# Huddle
Terminal-native, end-to-end-encrypted chat rooms over Tor.
Open the TUI, start a room or paste an invite, and chat. Rooms can be
public (cleartext payloads) or encrypted (per-sender Megolm group
sessions, session keys wrapped with an Argon2id-derived passphrase
key). Either way the transport is end-to-end: the relay only ever sees
ciphertext.
**huddle 1.0 runs LAN discovery and the relay together by default — no
mode switch.** Friends on the same network connect directly over libp2p
(mDNS); everyone else is reached through a self-hostable relay
(`crates/huddle-server`). Each message rides whichever path reaches the
peer, and the per-chat header shows which (`via lan` / `via relay`). The
relay is a dumb encrypted router + offline mailbox — it never holds keys
and never decrypts.
**The relay has several "doors", each a different anti-censorship
tradeoff** (run `huddle transports` to see them): a Tor v3 **onion** via
your system Tor (most private, the default); the same onion via a private
**obfs4/WebTunnel bridge** (for networks that block Tor); an in-process
**Arti** onion (with `--features arti`); and **clearnet** `ws://`/`wss://`
straight to a raw IP (fast, for VPN users or where Tor is fully blocked —
the relay sees your IP, but messages stay end-to-end encrypted). The same
`huddle-server` process can be exposed as an onion **and** on a public IP
at once, so all doors share one set of rooms + mailboxes. Pick a door with
`--transport <id>`, set an order with `--transport-order`, or point at a
clearnet relay with `--clearnet-server ws://<ip>:<port>/ws`.
**Contacts** are a durable, fingerprint-keyed address book — keyed by
identity, not by an ephemeral LAN address — so a conversation keeps
working after a peer leaves the LAN. `a` adds a contact by HD-ID; over the
relay this reaches them across the internet (live or via the mailbox), and
they accept from the Contacts pane to open a DM. DMs persist across
restarts and keep flowing over the relay.
> **Tor is optional now.** LAN works with no Tor at all, and a clearnet
> relay door needs no Tor either. The onion doors do need a local Tor
> daemon (SOCKS5 on `127.0.0.1:9050`; override with `--tor-socks`). On
> Debian/Ubuntu: `apt install tor && systemctl enable --now tor`. If Tor
> is down, huddle falls through to the next available door.
> **This is a learning project, not production-audited chat.**
> SQLCipher protects the database at rest under your master passphrase,
> Megolm sessions are persisted with an Argon2id-derived key, file
> bytes use ChaCha20-Poly1305, and SAS contact verification ships in
> v0.3 — but the protocol has not been audited and threat-modelling
> work is ongoing. Don't rely on it for real secrets without a
> careful review.
## Build
Requires Rust 1.75+ (edition 2021).
```bash
cargo build --release
./target/release/huddle
```
## How it works (high level)
1. **Launch** — your Ed25519 identity loads (or generates) from disk
silently. The TUI opens on the **Welcome** pane with the sidebar
on the left. huddle connects to the Tor onion relay in the
background (the relay dot `●` next to your name turns solid once
the link is up). With `--mode mdns`/`--mode direct` a libp2p swarm also starts
for LAN discovery / direct dial alongside the relay.
2. **First launch only** — a versioned onboarding card explains
huddle's leaderless model (rooms outlive the creator), the master
passphrase vs room passphrase distinction, the sidebar layout, and
the new keybindings.
3. **Direct messages** — press `m`, type a partner's HD-ID or
username, hit `Enter`. The DM appears in the **Direct messages**
section of the sidebar on both peers. DMs are end-to-end encrypted
on the room layer via an ECDH derivation between the two parties'
identity keys (huddle 0.7.1+).
4. **Group rooms** — press `g` to create a multi-peer room. Pick a
name, choose public or encrypted (and a passphrase if encrypted).
You become the room's first *owner*; only owners can kick, grant
moderation, or rotate the room key. Discovered rooms you haven't
joined appear under the **Discover** sub-row in the sidebar.
5. **Inbound dial gate** — if someone you don't know dials you, the
TUI raises an Accept / Reject / Trust+Accept modal. The peer isn't
added to your gossipsub mesh until you decide.
6. **Chat, verify, moderate** — see the [Key bindings](#key-bindings)
tables for SAS verification (`Ctrl+V → s`), kick (`Ctrl+K`), grant
owner (`Ctrl+G`), invite links (`Shift+I`), join codes (`Ctrl+J` /
`c`), and verified-only-mode toggles (Settings pane, `o` per room).
## TUI layout
```
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ▾ Profile | # general |
| alice HD-AAAA-… ● | 4 members · encrypted |
| ▾ Direct messages (2) | |
| ● bob 1m (1) | 12:32 bob hey |
| ○ dave offline | 12:33 carol ✓ same here |
| ▾ Group rooms (1) | 12:34 you looks good |
| # general 4 E | |
| + Discover (2) | |
| ▾ People | |
| eve HD-EEEE-… ✓ | > _ |
| ▸ Activity | |
| ▸ Settings | |
+------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| ?help /type ^V verify ^F search ^A attach ^L leave ^I members |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
```
Six sidebar sections, top-to-bottom: **Profile** (you), **Direct
messages**, **Group rooms** (with a Discover row), **People** (known +
verified + blocked), **Activity** (status history + transfers),
**Settings** (toggles + go-dark). `j/k` moves the cursor; `Tab` /
`Shift+Tab` jumps between sections; `Space` / `→` / `←` toggles
expand. `Enter` opens the selection in the right-hand pane. `Esc`
focuses the sidebar from a chat pane.
## Key bindings
Single source of truth: `crates/huddle/src/keybindings.rs`. The Help
modal (`?`) renders the same table at runtime, so it can never drift
from the actual key map.
### Global (any pane, no modal open)
| `?` | Help |
| `:` or `Ctrl+P` | Command palette — fuzzy search every action |
| `Ctrl+H` | Notification history (last 100 status events) |
| `Shift+←` / `Shift+→`| Focus sidebar / pane (tmux-style) |
| `Esc` | Close modal / blur input / focus sidebar |
| `q` / `Ctrl+C` | Quit (confirms first) |
> **About the focus-jump binding (huddle 0.7.3+):** `Shift+←` /
> `Shift+→` toggle keyboard focus between the sidebar and the pane,
> including while typing in chat input. Shift+arrows are unclaimed at
> OS and terminal level on macOS, Linux, and Windows — no Mission
> Control / Spaces conflict. (0.7.2 briefly used `Ctrl+←` / `Ctrl+→`
> but those collide with macOS's Move-between-Spaces shortcut.)
