Why everything starts with a link
The first commit laid down the concept and the logo. Why the core of everything is a link that stays.
Tech explained simply: what is a snapshot?
- A link only points to a page. If the page changes or disappears, the link leads nowhere – or to something different from back then.
- A snapshot is a copy at a point in time. Relyper stores what the page looked like at exactly the moment you saved it.
- The permalink (GRI) never changes. Every saved source gets its own permanent address – you can cite it, even ten years from now.
On November 30, 2025, the first commit was made: the concept and the logo of Relyper. That is where it all started.
The idea behind it is simple: links break. Articles get edited, posts get deleted, sites move. Anyone who wants to back something up – a study, a statement, a social media post – sooner or later ends up with a dead link or a page that says something different from back then.
The core: a source that stays
Relyper archives web sources as snapshots and gives every source a stable link. That keeps evidence verifiable even when the original changes or disappears. The flyers put it shorter: Stable References. Clear Sources.
Explained simply: A normal link is like directions to a house. If the house is rebuilt or torn down, the directions lead nowhere. A Relyper snapshot is a photo of the house on exactly that day – with a fixed address where you can always find the photo again.
Why this is the core of everything
Everything that came later hangs on this thought: make sources visible, preserve sources, check sources. The virus scanner exists because saved pages have to be safe. Smart links exist because one topic often has many sources. The browser extension exists so that saving takes a single click.
That is why the link system is still the heart of all projects – even though a lot has grown around it since.
And then it started
The first days were anything but glamorous: login, Docker containers, the first subscription plans and an icon that was displayed distorted – all on December 1. How it went on from there is in the post about the first month.