GNUnet Social

Decentralized social media over GNUnet.

→ Getting Started Guide

Features

• Microblog — Posts, replies, reposts, likes
• Visibility Control — Public, Followers, Mutuals, Private
• User Profiles — View profiles, bio, peer info
• Chat Rooms — Create, join, real-time messaging
• Private Messages — Direct messaging with friends
• Friendship System — Add friends, accept requests
• Identity — GNS zones, peer authentication
• Transport — CADET end-to-end encrypted channels

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐     WebSocket      ┌──────────────────┐
│   React Client  │ ◄───────────────► │   Rust Server    │
└─────────────────┘                    └────────┬─────────┘
                                                │
                                       ┌────────▼─────────┐
                                       │     GNUnet       │
                                       │  CADET · GNS     │
                                       └──────────────────┘

Run

# Server
cargo run

# Client
cd client && bun install && bun run dev

Server runs on ws://localhost:8080

Stack

Layer	Tech
Frontend	React, TypeScript, Vite
Transport	WebSocket, MQTT protocol
Backend	Rust, Tokio, async
Network	GNUnet (CADET, GNS)

Protocol

JSON messages over WebSocket:

{ "type": "create_post", "content": "Hello GNUnet!", "media_hashes": [], "visibility": "Public" }

📁 Project Structure

gnunet-sys/           # GNUnet FFI bindings (bindgen)
├── build.rs          # Auto-generates Rust bindings
├── wrapper.h         # GNUnet headers to bind
└── src/lib.rs        # Exports raw FFI

src/
├── gnunet/           # Safe Rust wrappers
│   ├── crypto.rs     # PeerIdentity, HashCode
│   ├── cadet.rs      # CADET channels
│   ├── gns.rs        # GNS lookups
│   └── identity.rs   # Ego management
├── social/           # Domain models
│   └── mod.rs        # User, Post, ChatRoom, etc.
├── mqtt/             # Server logic
│   ├── server.rs     # WebSocket server
│   └── handler.rs    # Message handlers
└── protocol/         # Message types
    └── messages.rs   # ClientMessage, ServerMessage

client/src/
├── hooks/            # React hooks
│   ├── useSocial.tsx # Global state context
│   └── useWebSocket.tsx
├── components/       # UI components
│   ├── Feed.tsx      # Posts & composer
│   ├── Chat.tsx      # Room messages
│   ├── Sidebar.tsx   # Rooms & friends
│   ├── Profile.tsx   # User profile modal
│   └── Login.tsx     # Peer ID auth
└── types/            # TypeScript types
    └── index.ts      # All interfaces

Status

🚧 Alpha — Core features work, API may change. Perfect for experimentation and contribution!

Contributing

PRs welcome! Areas that need help:

• GNUnet service integrations (MESSENGER, NAMESTORE)
• Mobile client (React Native?)
• Better error handling & reconnection
• End-to-end encryption
• File/media sharing
• Testing infrastructure

License

MIT