### Sidebar / non-chat panes
| `m` | Start a DM (Compose-DM modal) |
| `g` | Start a group room |
| `p` | Jump to the People pane |
| `,` | Jump to the Settings pane |
| `a` | Add friend by HD ID or username |
| `d` | Dial a peer by multiaddr or `ip:port` |
| `i` | Show your identity as a QR code |
| `Shift+I` | Generate an invite link (peer-only, or room-scoped from a chat pane) |
| `v` | Paste an invite link (`huddle://invite#…`) |
| `c` | Join with code (when an encrypted group is selected) |
| `j` / `k` / arrows | Move sidebar cursor |
| `Tab` / `Shift+Tab`| Jump to next / prev sidebar section |
| `Space` / `→` / `←`| Toggle section expand |
| `Enter` | Open the selected row |
| `r` | Refresh / reconnect (context-sensitive) |
| `x` | Forget the selected peer |
| `R` (Shift+r) | Mark every room read |
### Chat pane (DM or Group)
| `/` | Focus input |
| `Enter` | Send |
| `Alt+Enter` / `Ctrl+J` | Newline in input |
| `Esc` | Blur input (or focus sidebar) |
| `Ctrl+V` | Verify partner / member (SAS) |
| `Ctrl+F` | Search this room's history |
| `Ctrl+A` | Attach a file |
| `Ctrl+L` | Leave the room |
| `j` / `k` | Scroll messages (input blurred) |
| `g` / `G` | Scroll to top / bottom |
| `PageUp` / `PageDown` | Scroll a page |
| `f` | Focus file cards (`j/k` steps) |
### Group pane only
| `Ctrl+I` | Toggle the right-margin member list |
| `Ctrl+K` | Kick a member (owners only) |
| `Ctrl+G` | Grant owner role (owners only) |
| `Ctrl+R` | Rotate the room key (owners only) |
| `Ctrl+J` | Generate a single-use join code (owners) |
| `Ctrl+M` | Mute / unmute this room |
| `Ctrl+O` | Per-room verified-only-join toggle |
| `Shift+B` | List bans for this room (owners) |
### Settings pane (or Settings modal)
| `V` | Toggle "reject inbound from unverified" |
| `U` | Toggle the crates.io update check (opt-in) |
| `E` | Edit your username |
| `W` | Replay onboarding (what's new) |
| `B` | Manage blocked peers |
| `Alt+Shift+1` (Option+Shift+1 on macOS) | Delete account (go dark) — passphrase-gated |
## Username & ID display (huddle 0.5)
Every peer has a 96-bit fingerprint rendered as a branded
`HD-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX` ID. Same security as before, just a
friendlier format. The Profile pane (sidebar's top section) shows yours.
Set an optional username from the Profile or Settings pane (`E`). The username is
broadcast in a *signed* `ProfileUpdate` event — peers receiving it
verify the Ed25519 signature against the claimed fingerprint, so
nobody can spoof "alice" by stuffing a string into a packet. If you
clear the field (empty input), you broadcast as `[anonymous]`.
In chat, your message label shows the username (or `[anonymous]`).
SAS-verified peers also get a green `✓` next to their name in chat,
matching the existing badge in the room member list.
## Add friend by HD ID or username (huddle 0.5.1+)
Press `a` from the sidebar to open the add-friend modal. Takes either:
- an `HD-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX` ID (or the bare 24-hex form
with/without dashes — normalized internally),
- or a username string (unique-match lookup in `peer_profiles`).
Resolution: huddle looks the fingerprint up across recent room
announcements (`creator_fingerprint` + `host_addrs`) and the persisted
`known_peers` table. Every candidate multiaddr is then handed to libp2p
as a single `DialOpts::peer_id().addresses()` call — the swarm **races
them in parallel** (huddle 0.5.2+) and the first to complete wins. The
client also pre-sorts by transport preference (RFC1918 LAN ip4 →
loopback → public ip4 → ip6 / dns → `/p2p-circuit`) so when latencies
are close the LAN slot starts first. mDNS-discovered peers don't need
this path at all — they show up in the sidebar's People section
automatically.
The privacy trade-off worth knowing about: this works only for peers
you've **already seen on a shared gossipsub mesh** — same LAN, a relay
you both connect to, or a prior dial. There's deliberately no central
"add by ID" directory; cold-start strangers must pass an invite link
out-of-band first. Adding a directory (DHT, rendezvous server, central
service) would either centralize the architecture or leak lookup
metadata to bootstrap nodes — both fail the "trusted relay, absolute
privacy" goal huddle's built around.
## SAS verification
Both peers select each other in the Verify modal (`^V`), one presses
`s` to start. Each generates an ephemeral X25519 keypair, exchanges
pubkeys via signed envelopes, and derives a shared secret via ECDH.
HKDF produces a Matrix MSC 2241-aligned 7-symbol + three-4-digit-group
decimal code. The TUI shows the symbols as their **English words**
(dog, cat, lion, … — emoji-free) plus the decimal; both peers compare
OOB (call/SMS/in-person) and press
`m` to match. A MITM substituting an ephemeral key gets a different
SAS code on each side — the OOB comparison catches it.
On match, the partner's fingerprint is marked verified (per-room +
global). With the global "verified-only inbound" toggle on (Settings
pane, `V`), unverified inbound dials auto-reject without prompting.
## Invite links
Press `Shift+I` to generate an invite. From a chat pane the invite
includes the current room; from anywhere else it's peer-only. The TUI
shows a `huddle://invite#<base64-JSON>` URL plus a QR. The base64 JSON
carries the host multiaddr (with `/p2p/<peer-id>` so libp2p enforces
the peer-id check on dial), the human-display fingerprint, and an
optional room summary.
Paste an invite from the sidebar with `v`. The TUI confirms the
claimed fingerprint and dials. After dial, the post-dial
fingerprint check (added in 0.3.x) re-derives the peer's fingerprint
from their Ed25519 pubkey on Identify and disconnects if it doesn't
match the invite's claim — defense in depth, since libp2p's
`/p2p/<peer-id>` already enforces the cryptographic match.
If the invite includes an encrypted room, you're prompted for the
passphrase next.
## Owners, kick, ban
The room's creator is the first owner; owners can grant the role to
others (`Ctrl+G`) or kick (`Ctrl+K`). Kick = signed `BanMember` broadcast +
immediate `RotateRoomKey` with a freshly-generated passphrase
(displayed to the owner for OOB re-share with the remaining members).
The banned peer still receives gossipsub bytes but can't decrypt the
new outbound session key. Honest peers honour the ban (drop their
messages); cryptographic enforcement is the key rotation, not the
ban row itself. **Soft owner model — kick is not a hard network
quarantine.**
`B` (Shift+b) lists the bans for the current room.
## Internet reach
By default huddle uses LAN mDNS only. To accept dials across the
internet, register with a Circuit Relay v2 host:
```bash
huddle --relay /dns4/relay.example.com/tcp/4001/p2p/12D3Koo...
