Introduction

In an era where the web has become increasingly complex, commercialized, and hostile to user privacy, a small but growing community has embraced an alternative: the Gemini protocol. This article explores the history of Gemini, the motivations behind its creation, its strengths and limitations, and why I decided to create my own Gemini capsule at gemini://nicfab.eu, also accessible via HTTPS at gemini.nicfab.eu.

A Brief History of Gemini

The Origins: Born in Gopherspace

The Gemini Project was born in June 2019, created by a developer who goes by the pseudonym Solderpunk. The project emerged from the “phlogosphere” — the community of bloggers within Gopherspace, where people were rediscovering the nearly 30-year-old Gopher protocol as a refuge from what they perceived as an increasingly commercialized, centralized, and privacy-invasive web.

The official “birth” date of Project Gemini is June 20, 2019, when Solderpunk announced a side-phlog dedicated to discussing the new protocol. Just two days later, fellow phlogger Sean Conner surprised Solderpunk by announcing that he had already implemented a working Gemini server in Lua, called GLV-1.12556 (named after NASA’s designation for the Titan rocket that launched the Gemini missions).

The Name and Port 1965

The name “Gemini” and the protocol’s port number (1965) are deliberate references to NASA’s Project Gemini, the space program conducted between 1964 and 1966. NASA’s Gemini served as a “bridge” between the simpler Mercury program and the complex Apollo missions to the Moon. Similarly, the Gemini protocol sits between the minimalism of Gopher and the complexity of HTTP — hence the motto: “heavier than Gopher, lighter than the web.”

The first manned Gemini mission was launched in March 1965, which explains the choice of port 1965.

Evolution and Community

The Gemini mailing list was created on August 14, 2019, and has since become the nerve center of the protocol’s development. The community has grown organically, with developers creating clients, servers, and tools in dozens of programming languages. In October 2021, the creation of the Usenet newsgroup comp.infosystems.gemini marked the first new newsgroup in the Big Eight hierarchy in eight years — a testament to Gemini’s growing importance.

Among the most popular servers in 2026 stands Agate, ideal for Docker-based self-hosting in the privacy-focused community.

By mid-2025, the Geminispace counted approximately 3,000-4,000 active capsules, according to indexes like Lupa and Antenna, which track thousands of crawled URIs.

For 2026-updated statistics, check Lupa (gemini://gemini.circumlunar.space/~lupa/) or Antenna (gemini://warmedal.se/antenna/).

Why Gemini? The Problems of the Modern Web

The Decline of the Web

The World Wide Web, once a revolutionary tool for sharing information, has evolved into something very different:

  • Heavy pages: Modern websites frequently load megabytes of JavaScript, CSS, and media files, creating barriers for users with limited connectivity
  • Pervasive tracking: Cookies, fingerprinting, and third-party scripts monitor user behavior across the internet
  • Advertising overload: Invasive ads, pop-ups, and autoplay videos interfere with content consumption
  • Security vulnerabilities: Complex web technologies create numerous attack vectors
  • Centralization: A handful of tech giants control most of the web’s infrastructure and content

As one commentator observed: “Trillion-dollar corporations have turned the World Wide Web into a panopticon that tracks your clicks, your purchases, and your location history.”

Solderpunk’s Vision

Solderpunk began designing Gemini with modest expectations. The motivation came from observing that more and more people were discovering Gopher for the same reasons he did. Still, some struggled with its limitations — particularly the lack of encryption, which became a critical concern after Snowden’s revelations in 2013.

The goal was not to replace the web, but to create a “third option” — maintaining the “spirit of Gopher” while adding essential modern features such as mandatory encryption.

Gemini in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

At first glance, Gemini might seem like a step backward — a return to a text-only, image-free internet in an era of multimodal AI, generative content, and immersive experiences. But this apparent simplicity is precisely what makes Gemini remarkably relevant today.

Human Content in an Ocean of AI Slop

The modern web is increasingly flooded with AI-generated content: SEO-optimized articles written by language models, automated product descriptions, synthetic blog posts designed to game search algorithms. This phenomenon, sometimes called “AI slop,” makes it harder to find authentic human voices online.

