BlueLearn
MISSION Three phases to free knowledge →

Free knowledge, structured from the ground up.

BlueLearn is a nonprofit, open-source platform where every concept maps to its prerequisites. Community-written, expert-verified*, and free forever.

How it works View on GitHub

Overview

See BlueLearn in 23 minutes.

What we're building, why open-source and nonprofit, and how the prerequisite graph changes how you read a concept page.

Heads up: Some details (org name, social handles, roadmap dates) have changed since this video was recorded. See the latest roadmap →
The Problem

Knowledge has been organized for a long time. Just not for you.

01

Executive Compensation

A nonprofit testing org that pays its executives like a Wall Street bank.

Officer Role Total Comp
David ColemanCEO$2,524,890
Jeremy SingerCOO$1,287,491
Stefanie SanfordChief, Global Policy$1,098,217
Peter SchwartzSVP General Counsel$988,344
Trevor PackerSVP AP & Instruction$842,761

Source: College Board IRS Form 990, FY ending June 30, 2022. $1.17B total revenue.

02

Textbook Pricing

College textbook prices rose more than three times faster than general inflation.

Textbooks
+1,041%
Tuition
+500%
Medical
+478%
New homes
+325%
CPI (Inflation)
+308%

Source: U.S. BLS 1977–2015.

03

Paywall Economy

The researcher is unpaid. The peer reviewer is unpaid. The reader pays anyway.

37% Elsevier operating margin
$3.4B RELX STM 2023 revenue
$31.50 To read one paywalled paper for 24 hours
04

Missing Structure

The parts that are free are not built to teach you anything comprehensively.

Platform What it does What it doesn't
Wikipedia Reference isolated facts Map learning pathways
YouTube Engage conceptually Ensure prerequisite knowledge
Khan Academy Standardized k-12 tracks Allow open community editing
Coursera / edX University certification Be free or atomic
Kiwix Offline access delivery Restructure the content

Take full control of how you learn

Built for learners, loved by contributors.

Concept previews. The screens paired with each step below are mockups — the live UI will look different.
01

Concept-first articles

No sprawling chapters. One concept per page, with prerequisites and follow-ons declared up front.

02

A prerequisite graph

Every concept declares exactly what you need to know first. Hit a term you don't know and the platform offers the prerequisite immediately.

03

Open contribution

PRs for code. In-app editor for lessons. No markdown required. Edit history is public either way.

04

Expert verification*

Credentialed contributors carry a visible badge and can verify contributions to mark them as correct. The community votes; the clearest correct version rises to the top.

* Verification is optional. Lesson edits publish without it — verification is the signal that a domain expert has reviewed the page for correctness, not a barrier to publish.

bluelearn.org/concept/calculus
Concept

Calculus

~12 min read 3 prereqs Verified

Prerequisites

  • Arithmetic
  • Algebra
  • Limits

Calculus is the mathematical study of continuous change. Two major branches: differential and integral.

d/dx[f(x)] = limh→0 [f(x+h)−f(x)]/h

Differential calculus concerns instantaneous rates of change and the slopes of curves.

bluelearn.org/graph/calculus

Prerequisite map for

Calculus

7 nodes · 2 hops
Prerequisite map for Calculus: arithmetic, functions, and geometry feed into algebra and limits, which feed into calculus
bluelearn.org/concept/calculus/edit
Draft Editing: Calculus

Calculus relies on the notion of a limit.

A limit is the value a function approaches as its input gets arbitrarily close to a point. edited

Formally: limx → a f(x) = L.

Prereqs: limits algebra
Auto-saved 2s ago 14 edits this week
bluelearn.org/concept/calculus/verification
Verified

Reviewed by 3 domain experts

Calculus · last reviewed 2d ago · illustrative reviewers

Reviewer A

Mathematics, Stanford · 2,300 reviews

"Clear, accurate intro. Limits section worth a 2-line expansion."