```
…or persist in `config.toml`:
```toml
# macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/huddle/config.toml
# Linux: ~/.config/huddle/config.toml
# Windows: %APPDATA%\huddle\config.toml
relays = [
"/dns4/relay.example.com/tcp/4001/p2p/12D3Koo...",
]
```
CLI flags override the config file. No relays are configured by
default — you pick one explicitly. AutoNAT v2 probes test your
reachability against the connected peer pool; DCUtR attempts a
hole-punch upgrade to a direct connection whenever a relayed
connection forms. When libp2p is enabled the Profile pane / sidebar
badge shows the current state (`reachable` / `LAN only` / `detecting…`).
Room announcements optionally carry a `host_addrs` field with up to 4
of the announcer's reachable addresses (relay-circuit and
AutoNAT-confirmed external). Peers receiving an announcement they
have no direct connection for will opportunistically dial the first
listed address (rate-limited per announcer). This lets cross-internet
peers bootstrap without invite links.
## Join codes (read-only joiners)
Owners press `Ctrl+J` in a Group pane to generate a single-use,
10-minute `XXXX-XXXX` code. The owner shares it OOB. The joiner
selects the encrypted group in the sidebar and presses `c` to enter
the code. The joiner's TUI generates an ephemeral X25519 keypair,
broadcasts a signed `CodeJoinRequest`, and waits for the owner's
`CodeJoinResponse` (which wraps the room's session key under an
ECDH-derived key). If no response arrives within 30 s, the TUI
surfaces a timeout error — usually meaning the code was wrong or
expired.
Code-joined members are **read-only**: they can read and send, but
without the passphrase they can't wrap session keys for newer
joiners. The Group pane header renders `(read-only)` next to the
encryption marker. To upgrade, an owner can re-onboard them with the
actual passphrase.
## Go dark — irreversible account deletion (huddle 0.5)
Press `Alt+Shift+1` (the Option key on macOS — same physical key) from
anywhere — or use the labeled row on the Settings pane — to open the
**go dark** modal. Single-field gate (huddle 0.7.6+):
- If you have a **master passphrase**, that's the gate — re-derived
via Argon2id and constant-time compared to the in-memory SQLCipher
subkey. Wrong passphrase clears the field and shows an inline error.
- In `--no-master-passphrase` sessions (no key to compare against),
type the literal phrase `DELETE EVERYTHING` (case sensitive) instead.
On confirm, huddle:
- best-effort `MemberLeave`s every joined room (2-second cap so a
flapping transport can't hang the wipe),
- shuts down the network task,
- zeroes-then-deletes `huddle.db`, `huddle.db-shm`, `huddle.db-wal`,
`keychain.salt`, `huddle.log` (and any rotated logs), and
`config.toml` from the data dir,
- removes the now-empty data dir, and
- shows a brief goodbye modal before exiting.
There is no recovery. Restarting huddle after a go-dark generates a
fresh identity from scratch.
## Architecture
```
huddle/
huddle-core library: rooms, crypto, network, storage
huddle terminal UI (the only frontend)
```
**Networking** — libp2p 0.56 with TCP+Noise+Yamux transport, mDNS for
LAN discovery, gossipsub for both global room advertisement and
per-room message broadcast, identify, ping, request-response,
Circuit Relay v2 client, AutoNAT v2 (client + server), DCUtR. Mesh
topology — every member of a room receives every message; there's no
"host" with special powers, and rooms survive the original creator
leaving (as long as someone else is in them). The owner role is
client-enforced state, not a network-level privilege.
**Encryption** — vodozemac Megolm group sessions (one outbound per
peer). For group rooms entered via passphrase, you wrap your session
key with ChaCha20-Poly1305 under an Argon2id key derived from
`(passphrase, salt)` and broadcast that for every existing member to
pick up. For group rooms entered via code, ECDH between owner and
joiner gives a wrap key that delivers only the owner's session — the
joiner's own outbound goes unwrapped. For DMs (huddle 0.7.1+), the
wrap key comes from an Ed25519→X25519 ECDH between the two parties'
identity keys, expanded with HKDF-SHA256 bound to the canonical room
ID — both peers independently derive the same 32-byte wrap key.
**App-level signing** — every protocol message whose authenticity
matters (`OwnerGrant`, `BanMember`, `RotateRoomKey`, SAS handshake,
`CodeJoinRequest/Response`, `JoinRefused`) is wrapped in a
`SignedRoomMessage` Ed25519 envelope. Receivers verify the signature,
re-derive the fingerprint from the envelope's pubkey, and gate on
both `verified_signer.is_some()` and (where applicable) signer-is-owner.
**Identity** — Ed25519 keypair stored under your platform's data
directory. Fingerprint format: six groups of four hex chars
(`a3b1-c2d4-e5f6-7890-1234-abcd`).
**Storage** — SQLCipher (rusqlite + bundled SQLCipher + vendored
OpenSSL). On launch you enter a master passphrase; it's stretched
with Argon2id (m=64 MiB, t=3, p=4) against a per-installation salt
and used as `PRAGMA key`, plus an HKDF subkey replaces the older
hardcoded Megolm persistence key. Tables include `identity`,
`rooms` (with `kind` ∈ {`direct`, `group`}), `room_members` (with
`role`, `ed25519_pubkey`), `room_megolm_sessions`, `room_messages`,
`room_attachments`, `known_peers` (with `fingerprint`, `trusted`),
`blocked_peers`, `room_bans`, `verified_peers`, `peer_profiles`
(self-declared usernames, signed at the wire layer), `app_settings`.
Migrations are additive only and tracked via `PRAGMA user_version`.
Pass `--no-master-passphrase` to fall back to an unencrypted database
for testing.
**File attachments** — `Ctrl+A` opens a local file picker; selected
files are SHA-256-hashed, chunked into 64 KiB pieces, and broadcast
over the room's gossipsub topic with a `FileOffer` + N `FileChunk`
messages. In encrypted rooms (DM or group) the bytes are
ChaCha20-Poly1305-encrypted with a fresh file key that's
Megolm-wrapped in the offer. Receivers see a focusable file card in
chat — press `f` to enter card mode, `j/k` to step, Enter to save to
your platform's Downloads folder. Phase 2 cap is 1 MiB per file.
## Operator notes
- The first launch creates `<data_dir>/keychain.salt`. Don't move or
delete it without your passphrase backed up — losing it forces a
re-derive that won't unlock the existing DB.
- `--no-master-passphrase` opens an unencrypted DB. Testing only.
- `--relay <multiaddr>` (repeatable) registers a circuit-relay
reservation. The relay's identify response is the cue to start
listening on `<relay>/p2p-circuit`.
- `--no-relay` ignores any relays in `config.toml` for this run.
## Current limitations
- LAN-only by default. Cross-network use needs a configured relay
(Phase D), an invite link with a public multiaddr, or a manual
`d` dial to a port-forwarded `ip:port`.
- Code-joined members are read-only — they don't have the passphrase
and can't onboard further members.
- Kick / ban are honest-client-enforced at the gossipsub layer; the
cryptographic teeth come from the key rotation that follows.
