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By Rox Team

The Heart Behind Rox - A New Era of Development with AI

Introduction

"The Love Rocks. Rox."

This catchphrase embodies our vision. Rox isn't just a technical project—it's a project filled with a new approach to development in this era, hope for the Japanese developer community, and respect for existing projects.

Why Rox, Why Now?

The AI-Era Development Revolution

With AI-assisted pair programming becoming practical, the world of development has changed dramatically. Projects that once required large teams can now be started by individuals or small teams.

But what's important here is not trusting AI too much, but believing in human capabilities. AI is a wonderful tool, but it's just a tool. Ultimate judgment and creativity still rest in human hands. We want to maintain a balance—getting help from AI while cherishing human creativity and judgment.

This change has opened doors to new possibilities. While respecting wonderful historic projects, we asked ourselves: can we achieve "lighter, simpler" implementations using the latest technologies? That's how Rox was born.

Respect for Misskey and a New Choice

Misskey is a truly wonderful platform as a user. Its functionality, community, and presence as a Japan-originated project have given us tremendous inspiration.

What we want to emphasize is that Rox aims for coexistence, not competition.

We maintain compatibility with Misskey while providing a new React-based alternative. We'll support Misskey's wonderful features like Notes and Reactions as a principle. This isn't about "replacement"—it's about adding a new "choice" to the ecosystem.

Philosophy Behind Technology Choices

Hope for Japanese Technologies

Rox's tech stack intentionally adopts wonderful projects by Japanese developers:

  • Waku & Jotai - Innovative React libraries by Daishi Kato
  • Hono - High-performance web framework by Yusuke Wada

We chose these not simply because they're "made in Japan":

  1. Technical advantages: New technologies offer the possibility of programs with less server load and faster operation
  2. Community proximity: Being in the same community makes it easier to ask questions and hear directly from creators
  3. Japanese presence: We hope more Japan-originated projects will spread globally

And in the future, as wonderful new Japanese projects emerge, we might swap out dependency modules while considering workload. This represents flexibility and continued investment in the Japanese developer ecosystem.

Commitment to Lightweight

What does "lightweight program" mean? For Rox, we aim for:

  • Reduced server load: Operating with fewer resources
  • Fast performance: Response speed that doesn't compromise user experience
  • Modern technology: Actively incorporating improvement possibilities from new technologies

This means creating a platform that's easy to run on personal servers and cost-efficient even for large instances.

The Meaning Behind Our Name

Rox - React-based Box

The project name "Rox" comes from "React-based Box (Inbox/Outbox)". Implementing Inbox/Outbox—core concepts of ActivityPub—with React. A simple name that captures the essence.

The Love Rocks - Musical Inspiration

Our official site domain love-rox.cc comes from Dreams Come True's album "The Love Rocks". The catchphrase "The Love Rocks. Rox." does too.

Musical inspiration for a tech project? Actually, naming projects and development codenames after music isn't unusual. Like macOS's location series ("Monterey", "Ventura") or Android's dessert series ("KitKat", "Oreo"), where technology and culture intersect, there's often playfulness.

Both development and music are creative expressions. We want to cherish the spirit of creating with love.

Our Versioning Approach

Rox adopts a unique versioning strategy:

  • Per package: Semantic versioning (1.2.3 format)
  • Overall project: Calendar-based versioning (2025.11 format)

This helps users intuitively understand "which version they're using". If you're using a version far from the current year/month, it's a sign you should consider updating.

Our Vision for Community

Japanese as Primary Language

In Rox development, we use Japanese as the primary language. This means:

  • Opportunities for Japanese developers: Creating an environment where English isn't a barrier
  • Communication quality: Deep discussions in our native language
  • Respecting diversity: Showing a world where English-first isn't the default

Of course, we warmly welcome communication and contributions in English too. In common spaces like GitHub issues and PRs, we also use English.

Growing as OSS

Rox will continue development as open source.

We'll first release a basic version, then we hope to grow Rox with help from various people. It's a community-driven project we'll build together.

By having a Japanese-first developer community, we hope to increase opportunities for Japanese developers to challenge themselves in OSS.

Rox's Future

Rox has just begun. Moving forward:

  • Implementing and stabilizing core features
  • Building and growing the community
  • Improving Misskey compatibility
  • Performance optimization
  • Enriching documentation

And most importantly, we're waiting for your participation.

Won't You Join Us?

For Developers

Rox welcomes developers like:

  • Those interested in new technologies
  • Those who want to contribute to OSS in Japanese
  • Those interested in ActivityPub and the Fediverse
  • Those who simply think it sounds interesting

Experience doesn't matter. What matters is the willingness to build together.

For Users

We also warmly welcome those who want to try using Rox:

  • Those who want to try a new SNS experience
  • Those who like Misskey's features and want to see alternative options
  • Those looking for a lightweight, fast platform
  • Those who want to support Japan-originated projects

We're still in development, but we welcome feedback and requests. Please share what you feel after trying it. That becomes the power to make Rox better.

How to Participate

Conclusion

AI-era development, Japanese technologies, open source community—Rox was born where these intersect.

We want to be a project that doesn't forget respect for historic projects, believes in the possibilities of new technologies, and builds together with everyone.

The Love Rocks. Rox.

Won't you join us on this journey?