Adding Tools
A fresh group is an empty space. You make it useful by adding tools. Tools are the apps you run inside a group — chat, documents, task boards, calendars, and so on.
🚧 Screenshots coming soon.
The Tool Library
Moss ships with one or more Tool Libraries — curated collections of tools you can browse and install. Any member of the group can install a tool from a library the group has access to.
You can browse the main Moss tool library online at moss.social/tools to see what's available before installing anything.
Installing a tool
- Open the group.
- Click Add Tool (or the equivalent "+" in the group's tool bar).
- Browse the library and pick a tool.
- Give the instance a name. You can have multiple instances of the same tool in a group — e.g. two separate KanBan boards — and each gets its own name.
- Install. Moss sets up the tool's network and UI for this group.
How tool instances work
- Each tool instance is its own private peer-to-peer network, scoped to this group.
- Members of the group can join tool instances. When someone else installs a tool that already exists in the group, they can join the existing instance rather than creating a new one.
- Uninstalling a tool removes it from your device. Other members' copies are unaffected.
Composing tools
This is where the Weave Interaction Pattern earns its keep: tools can link to each other's content. A chat message can reference a specific document. A task card can point at a calendar event. A dashboard can embed blocks from multiple tools.
Not every tool supports every kind of link. What's possible depends on the tools the group has installed and what they expose.
Updating tools
Tools have their own versions. When a new version of a tool is published, the group can choose to update. Updates are coordinated so that members stay compatible with each other.
Next
You now have the basics: a group, members, and tools. Explore the developer documentation if you want to build your own tool, or check moss.social for news and community.