- File transfer is capped at 1 MiB per file (Phase 2). Larger files
defer to a dedicated libp2p stream protocol (planned).
- mDNS may not work on some corporate / restricted networks.
- Verified-only inbound mode trusts SAS-verified + previously-trusted
fingerprints. Don't enable it before you've verified at least one
peer you can re-bootstrap from.
- The SAS emoji table follows Matrix MSC 2241 for future cross-client
compatibility but is not yet interop-tested against any other client.
- DM end-to-end encryption (huddle 0.7.1) re-derives the room wrap key
from both peers' long-term Ed25519 identity keys via X25519 ECDH —
it lacks forward secrecy at the room-key layer. A future identity-
key compromise unlocks historical DM session keys between those
two parties (Megolm message keys still ratchet, but the wrap key
doesn't). Per-DM ephemeral ratchets (Double Ratchet-style) are a
candidate follow-up.
## What's new in 1.0.0 — one app, every network, every door
A big one. huddle stops being "relay-only OR libp2p-only" and becomes a
single E2EE core with both carriers on by default, a durable contact book,
and a menu of anti-censorship transports onto the relay.
- **LAN + relay on by default — no mode switch.** The startup mode now
resolves to libp2p mDNS (LAN) running *alongside* the relay; the
Settings LAN toggle picks mDNS vs direct on the next launch, and
`--mode` still overrides. Pure-relay (`--mode server`) and no-libp2p
setups are still available, but you no longer choose between "nearby"
and "internet" — you get both. LAN works even with Tor down.
- **Contacts — a durable, fingerprint-keyed address book.** A new
`contacts` table keyed by the stable identity (not an ephemeral libp2p
multiaddr) is the link that lets two people keep chatting after they
leave the LAN: the relay routes by fingerprint/room, so the DM keeps
working. The People pane is now **Contacts**; `list_contacts()` joins
the book with derived username / verified / trusted / reachability.
- **"Add by HD-ID" works over the internet.** Each client subscribes to a
private relay **inbox** (`inbox:<hash(fingerprint)>` — the relay never
sees the raw fingerprint, and stores no contact graph). `a` sends a
signed `ContactRequest` there; the recipient sees it in the Contacts
pane's **Requests** tab and accepts to open a DM. An echo-back makes
both sides converge over the relay. **No `huddle-server` change** — it's
a pure client convention over the existing protocol.
- **DMs persist across restarts.** Pre-1.0, DMs (always encrypted) were
parked as "restorable" on restart and silently dropped relay-delivered
messages until reopened. Now DMs re-activate automatically at startup
(their key derives from your identity + the partner's stored pubkey, no
passphrase), so a conversation keeps flowing.
- **Transport "doors" onto the relay (anti-censorship).** `huddle
transports` lists every door with its privacy tradeoff and whether it's
usable: **onion via system Tor** (default, most private), **onion via a
private obfs4/WebTunnel bridge** (for blocked-Tor networks), **onion via
in-process Arti** (`--features arti`), and **clearnet `wss://` / `ws://`
to a raw IP** (fast; the relay sees your IP, content stays E2E). The app
tries them in a fallback order (most private first) or a pinned one
(`--transport`). One `huddle-server` can serve an onion **and** a
clearnet IP simultaneously — same rooms, same mailboxes. New flags:
`--clearnet-server`, `--transport`, `--transport-order`, `--tor-bridge`.
- **Per-chat transport indicator.** Every DM/group header shows whether
it's currently reaching peers `via lan`, `via relay`, or is `offline` —
status only, no manual switch, so the security context is always
legible. Settings → Network lists the doors + marks the active one.
- **Clearnet relay needs no domain.** A raw-IP `ws://<ip>:<port>/ws` relay
works with zero extra setup (bind `huddle-server` to `0.0.0.0`, open the
port). `wss://` (TLS) adds transport encryption via a real cert (a free
subdomain + Caddy/Let's Encrypt, or Cloudflare Tunnel). This is the fast
lane a VPN user can take when they can't bootstrap Tor.
## What's new in 0.7.12 — self-review follow-ups to the 0.7.11 audit pass
A short follow-up after independent self-review of the 0.7.11 release
caught three issues:
- **Notification focus-default trade-off.** 0.7.11 flipped the
"haven't observed a focus event yet" default from `false` (always
notify) to `true` (assume focused, suppress). That fixed the
audit's spam complaint for tmux-without-focus-events but caused
the opposite regression for the same cohort — they got zero
notifications instead of all of them. 0.7.12 splits the
difference: assume focused during a 5-second startup grace
window, then if no `FocusGained` / `FocusLost` has ever fired,
fall back to `false` (always notify). Terminals that DO speak
focus events behave normally throughout.
- **`RelayReservationLost` was dead-wired.** 0.7.11 declared the
variant and a consumer in `app/mod.rs`, but libp2p 0.56's
`relay::client::Event` doesn't expose a `ReservationReqFailed`
arm we can match on, so the producer never emitted it. 0.7.12
removes the dead variant and consumer rather than ship code
that's silently unreachable. Reservation loss currently manifests
as the next AutoNAT probe flipping to "private" once the circuit
drops; a future health-check timer can re-introduce a dedicated
signal when libp2p's API supports it.
- **SAS code incompatibility documented.** 0.7.11's rejection
sampler is correct, but it produces different emoji codes than
0.7.10's `mod 49` derivation in ~84% of pairings. A 0.7.11↔0.7.10
SAS verification will silently fail to match. This is a deliberate
break (the new derivation is uniformly distributed; the old one
wasn't), but it wasn't called out in the 0.7.11 notes. Both ends
need to be on 0.7.11+ for SAS to succeed.
## What's new in 0.7.11 — security + UX hardening pass
A wide audit pass on top of the 0.7.10 follow-up. The wire protocol,
authorization gates, panic surface, modal handling, notifier, storage,
clipboard, and SAS derivation all got tightened. **Wire compat with
0.7.10 and earlier is broken on purpose** — signed envelopes now carry
a timestamp and several previously-plain messages now require a
signature. The trade was deliberate: the 0.7.10 line had a few silent
authentication failures that the audit caught.
### Wire protocol
- `MemberLeave`, `MemberAnnounce`, and `FileOffer` must now arrive
inside a `SignedRoomMessage` whose signer matches the claimed
sender. Pre-0.7.11 these were plain, so any peer subscribed to a
room topic could spoof another member's leave (evicting them from
honest rosters) or pin a fabricated Ed25519 pubkey under a victim's
fingerprint via a TOFU race.
- `SignedRoomMessage` gained a `signed_at_ms` field. The verifier
rejects envelopes outside a ±5 min window — closing the indefinite
replay of captured `BanMember` / `OwnerGrant` / `SasConfirm` /
`ProfileUpdate`. The timestamp is signature-bound.
- Switched from `Ed25519::verify` to `verify_strict`, which rejects
low-order / mixed-order pubkeys.
