed, /api/v1/leaderboard    │                │
│  │  • /api/transcode/status                │                │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘                │
│                      │                                      │
│         ┌────────────┼────────────┐                         │
│         ▼            ▼            ▼                         │
│  ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌────────────┐                 │
│  │  Oracle   │ │ Mac Mini  │ │Raspberry Pi│                 │
│  │ Transcoder│ │ Transcoder│ │ Transcoder │                 │
│  └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └────────────┘                 │
│                      │                                      │
│                      ▼                                      │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐                │
│  │         ipfs.skatehive.app              │                │
│  │         (IPFS Gateway)                  │                │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘                │
│                      │                                      │
│                      ▼                                      │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐                │
│  │         Hive Blockchain Nodes           │                │
│  │  • api.deathwing.me, api.hive.blog      │                │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘                │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

🏗️ Backend APIs (leaderboard-api)

Endpoint	Description	Webapp	Mobile
/api/v1/feed	Main community feed	✅	✅
/api/v2/feed	Enhanced feed (v2)	✅	❌
/api/v1/leaderboard	Community leaderboard	✅	✅
/api/v1/balance/{user}	User balance data	✅	✅
/api/v1/balance/{user}/rewards	User rewards	✅	✅
/api/v1/feed/{user}/following	Following feed	✅	✅
/api/transcode/status	Video transcoding status	✅	✅

🎬 Video Transcoding (with failover)

Service	Priority
Oracle (Primary)	1
Mac Mini M4 (Secondary)	2
Raspberry Pi (Tertiary)	3

🔗 Other Shared Services

Service	URL	Purpose
IPFS Gateway	ipfs.skatehive.app/ipfs/{cid}	Decentralized media storage
Hive Images	images.hive.blog/{user}/{sig}	Image upload & avatars
Community Tag	hive-173115	Skatehive community identifier

---

📊 Webapp vs Mobile Feature Comparison

Feature	Webapp	Mobile	Notes
Core
Feed (infinite scroll)	✅	✅	Mobile uses v1 API
Video feed	✅	✅
Leaderboard	✅	✅
Notifications	✅	✅
Profile view	✅	✅
Create posts	✅	✅
Comments/Replies	✅	✅
Following/Trending	✅	✅
Wallet & Crypto
Full Wallet	✅	⚠️	Disabled for App Store
Ethereum/NFTs	✅	❌
Swap functionality	✅	❌
Send tokens	✅	❌
SkateBank	✅	❌
Portfolio charts	✅	❌
Community Features
Spot Map	✅	❌
Bounties	✅	❌
DAO/Governance	✅	❌
Chat	✅	❌
Auction system	✅	❌
Airdrop system	✅	❌
Profile Management
Edit profile	✅	❌
Video parts	✅	❌
Merge accounts	✅	❌
Content Creation
Beneficiaries	✅	❌
Full markdown editor	✅	⚠️	Basic in mobile
Thumbnail picker	✅	❌
Other
Magazine	✅	❌
Game	✅	❌
Witness voting	✅	❌
Zora/Coin trading	✅	❌

🔄 Service Integration Flow

Content Processing Pipeline

1. Content Acquisition: skatehive-instagram-downloader fetches media from social platforms
2. Video Processing: skatehive-video-transcoder optimizes videos for web delivery
3. IPFS Storage: Both services upload processed content to decentralized storage
4. Frontend Display: skatehive3.0 presents content to users with blockchain integration

Monitoring & Operations

1. Health Monitoring: skatehive-dashboard continuously monitors all backend services
2. Performance Tracking: Real-time metrics, response times, and resource usage
3. Log Aggregation: Centralized logging from all services for debugging and analytics
4. Automated Alerts: Service downtime and performance degradation detection

Data Flow Architecture

External Content → Instagram Downloader → Video Transcoder → IPFS Storage
                                              ↓
User Uploads ────────────────────────────→ Video Transcoder → IPFS Storage
                                              ↓
All Services ←─────────── Dashboard Monitoring ←─────────── Main App (skatehive3.0)

For more info, check: https://docs.skatehive.app

Thanks for reading, testing and shredding.

Gnartoshi Shredmoto