142 lines
No EOL
5.4 KiB
Markdown
142 lines
No EOL
5.4 KiB
Markdown
# TorChat - A completely decentralized P2P chat network operating over Tor
|
||
|
||
<p align="center">
|
||
<a href="https://haveno.com"><img src="https://foss.haveno.com/tor-project/torchat/raw/branch/main/assets/images/torchat-compressed-rounded.png" width=275 /></a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
|
||
----
|
||
|
||
**Decentralized. Private. Undeniable.**
|
||
TorChat is the anti-censorship chat layer for the underground internet. Secure, unstoppable, and anonymous — this is what messaging should’ve always been.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 🌐 Overview
|
||
|
||
TorChat is a fully decentralized, Tor-based messaging protocol and chat client built for total freedom of speech and association.
|
||
There are no servers, no corporate intermediaries, no identity leaks — only encrypted peer-to-peer communication over the Tor network.
|
||
|
||
- ✅ **End-to-End Encryption** (ECC, ECDH + ChaCha20Poly1305)
|
||
- ✅ **gRPC over Onion**: High-performance communication via Tor
|
||
- ✅ **Offline Message Persistence** via trusted forwarders
|
||
- ✅ **Signed Identity Graphs** for trust bootstrapping
|
||
- ✅ **Federated Group Chats** with on-chain moderation rules
|
||
- ✅ **Forward secrecy, metadata protection**, and more...
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 📦 Features
|
||
|
||
| Feature | Status | Description |
|
||
|----------------------------------|-----------|-------------|
|
||
| 🔐 End-to-End Encryption | ✅ | Uses Ed25519 keys and modern AEAD for message security |
|
||
| 🧅 Onion Routed gRPC | ✅ | gRPC over SOCKS5 for strong anonymity and multiplexed streams |
|
||
| 📬 Asynchronous Delivery | 🛠️ | Store-and-forward routing via trusted nodes with spam prevention |
|
||
| 👥 Group Messaging | 🛠️ | Federated group identity, roles, voting, moderation |
|
||
| 🧠 Identity Reputation Layer | 🛠️ | Web-of-trust over signed attestations |
|
||
| 📜 Anti-Spam ZK Proofs | 💡 Idea | Messages must include ZK token to prove identity stake or PoW |
|
||
| 🧩 Modular Plugin System | 💡 Idea | Add bots, bridges (e.g., IRC, XMPP), file sharing, media channels |
|
||
| 💻 Cross-Platform Client | ✅ | Built in Dart/Flutter with native Rust crypto backend |
|
||
| 💾 IPFS-Backed Message Vault | 💡 Idea | Optionally enable message history vaulting in IPFS bundles |
|
||
| ⚙️ Scriptable Automation | 💡 Idea | Autoresponders, programmable agents, trading bots... |
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 🚀 Roadmap
|
||
|
||
### 🔹 Phase 1 – Core Protocol (MVP)
|
||
- [x] Onion-based transport (Tor SOCKS5 support)
|
||
- [x] Peer discovery (via embedded seed node list + gossip)
|
||
- [x] Identity model (Ed25519 keys, signature attestations)
|
||
- [x] Chat session establishment (ECDH, gRPC)
|
||
- [ ] Forwarding protocol for offline delivery
|
||
- [ ] Basic CLI and Flutter-based UI client
|
||
- [ ] Minimal spam prevention via time-locked messaging
|
||
|
||
### 🔸 Phase 2 – Social Layer
|
||
- [ ] Group chat architecture
|
||
- [ ] Group-level moderation: bans, mutes, admin rotation
|
||
- [ ] Identity trust graphs (signed attestations)
|
||
- [ ] Optional profile metadata (bio, avatar, etc.) stored off-chain
|
||
|
||
### 🔻 Phase 3 – Extension & Hardening
|
||
- [ ] Native emoji, file attachments, stickers
|
||
- [ ] Message expiration & disappearing chats
|
||
- [ ] Optional censorship-resistant history via IPFS
|
||
- [ ] “Stealth” mode: make node unreachable except via invite
|
||
|
||
### 🔺 Phase 4 – Plug-in & Monetization
|
||
- [ ] Plugin framework (Rust or Dart)
|
||
- [ ] Bot scripting: p2p trading, atomic swaps, moderation
|
||
- [ ] Integration with Monero-based payments
|
||
- [ ] Tokenless (or optional stake-based) spam control
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 🛠️ Tech Stack
|
||
|
||
- **Frontend:** Flutter (Dart)
|
||
- **Backend Protocol:** gRPC over Tor (SOCKS5 proxy)
|
||
- **Encryption:** Ed25519, ECDH, ChaCha20Poly1305
|
||
- **Persistence:** Dart/Rust hybrid binary
|
||
- **Decentralization:** Tor hidden services, optionally dHT or gossip relay
|
||
- **Identity Model:** Public keys signed by other peers in attestations
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 📁 Project Structure
|
||
|
||
```
|
||
TorChat/
|
||
├── lib/ # Flutter/Dart client
|
||
├── proto/ # gRPC protospecs
|
||
├── rust/ # Rust backend (crypto, networking, etc.)
|
||
├── tor/ # Tor bootstrapping and routing code
|
||
├── seednode/ # Optional seednode bootstrap peer (only required until network consensus is well established)
|
||
└── README.md
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 🔐 Security Philosophy
|
||
|
||
TorChat is designed for real-world censorship resistance.
|
||
That means:
|
||
- Metadata-resistant communication
|
||
- No third-party servers
|
||
- Forward secrecy
|
||
- Optional multi-device support via per-device keys
|
||
- Message padding / traffic obfuscation (future)
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 🌍 Vision
|
||
|
||
We want TorChat to become *the* base layer for p2p chat —
|
||
Something like if **Briar**, **Session**, and **Monero** had a privacy-focused lovechild.
|
||
No app store bans. No governments blocking traffic. No KYC. Just pure encrypted messages flying across an anonymous mesh of nodes.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 🤝 Get Involved
|
||
|
||
- Open a [discussion](https://foss.haveno.com/haveno-network/haveno-core/discussions)
|
||
- Submit issues or ideas
|
||
- Contribute to the protocol spec or write plugins
|
||
- Help us build bridges to other networks
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## 🧠 Inspired by
|
||
|
||
- [Tor Project](https://www.torproject.org/)
|
||
- [Monero](https://www.getmonero.org/)
|
||
- [Haveno](https://haveno.com)
|
||
- [Session](https://getsession.org/)
|
||
- [Nym](https://nymtech.net/)
|
||
- [Matrix](https://matrix.org/)
|
||
- [Briar](https://briarproject.org/)
|
||
|
||
## 📜 License
|
||
|
||
AGPLv3+ — because freedom is viral. |