### Invite links
- Bumped invite version to 2. v2 invites carry the creator's Ed25519
pubkey + an Ed25519 signature over the rest of the payload. Tampering
with `host_multiaddr`, `salt_b64`, `owner_fingerprints`, or any other
field is now detected before the receiver dials. v=1 invites still
decode (with a "this invite is unsigned" hint) so older shared links
keep working.
### Authorization gaps
- The ban filter now applies to **every** content-bearing arm
(`Plain`, `Encrypted`, `FileOffer`, `FileChunk`, `Typing`), not just
`MemberAnnounce`. Banned peers in unencrypted rooms used to keep
posting plaintext that honest clients rendered.
- The outbound dial-then-auto-DM flow now consults the persistent
blocklist before opening a DM tab. Previously, dialing a blocked
peer's address still triggered `AutoOpenDm`.
- `send_file` rejects read-only joiners (code-joined peers). Previously
the read-only gate only covered `send_room_message`.
- The Direct-announcement auto-bootstrap rejects messages from blocked
peers before creating a DM row.
### Panic prevention
- `now_unix` returns 0 on a backwards clock instead of panicking. The
network task used to crash on every encrypt/decrypt when the wall
clock sat before 1970 (ARM SBCs without RTC, virt clones).
- `wipe_file` writes zeros in a fixed 64 KiB scratch buffer rather
than allocating `vec![0u8; meta.len()]`. Go-dark used to OOM
mid-wipe when a user had downloaded a multi-GB attachment.
- `bootstrap_direct_room` returns an error instead of `.expect()`-ing,
so a transient DB write failure can't take down the spawned task.
- `cleanup_expired_pending_friend_requests` uses `saturating_sub` for
the cutoff so a `now < TTL` clock doesn't match every row.
### Critical UX
- Settings → Privacy `c` opens a confirmation modal before wiping the
blocklist. Pre-0.7.11 it cleared everything instantly — one
keystroke from total data loss, and the same `c` opened the
join-code modal in the lobby so muscle memory was destructive.
- Clipboard yank now runs on a dedicated OS thread with a 2 s
timeout. Previously, `xclip`/`wl-copy` with no display could hang
the entire TUI on a routine `y`.
- File-chunk receiver caps per-chunk size (256 KiB), bounds
`chunk_index < total_chunks`, and tracks `bytes_received` against
the advertised `expected_size`. Pre-0.7.11 a hostile peer could
advertise 1 MiB and stream multi-GB chunks before the SHA gate ran.
- DM sidebar "online" dot now compares the partner's fingerprint to
`known_peers[i].fingerprint` instead of `.label`. Every DM showed
`○` offline even when the partner was connected.
- The member-margin toggle is now bound to **Alt+M** (Ctrl+I was
unreachable — terminals deliver it as Tab). Hint bar and help
screen updated.
- Activity pane `c` now clears the status history, matching the hint
text. Previously it fell through to `OpenJoinWithCode`.
### Crypto correctness
- SAS emoji derivation switched from `mod 49` (biased — indices 0..14
were twice as likely) to rejection sampling with HKDF re-expansion.
Restores the full uniform distribution over the 49^7 table.
- Argon2id-derived passphrase keys returned in a `Zeroizing<[u8; 32]>`
wrapper so they don't linger on the heap after their last use.
### Network resilience
- `ConnectionClosed` now emits `PeerDisconnected` so the lobby's
"online" dots clear for relay / internet peers, not just mDNS
expiries. Also cleans gossipsub's explicit-peers set.
- `RelayClient` events are no longer swallowed — reservation status
surfaces in the logs.
- DCUtR failures cap at 6 warn-logs per peer so symmetric-NAT pairs
don't spam.
### Modal + input
- `Shift+?` now opens the "what's new" card from the sidebar (the
cheat sheet advertised this for a while; the handler was missing).
- Inside the command palette, **Ctrl+N / Ctrl+P** navigate the result
list instead of typing literal `n`/`p` into the filter. Other Ctrl
chords inside the palette are dropped instead of corrupting the
query.
- `Help` / `Info` / `QrIdentity` / `ShowJoinCode` / `ShowInvite` now
dismiss only on `Esc` / `Enter` / `q`. Pre-0.7.11 any unbound key
closed them — reflexive vim-`h` or `?` silently dismissed.
- `Modal::Sas` no longer cancels on bare `c` or `q`. Common letters
when reading emoji words aloud used to abort the verification.
- `Modal::AttachPicker` no longer ascends on bare `h` (typo hazard).
- `Ctrl+C` only opens the quit-confirm modal when no modal is open.
Mid-typing a passphrase / username / GoDark confirmation, an
accidental Ctrl+C used to discard the typed buffer.
- Settings tab digits 1-4 require pane focus, matching the 0.7.9
Tab/BackTab fix.
- The Onboarding modal degrades gracefully on tiny terminals instead
of returning a zero-rect and silently disappearing.
### Storage
- Migrations now run inside `BEGIN; …; PRAGMA user_version = N;
COMMIT;` so a partial-batch failure rolls back cleanly. Pre-0.7.11
a mid-migration error left the schema half-applied with
`user_version` un-bumped and wedged every subsequent startup.
- After `PRAGMA key`, we run `SELECT count(*) FROM sqlite_master` as
a sentinel. A wrong master passphrase now returns a clean
"wrong master passphrase, or DB file corrupt" instead of a cryptic
downstream `CREATE TABLE` error.
### Notifier
- macOS / Linux / Windows notifier paths strip control characters
from titles + bodies. Pre-0.7.11 a peer-controllable room name
with a literal CR broke the AppleScript invocation silently.
- `notify-send` now passes `--category=im.received` for proper
app-grouping in GNOME Shell / KDE.
- `is_focused()` defaults to `true` when no FocusChange event has
ever been observed. tmux without `set -g focus-events on` and
basic SSH shells no longer fire a desktop notification for every
message regardless of focus.
### Polish + dead code
- Removed dead `let r = app.active_room()` shadow, unused
`Theme.accent_dim`, unused `UnreadCounts::unread_count` /
`pending_count`. Build now warning-free at warn level.
- Mention detection bumped from a 4-hex-char prefix to 8 hex chars,
cutting false positives from ~1/65 K to ~1/4 B per token and
closing the trivial "include the victim's prefix to bell their
terminal" weaponization.
- SAS double-fire race fixed via a `finalized` latch on `SasFlow`.
- Selected encrypted-room rows in the sidebar now preserve the
magenta lock-marker color instead of stomping it to selection-yellow.
- Generate-join-code doc clarified: 31 chars / ~39.6 bits, not 32.
