Story

Hi HN — I built Microwave, a native iOS app for browsing and posting short-form videos, similar to TikTok, but implemented as a pure client on top of Bluesky / AT Protocol.

There’s no custom backend: the app reads from and publishes to existing ATproto infrastructure. The goal was to explore whether a TikTok-like experience can exist as a thin client over an open social protocol, rather than a vertically integrated platform.

Things I’d especially love feedback on:

  - Whether this kind of UX makes sense on top of ATproto

  - Client-only tradeoffs (ranking, discovery, moderation)

  - Protocol limitations I may be missing

  - Any architectural red flags