Gemini’s culture is fundamentally different. Writing in Gemtext requires intentionality — there are no templates to auto-fill, no AI plugins to “enhance” your content. Every capsule represents a deliberate human effort. In a world drowning in synthetic content, this authenticity becomes increasingly valuable.

Resistance to Data Harvesting

Modern AI systems are voracious consumers of data. Large language models are trained on massive web scrapes, often without consent from content creators. The web’s complexity — JavaScript, cookies, user tracking — actually facilitates this data collection by creating rich behavioral profiles.

Gemini resists this by design:

  • No JavaScript means no hidden tracking scripts
  • No cookies means no cross-site user profiling
  • Minimal metadata reduces the attack surface for data harvesting
  • Text-focused content is less valuable for multimodal AI training compared to rich media

Human-Centric vs Algorithm-Centric

The modern web is optimized for algorithms: search engine rankings, engagement metrics, recommendation systems. Content is increasingly written not for human readers but for AI classifiers that determine visibility.

Gemini inverts this paradigm. Without analytics, without SEO, without algorithmic feeds, content succeeds only if humans genuinely find it valuable and share it organically. Discovery happens through personal recommendations and curated directories — much like the early web, but also much like how meaningful human communication has always worked.

Intentionality as Resistance

In an era where AI can generate thousands of articles per minute, the very act of manually writing and publishing becomes a form of resistance. Gemini capsules represent time, thought, and human attention — increasingly scarce resources in our automated world.

This doesn’t mean Gemini is anti-technology or anti-AI. Rather, it represents a conscious choice about which technologies serve human flourishing and which might diminish it. For privacy professionals and digital rights advocates, this alignment between tool and values is particularly meaningful.

Technical Overview

The Protocol

Gemini operates as a request-response protocol in the client-server model, similar to HTTP but drastically simpler:

  • Port: 1965 (TCP)
  • Encryption: Mandatory TLS for all connections
  • Request format: A single URL terminated by CRLF — nothing else
  • Response format: A two-digit status code, a space, a “meta” field, and CRLF, followed by the content

The entire Gemini specification fits on a few pages. This intentional minimalism makes client and server implementation very simple — a basic Gemini browser can be written in a few hundred lines of code.

Gemtext: The Document Format

Gemini’s native document format, Gemtext, is line-oriented and deliberately simple:

  • Headings: Lines beginning with #, ##, or ###
  • Links: Lines beginning with => followed by a URL and an optional description
  • Lists: Lines beginning with *
  • Quotes: Lines beginning with >
  • Preformatted text: Blocks delimited by triple backticks

Unlike HTML, Gemtext has no inline formatting — no bold, italics, or images within paragraphs. Links must be on separate lines. This constraint forces authors to focus on content rather than presentation.

Privacy by Design

Gemini was explicitly designed to respect privacy:

  • No cookies: The protocol simply doesn’t support them
  • No tracking scripts: No JavaScript or client-side code execution
  • No fingerprinting: Minimal client information exposed
  • Mandatory encryption: All traffic is encrypted via TLS
  • Trust on First Use (TOFU): Self-signed certificates are first-class citizens

The protocol is also deliberately resistant to feature creep, preventing the gradual feature creep that has turned HTTP into the privacy-hostile beast it is today.

Gemini vs Web vs Gopher

AspectModern WebGopherGemini
EncryptionOptionalNoneMandatory (TLS)
TrackingPervasiveNoneNone
ComplexityHigh (JS/CSS)LowMedium (Gemtext)
Capsules/SitesBillions~100~3,000-4,000

Advantages of Gemini

For Users

  1. Privacy: No tracking, no surveillance, no behavioral advertising
  2. Speed: Pages load almost instantly, even on slow connections
  3. Accessibility: Works on vintage hardware and low-bandwidth connections
  4. Focus: Content-centric experience with no distractions
  5. Security: Mandatory encryption and minimal attack surface

For Content Creators

  1. Simplicity: Writing in Gemtext is easier than in HTML
  2. Low maintenance: No worries about CSS, JavaScript, or browser compatibility
  3. Ownership: Easy to self-host, no dependence on big tech platforms
  4. Community: An attentive, privacy-conscious audience