## What's new in 0.7.10 — restore the Profile sidebar-nav gate
A follow-up to 0.7.9. Dropping the pane-focus gate on Profile's
`j/k/y` trapped sidebar navigation: when the cursor scrolled into the
Profile sub-item, `sync_pane_from_selection` live-previewed the pane
(intentional 0.7 design), and the ungated `j/k/y` handler then stole
every subsequent arrow/letter — so the cursor couldn't reach Direct,
Group, People, Activity, or Settings without `Shift+Tab`'ing past it.
0.7.10 reinstates the `SidebarFocus::Pane` gate on `j/k/y`. Capital-
case `E` / `Q` chords stay ungated — they don't conflict with
sidebar nav and the one-keystroke discovery flow is worth keeping.
The People analogy 0.7.9 cited turned out to be sharper than it
looked: People only captures `j/k` inside the Pending sub-tab, and
reaching Pending requires `Tab`'ing into the pane first. Profile
auto-switches on selection, so the equivalent gate is "user has
explicitly `Shift+→`'d into the pane".
## What's new in 0.7.9 — keybinding-scope fixes from a self-audit
A small follow-up patch from a self-review of the 0.7.8 release. No new
features; three keybinding bugs that the 0.7.8 ship-checklist missed:
- **Tab in Settings no longer swallows the focus toggle.** In 0.7.8,
pressing Tab anywhere in `Pane::Settings` cycled tabs even when the
sidebar was focused, which silently disabled the universal "Tab =
toggle sidebar↔pane focus" gesture for users in Settings. 0.7.9 only
intercepts Tab / Shift+Tab for tab cycling when the pane itself is
focused. From sidebar focus, Tab now correctly moves focus into the
pane (one keystroke), then subsequent Tabs cycle.
- **Profile j/k/y match People's pattern.** 0.7.8 required pane focus
for the Profile field cursor; People's analogous sublist nav has
always worked regardless of focus. 0.7.9 makes Profile consistent —
pane-active is enough to claim j/k/y, no separate focus gate.
- **Dead `Action::OpenSettings` removed.** The `,` chord routes through
`JumpToSettingsPane` (which now resets to the Account tab). The
legacy `OpenSettings` variant was unreachable in 0.7.8; removed in
0.7.9 along with its dispatcher.
## What's new in 0.7.8 — three connection paths, tabbed Settings, copyable identity
A round of UX polish that borrows the right things from neighbouring apps
without backsliding on huddle's privacy stance. Three discovery/connection
paths now read as **co-equal parallel options** instead of "mDNS first,
everything else as fallback", Settings became a tabbed pane that finally
includes the toggles that used to live in `config.toml`, the Profile pane
copies fields to the OS clipboard, and the People sidebar surfaces
pending friend-request counts where you can actually see them.
- **Three connection paths, equally surfaced.** Welcome copy spells out
the trio: LAN (mDNS) · direct IP dial · invite link. The Settings →
Network tab shows the same three rows with their live status. A new
`M` toggle in Settings → Network lets you disable LAN broadcast
entirely for privacy — peers can still reach you over direct dial or
invite link with no LAN advertisement (restart-required to apply;
flipping a `Toggle<Mdns>` mid-run would have required a behaviour
rebuild for negligible benefit).
- **Tabbed Settings pane.** `Modal::Settings` is gone. Pressing `,`
lands you on `Pane::Settings` with four tabs cycled via Tab /
Shift+Tab or numeric jumps `1`–`4`:
- **Account** — username (`E`), HD-ID, derived **Safety Code**
(`SAFE-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX`), QR (`Q`), replay onboarding (`W`).
- **Network** — LAN mDNS toggle (`M`), reachability badge, listen
addresses, relay list from `config.toml`.
- **Appearance** — placeholder (single read-only `theme: dark` row;
light + high-contrast in a future release).
- **Privacy** — verified-only inbound (`V`), desktop notifications
(`N`), update check (`U`), blocked peers (`c` clears all), and
the Go Dark `Alt+Shift+1` chord.
- **Copyable identity fields.** The Profile pane is now a cursor-
navigable list: `j`/`k` move, `y` copies the highlighted field to the
OS clipboard. Username, HD-ID, Safety Code, full fingerprint, and
every listen address each get their own yankable row. Clipboard
helper shells out to `pbcopy` (macOS) / `wl-copy` then `xclip` /
`clip.exe` (Windows) — no new crate dependency, failures degrade
to a status message instead of crashing.
- **Sidebar density.** Direct messages and Group rooms each pin a
`+ Add Friend` / `+ New Group` row at the top so the action is a
cursor-and-Enter away, not a chord lookup. Pending friend requests
surface twice in the People section: as `N pending` next to the section
header, and as a dedicated row at the top of an expanded section
when there's at least one outstanding request.
- **Notifications opt-out.** `Settings → Privacy → N` toggles the
OS-native toast notifications introduced in 0.7.4. Default ON;
turning it OFF skips both the per-message path and the startup
catch-up summary. Notifications remain 100% local — the toggle is
for users who don't want any signal leaving the terminal at all.
- **No protocol changes.** Only new local rows in the existing
`app_settings` KV table (`mdns_enabled`, `notifications_enabled`).
Both default to ON so existing users see zero functional change
until they opt out.
## What's new in 0.7.7 — friends, invites, and a fixed dial dead-end
Three coordinated UX fixes around the "first contact" flow. Dialing a peer
now actually opens a chat instead of dead-ending at a connection, the
People pane shows real usernames, friend requests survive longer than
15 seconds, and inviting peers to a group no longer requires pasting a
link into Signal.
- **Dial → DM auto-open.** When you initiate a dial (`d` IP:port, `a`
HD-ID, or paste-invite), the post-Identify handler now opens (or reuses)
a DM with the peer and switches your pane to the new `Dm(room_id)`. No
more "connected to 192.168.1.5" status with no way to chat. Auto-
reconnects and announcement-driven opportunistic dials do NOT trigger
this — only paths the user explicitly chose register an address in
`pending_auto_dm_addrs`.
- **Usernames in Known peers.** The People pane's Known sublist now
renders each peer as `username · HD-XXXX-XXXX · address · last`,
pulling the username from the cached `peer_profiles` table. Falls back
to `[anonymous] · HD-pending` for peers we haven't yet seen a signed
`ProfileUpdate` from.
- **Row actions actually fire.** The People pane header advertises
`m message · r reconnect · b block · x forget · u unblock`, but those
keystrokes were previously hitting the *global* handlers (e.g. `m`
opened an empty Compose-DM modal instead of DM'ing the selected peer).
Now they route to the selection-aware row actions. Tab cycles the
sub-tabs (Pending / Known / Verified / Blocked).
- **Friend requests survive 3 days.** Previously an inbound dial modal
auto-rejected (with a `block_peer`!) after 15 seconds. Now the 15-second
timeout *spills the request* to a new `pending_friend_requests` table
and just disconnects the live socket; the user has up to 3 days to
Accept (re-dial + trust) or Reject (delete + block) from the People
pane's new "Pending requests" sublist. A startup sweep prunes rows
older than the TTL. The pane header shows `(N pending)` so a forgotten
request from yesterday is the first thing you see on landing.
