March 19, 2026
Forks, QUICs, and weekend tinkering
Noq: n0's new QUIC implementation in Rust
Bold fork has builders hyped as n0 “ships before the ink dries”
TLDR: n0 launched noq, a new Rust-based QUIC engine that makes multi-route connections and router-busting easier, powering iroh today. Commenters are wowed by the timing with a just-published standard, applaud the respectful fork from Quinn, and are already planning weekend builds—this could make fast, private apps simpler to ship
The internet’s most polite breakup just happened: the iroh team at n0 hard-forked their old networking base, Quinn, to launch noq — a fresh take on QUIC, the modern web tech that moves data fast. Instead of hiding tricks under the hood, noq makes “multi-route” connections a first-class idea, so your app can pick the fastest path (direct or via a helper server) and punch through home routers more reliably. Fans are calling it cleaner, faster, and frankly gutsy. One commenter even celebrated the surprisingly civil tone in the forking thread, praising the polite breakup energy.
Then came the spit-take: the official “multipath” rulebook for QUIC apparently landed right as noq did — cue gasps of “shipped before the ink dried!” Some see it as swagger; others, a speedrun. Meanwhile, builders are buzzing. A frequent user shouted out n0’s handy sendme tool, and maker-types are plotting weekend projects from zero-config remote access to full-blown overlay networks. The vibe? They’re cooking. If there’s drama, it’s the “fork wars” that never were: commenters keep stressing this isn’t a messy divorce, just different goals, with hopes the two camps still collaborate. Translation for non-nerds: faster, easier connections for apps you actually want to use — and a community itching to tinker
Key Points
- •n0 launched noq, a general-purpose QUIC implementation with multipath and NAT traversal, powering iroh since v0.96.
- •The team moved from a soft fork of Quinn to a hard fork to enable structural changes suited to iroh’s needs while maintaining collaborative intent.
- •noq implements the QUIC Multipath spec, making relay and direct IPv4/IPv6/UDP paths first-class QUIC paths with per-path congestion state.
- •noq includes an interpretation of the QUIC NAT traversal draft, implementing QUIC-level hole-punching and improved loss detection, tested across many iroh devices.
- •iroh has used QUIC Address Discovery (QAD) since v0.32 to learn public IPs via encrypted QUIC, replacing STUN and improving privacy and ossification resistance.