Approve
Reviewer B

Applied Math, MIT · 980 reviews

"Prereq graph is correct. Approves as-is."

Approve
Reviewer C

Mathematics Education, UC Berkeley · 540 reviews

"Reads well at beginner depth. Suggests one example."

Suggest

Not just articles. Every concept page exposes its prerequisites, builds-toward edges, and reading depth — so you can stop guessing what to learn next.

Atomic. One page covers one idea.

Open. Every change ships as a public PR.

Verified. Domain experts sign off before merge.

Free forever. No paywall. No tiers. No ads on core content. Licensed in public under AGPL-3.0 + CC BY-SA 4.0.

Contribution & Verification

Open to everyone. Reviewed at every step.

Step 01

Open a PR

Step 02

Automated checks

Step 03

Domain review

Step 04

Security review

Step 05

Merge & attribute

Knowledge as code

Built on tools anyone can read on day one.

No proprietary frameworks. The stack is chosen so any contributor can be productive without a week of onboarding.

// routes/concept.$slug.tsx
import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query'
import { Route } from './route'

const { slug } = Route.useParams()
const { data: node } = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['concept', slug],
  queryFn: () => api.getConcept(slug),
})

Frontend. React + TypeScript on TanStack Router & Query. shadcn/ui on Tailwind. Type-safe routes, cache-aware data. 

// src/routes/prereqs.rs (actix-web)
#[get("/prereqs/{id}")]
async fn prereqs(id: web::Path<String>)
    -> Result<web::Json<Prereqs>> {
  let p = walk_graph(&id).await?;
  Ok(web::Json(p))
}

Backend. Rust on actix-web for graph traversal; Python on FastAPI for editorial pipelines. Memory-safe and fast where it matters.

guide_edges table feeding a small directed acyclic graph: arithmetic + limits feed into algebra; algebra and limits feed into calculus

Storage. PostgreSQL holds the typed guide_edges DAG — recursive CTEs walk prereqs in a single query. Redis caches hot paths.

Layer Tech Why
Frontend React · TanStack Router/Query · shadcn/ui Type-safe routing with a cache-aware data layer.
Graph API Rust · actix-web Memory-safe, fast traversal of the prerequisite DAG.
Service API Python · FastAPI Editorial pipelines, batch jobs, integrations.
Database PostgreSQL Relational integrity for the graph and user edits.
Cache Redis Hot prerequisite paths, session state.
Knowledge graph guide_edges + recursive CTE Deep prerequisite walks in one round-trip.
Repository Public monorepo · AGPL-3.0 Familiar PR workflow for editorial review.

Phase 3 R&D

We're also exploring decentralized verification — bonus skills, not requirements.

SUI Move Walrus

Three phases. One graph.

Phase 1 (Active)

The Core

Building the structural foundation and initial knowledge taxonomy.

  • Data model execution
  • Basic UI rendering
  • Community seeding
Phase 2 (Next)

Universal Access

Localization and widening the editorial pipeline.

  • i18n structure
  • Expert verification tools
  • API formalization
Phase 3 (Future)

Decentralization

Ensuring the graph relies on no single organization.

  • Protocol extraction
  • Self-hosting packages
  • Independent mirrors
Manifesto

Free knowledge is infrastructure, not a product.

Read the BlueLearn manifesto →
1,000+ Discord community members
Phase 1 Of 3 active right now
AGPL Derivatives stay open

Join our open source community

~1,000 members on Discord. PRs welcome. Help build the prerequisite graph.

Join Discord View on GitHub

Phase 1 is open.

All code is too.

Read it. Build it. Share it. AGPL-3.0 — derivatives stay open.

AGPL-3.0 CC BY-SA 4.0 501(c)(3) PENDING
Contribute on GitHub → Join Discord →

"Encyclopedias tell you what something is. BlueLearn shows you what you need to know first."

Founding contributor

BlueLearn Project

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