- **Invite picker — pick peers and they get the link auto-DM'd.** New
`Modal::InvitePicker` (Ctrl+I inside a group room; also reachable from
the `+ Add member` row pinned at the bottom of the member margin, and
from the command palette as `invite peers to room…`). Lists candidates
in three tiers — **Verified** (SAS-completed, safest), **DM partners**
(existing trust), **Known peers** (weakest) — with checkboxes, live
`/` filter, soft-cap of 20 selections per send. Enter sends: each
selected peer gets an idempotent DM (`start_direct`) containing the
same invite link `Shift+I` produces. `Shift+I` (OOB link copy) is
unchanged — the picker is purely additive for peers you already have
some trust relationship with.
The dial-then-DM auto-open is the load-bearing fix: huddle now behaves
the way a "basic social app" intuition expects — add someone, chat with
them, invite them places — without users needing to memorize the
fingerprint resolution flow under Compose-DM.
## What's new in 0.7.6 — Go Dark single-field flow
A user report surfaced that the 0.5-era two-field Go Dark modal looked
like it "didn't work" even after typing `DELETE EVERYTHING`. Root cause
was UX, not logic: the modal required filling **both** a master
passphrase field AND a typed `DELETE EVERYTHING` field, with `Tab` to
switch between them. Default focus was the passphrase, so typing
`DELETE EVERYTHING` straight away put the phrase into the wrong field
and the validation error rendered at the bottom of an already-tall red
modal — easy to miss.
- **Single field, mode-aware.** Sessions with a master passphrase now
use the passphrase directly as the gate (the natural strong secret
the user already knows — Argon2id-derived, constant-time compared).
`--no-master-passphrase` sessions keep the typed `DELETE EVERYTHING`
phrase as their only available gate, since they have no key to
compare against.
- **Loud error feedback.** Wrong attempts now render `✗ <reason>` with
a bold red banner directly above the Enter/Esc hint bar, instead of
being buried at the bottom of the modal. The input field also clears
on failure so the next attempt starts fresh.
- **No more `Tab`.** Removed `GoDarkNextField` action and the
`KeyCode::Tab` mapping inside the Go Dark modal arm — single field
means nothing to switch to.
- **New accessor** `AppHandle::has_master_passphrase() -> bool` so the
TUI can pick the right gate at modal-open time without leaking the
in-memory subkey.
## What's new in 0.7.5 — notifier hardening
Self-review of 0.7.4 surfaced four follow-up items. All landed in 0.7.5:
- **Conservative initial focus state.** 0.7.4 defaulted `focused = true`,
which suppressed notifications if huddle launched in a terminal that
was already in the background (no `FocusGained` event ever fired).
0.7.5 treats "no focus event observed yet" as **unfocused** — false
positives (one extra notification) only.
- **Sliding catch-up grace.** The 5-second post-launch summary window
now extends by 2s on every inbound message during the window, capped
at a hard 30s ceiling from start. Slow gossipsub backlogs are
correctly batched into one summary instead of leaking into
per-message alerts.
- **Notification rate-limit.** A 2-second cooldown coalesces bursts:
the first notification in a burst fires immediately with full
detail (room / sender / preview); within the next 2s, additional
notifications are counted and a single "N more new messages" summary
fires when the window closes. Prevents process / thread spam for
busy rooms.
- **ASCII chord labels.** `⌥⇧1` keycap glyphs were dropped in favor
of `Alt+Shift+1` (and `Option+Shift+1 on macOS` callouts where it
helps) — fonts render the Unicode keycaps too inconsistently
across terminals. The Mac runtime behavior is unchanged (the
`⁄` glyph and the `ALT|SHIFT+!` event both still trigger Go Dark).
## What's new in 0.7.4 — desktop notifications + safer go-dark chord
- **Desktop notifications when the terminal isn't focused.** Every
inbound message fires a native notification (`osascript` on macOS,
`notify-send` on Linux, PowerShell BalloonTip on Windows — no extra
dependency) when crossterm reports the terminal as unfocused.
Notifications include the room name, sender display name, and a
trimmed message preview. When the terminal IS focused, no
notification is sent — the message is already on screen and the
unread badge does the work.
- **Catch-up summary on startup.** When huddle reopens, messages
received during a 5-second catch-up window are batched into ONE
notification: `huddle · N new messages while you were away`. After
the window closes, real-time notifications kick in.
- **Focus reporting via crossterm `EnableFocusChange`.** Supported by
iTerm2, Terminal.app, Alacritty, Kitty, wezterm, Windows Terminal,
and GNOME Terminal. On a terminal that doesn't emit
`FocusGained` / `FocusLost`, the app stays in "focused = true" mode
and never fires per-message notifications — graceful degradation.
- **Go dark rebound to `Alt+Shift+1`** (Option+Shift+1 on macOS). Plain
`!` was just Shift+1 — one accidental keystroke could open the
destructive flow. The Mac chord works out of the box on Terminal.app
via the unicode glyph `⁄` that Option+Shift+1 produces, AND via the
`ALT|SHIFT+!` event that Alt-as-Meta terminals emit. On Linux/Windows
the same Alt+Shift+1 chord is uncontested.
- **First-time macOS notification permission prompt.** macOS will ask
to allow Script Editor (or Terminal) to send notifications the first
time huddle fires one. Click Allow once and you're set.
## What's new in 0.7.3 — UX polish round 2
- **Focus-jump rebound to `Shift+←` / `Shift+→`.** 0.7.2's `Ctrl+←` /
`Ctrl+→` collided with macOS Mission Control's Move-between-Spaces
shortcut (and `Cmd+←` / `Cmd+→` is Terminal/iTerm2 tab-switching,
ruling that out too). Shift+arrows are unclaimed everywhere.
- **Sidebar cursor is visible again.** The previous bg-only highlight
on the selected row used `Color::Rgb(40, 40, 60)` which is
near-indistinguishable from default terminal bg on Terminal.app.
Selected rows now recolor every span's foreground to **yellow**
(warn) when the sidebar is focused, dim text when not — readable
on every dark theme.
- **2-col gutter between sidebar and pane.** Panes with `Borders::NONE`
(Welcome, Profile) used to render text flush against the sidebar
separator line. The outer layout now inserts a 2-column gap before
the pane rect, so every pane has visible breathing room.
- **Settings pane keybindings actually fire.** The pane displays
`V verified-only / U update check / E username / W replay
onboarding / ! go dark` — but 0.7.0–0.7.2 only dispatched those
inside the Settings *modal*, leaving the pane rows inert. They now
fire from the pane itself.
- **`!` (go dark) is global.** Previously only available from the
Settings modal; now reachable from any non-chat pane. The modal's
two-factor passphrase + "DELETE EVERYTHING" confirm protects
against accidental triggers.