For Developers

  1. Easy implementation: A complete client or server in hundreds of lines of code
  2. Clear specification: No ambiguity or edge cases
  3. Creative freedom: Room to experiment with client designs

Disadvantages and Limitations

Technical Limitations

  1. No inline images: Images must be linked, not embedded
  2. No video or audio streaming: Only downloadable media files
  3. No complex layouts: Only single-column, text-focused designs
  4. No forms or interactivity: Interactivity limited to text prompts with no persistent state

Adoption Challenges

  1. Requires specific software: Standard web browsers cannot directly access Gemini (although proxies exist)
  2. Learning curve: New concepts for users accustomed to the web
  3. Small community: Approximately 3,900 capsules vs. billions of websites
  4. Non-standardized: The protocol has not been submitted to the IETF

Criticisms

  • Daniel Stenberg (creator of curl) criticized Gemini as “weak on security” due to TOFU (the risk concerns first contact (MITM), as in SSH) and theoretical slowness due to lack of keep-alive/multiplexing, not content weight
  • Some argue that Gemini excludes people who use ordinary web browsers
  • The community can sometimes appear insular or elitist

Why Have a Gemini Capsule?

Philosophical Alignment

For those of us who work in the field of privacy and data protection, maintaining a Gemini capsule is a statement of values. It shows that we practice what we preach — choosing privacy-friendly technologies even when more convenient alternatives exist.

Reaching a Specific Audience

Gemini users tend to be technically sophisticated and privacy-conscious individuals — exactly the audience most likely to appreciate content on GDPR, AI regulation, and digital rights. The smaller, more focused community means less noise and more meaningful interactions.

The Joy of Simplicity

Something is refreshing about writing in Gemtext. Without the temptation to tweak CSS or add JavaScript widgets, you focus entirely on the words. It’s a return to the essence of online publishing.

Accessibility via Web Proxy

You don’t have to abandon the web entirely. Services like Kineto (which I use) or public proxies like portal.mozz.us allow web users to access Gemini content through their standard browsers. My capsule at gemini://nicfab.eu is accessible via gemini.nicfab.eu.

My Gemini Capsule

I decided to create a Gemini mirror of my blog to:

  • Practice digital minimalism while maintaining an online presence
  • Reach privacy-conscious readers who prefer Gemini
  • Experiment with alternative protocols as part of my research on privacy-friendly technologies
  • Demonstrate self-hosting capabilities in line with my professional focus on data sovereignty

The capsule contains all my articles on privacy, data protection, AI regulation, and digital rights, converted to Gemtext format. An automatic conversion script ensures that new blog posts are available in Geminispace within hours of publication.

How to Access My Capsule

Via Gemini client (recommended):

gemini://nicfab.eu

Popular Gemini clients include:

  • Lagrange (desktop, highly recommended)
  • Amfora (terminal-based)
  • Kristall (cross-platform)
  • Elaho (iOS)
  • Deedum (Android)

Via web proxy:

Conclusion

Gemini is not for everyone, nor does it aspire to be. It will not replace the web, and that’s perfectly fine. What it offers is a refuge — a quieter, simpler corner of the internet where content matters more than clicks, where privacy is built into the foundation, and where the reader’s attention is respected.

For privacy professionals, data protection legal experts, and anyone concerned about the direction of the modern web, Gemini represents more than a protocol. It is a philosophy — one that aligns with the principles of data minimization, purpose limitation, and privacy by design that we uphold in our professional work.

Whether you are an experienced Geminaut or simply curious about alternatives to the web, I invite you to explore my capsule and discover the small but vibrant community that has chosen a different path.

References and Further Reading

Related Hashtag

#Gemini #GeminiProtocol #Geminispace #SmallWeb #Privacy #DataProtection #SelfHosting #IndieWeb #Gopher #MinimalistWeb #DigitalRights #OpenProtocol #InternetAlternative #PrivacyByDesign #FOSS

This article is also available in my Gemini capsule at gemini://nicfab.eu