An informal lift
Coordinate a shared or friendly journey with no fare at all. Ordered intermediate stops are part of the route.
DonkeyRide on Trotters
A ride network anyone can join
Riders and drivers coordinate directly. No DonkeyRide account, central operator or payment is required—and firms can still choose a managed backend where regulation demands one.
No location prompt until you deliberately use location in the app.
DonkeyRideDirect mode
Pickup
Chosen by the rider
Optional stops
Kept in route order
Drop-off
Road distance, time and route
Real road routePayment optional
Real road routes
Distance, time and geometry come from a road router, including ordered stops—not a straight line.
Payment is optional
A journey can use an agreed settlement or explicitly record that no money changes hands.
Made for multiple stops
Add intermediate pickups or drop-offs and keep every point in journey order.
One app, different realities
Use the model that fits where you are
An independent driver
Go online in the PWA or signed Android app and discover nearby requests without joining one central marketplace.
A licensed operator
Run the optional managed backend when local rules, admission, records or payment integrations require it.
Privacy without fairy tales
Less central data. Honest boundaries.
Direct mode removes the DonkeyRide operator database, but it does not make a networked journey anonymous. The page tells people what each supporting service can still observe.
Location is an action
Opening the site does not request device location. Riders choose it manually; drivers start sharing only when they go online.
Identity starts on your device
Role and operator identities are derived locally from an encrypted identity tree, with separate short-lived public discovery keys.
Exact details go to participants
The matched itinerary, chat and journey updates are encrypted between the rider and driver in direct mode.
Metadata still exists
Relays can observe IP and timing; the road router receives route points; geocoders and map hosts receive their normal requests.
Deployment choice
Direct by default. Managed by choice.
Direct mode
Participants coordinate over Nostr
- No DonkeyRide database, REST API or WebSocket operator
- Coarse public discovery and encrypted journey details
- Good for open networks, lifts and independent providers
Managed mode
A chosen firm runs the backend
- Optional admission, roster and policy controls
- Optional records and payment integrations
- Suited to fleets and regulated markets that need them
Choose your side of the journey
Use the PWA in a browser, install it to your home screen, or download the signed Android driver app.
Read or reuse the open-source codeLooking for another service? Browse all Trotters categories.
Open source, openly supported
Help keep the work independent
DonkeyRide is open-source software maintained alongside the ForgeSworn privacy and coordination libraries. If it is useful to your family, community or operation, you can support its continued development and hosting.
If you want the technical details
These are the ForgeSworn libraries directly used by the current web app:
- nsec-tree
- Derives separate local rider, driver and operator identities from one encrypted root.
- geohash-kit
- Represents service areas as compact geographic cells instead of publishing continuous exact locations.
Other dependencies, including nostr-tools, are listed in the source repository. This page names only the ForgeSworn libraries wired into the current web app.