## What's new in 0.7.2 — UX polish
- **`Ctrl+←` / `Ctrl+→` focus jump** between sidebar and pane (works
from any context, including while typing in chat input). One
keystroke instead of `Esc` → `Tab`. macOS users may need to disable
Mission Control's Move-left/right-a-space shortcut (System Settings
→ Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Mission Control). When focus
jumps to a chat pane, the input is auto-activated so you can type
immediately.
- **Settings pane padding fix.** The value column was jammed flush
against the label column when a label was exactly 24 chars wide
(`update check (crates.io)on` rendered with no gap). Labels now pad
to 28 chars, guaranteeing visible whitespace before every value.
- **Sidebar focus border** continues to highlight which region owns
the keystrokes (already shipped in 0.7; surfaced more clearly with
the new focus-jump bindings).
## What's new in 0.7.1 — E2E DMs
Direct messages are now end-to-end encrypted on the room layer.
- New `crate::crypto::dm::derive_dm_key` derives a 32-byte room key
from one side's Ed25519 secret seed and the other side's Ed25519
public key via X25519 ECDH + HKDF-SHA256.
- `start_direct` creates DMs as `encrypted = true` with the
ECDH-derived key as the Megolm wrap key. The "passphrase salt"
slot stores the canonical room_id so re-bootstraps re-derive
identically.
- When we don't yet have the partner's pubkey (e.g. fingerprint
resolved from a QR / invite / username), the room is created with
no wrap key. The next `MemberAnnounce` from the partner carries
their pubkey; we derive the key lazily, then re-broadcast our own
`MemberAnnounce` with the wrapped Megolm session key.
- Backward compatibility: DMs created against pre-0.7.1 peers stay
in their original `encrypted=false` mode (the rooms table records
it). New 0.7.1+ DMs are always E2E.
## What's new in 0.7 — TUI 2.0
`0.7.0` rewrote the TUI around a **sidebar + pane** layout
(Discord/Slack-style), with explicit separation of **Direct messages**
from **Group rooms**. The legacy `Screen::{Lobby, InRoom}` flat-screen
model and the tab-bar were retired.
See [TUI layout](#tui-layout) and [Key bindings](#key-bindings) for
the current state. Notable shipped items:
- New `RoomKind::{Direct, Group}` persisted on the rooms table;
`RoomAnnouncement.kind` (serde-default for back-compat) tags every
wire announcement so 0.7 peers can split DMs from groups.
- Canonical DM room IDs: `sha256("huddle-dm-v1\0" || min(fp_a, fp_b)
|| "\0" || max(fp_a, fp_b))` — both peers, regardless of who
presses `m` first, derive identical IDs. `start_direct` is
idempotent across both peers and reinstalls.
- DM-visibility filter at honest 0.7+ consumers: Direct
announcements addressed to anyone else are dropped, so a DM never
leaks past the two participants' sidebars.
- 2-member cap enforced locally on `RoomKind::Direct` rooms.
- New panes: Profile, People (known + verified + blocked sublists),
Activity (status history + transfers), Settings (toggles, blocked
peers, go-dark).
- New `Modal::ComposeDm` with inline autocomplete from
`known_peers` + `peer_profiles`; falls back to `AddFriend`
semantics on unrecognized input — no modal-on-modal.
- Centralized `Theme` module so colors live in one place.
**Retired in 0.7**: `Screen::{Lobby, InRoom}`, the tab-bar, numeric
`1..9` tab jumps, `Ctrl+B` (back-to-lobby in chat — `Esc` focuses
sidebar instead), `LobbyFocus` (replaced by `SidebarFocus`), the flat
`discovered_rooms` list (now split into DM / Group sections).
## What's new in 0.6 (UX overhaul)
`0.6.0` is a focused UX release. The protocol surface didn't change;
the TUI did.
- **Command palette** (`:` or `Ctrl+P`) — fuzzy-search every action.
Drives discoverability without bloating the visible chrome. You no
longer need to remember `a/d/i/,/c/I/v/!/u/o/^J/^I/^K/^G/^V` to find
things.
- **Notification history** (`Ctrl+H`) — the last 100 status-bar
messages, scrollable, with timestamps. Replaces the "goldfish"
status bar where two events in quick succession overwrote each
other.
- **Help is now generated from `input.rs`** — every keybinding is
documented, scroll with `j/k`. Help is sectioned by context
(Lobby / In a room / Card focus / etc.) and can never drift from
the actual key map again.
- **Onboarding versioning** — the welcome card now re-fires only the
"what's new in X.Y" page when you upgrade between versions. You can
also replay it any time from `Settings → w`.
- **Pending-modal indicator** — when an async event (inbound dial,
rotation, error) arrives behind another modal, the status bar shows
`[N pending · Ctrl+H to view]` so it never silently disappears.
Queue is FIFO and capped at 16.
- **Adaptive hint bar** — the bottom-of-screen hints rotate based on
what's most likely to be useful next (empty lobby surfaces "add
friend"; unread tab surfaces "join"; etc.).
- **Lobby header polish** — `huddle 0.6.0` version anchor, clock,
live peer counter alongside the NAT reachability badge.
- **Scroll indicator + day separators in chat** — the message pane
shows `N/M · live` (or `N/M · ↑ K above`) at the bottom border, and
date dividers (`─── 2026-05-15 ───`) appear when conversations span
days.
- **Unread counts in tabs** — `[2] room-name (3)` shows the actual
count instead of a vague `*`. `R` (shift-r) in the lobby zeros every
tab at once.
- **Opt-in update detection** — a tiny ureq-backed background task
pings `https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/huddle` once per 24 h. If a
newer version exists, a banner appears under the lobby header. OFF
by default; toggle via `Settings → U` or the command palette.
- **`huddle doctor` CLI** — `huddle doctor` prints version, data
paths, file sizes, and config without touching the network or
asking for the master passphrase. Paste it into bug reports.
## Testing
```bash
cargo test --workspace -- --test-threads=1
```
`--test-threads=1` keeps the mDNS-based integration tests from
fighting each other on a single host. The suite covers two-node
plain + encrypted round-trip, Phase A inbound-dial accept and reject,
Phase B kick-and-rotate (3-node), and Phase F code-join. See
`MANUAL_TESTING.md` for the two-machine checklist.
## Data directory
- **macOS:** `~/Library/Application Support/huddle/`
- **Linux:** `~/.local/share/huddle/`
- **Windows:** `%APPDATA%\huddle\`
## License
Licensed under either of
- Apache License, Version 2.0 ([`LICENSE-APACHE`](LICENSE-APACHE) or
<http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0>)
- MIT license ([`LICENSE-MIT`](LICENSE-MIT) or
<http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT>)
at your option.
### Contribution
Unless you explicitly state otherwise, any contribution intentionally
submitted for inclusion in the work by you, as defined in the Apache-2.0
license, shall be dual licensed as above, without any additional terms or
conditions.