dusk chat

a peer-to-peer community chat platform. no central server. your data stays yours.

what is dusk chat

dusk chat is a decentralized alternative to discord. every user runs a full node and client in a single desktop app with peer discovery through a custom relay server. messages sync between peers using CRDTs (conflict-free replicated data types), so there's no single point of failure and no server that can read your messages.

key features

• serverless: no central database or message storage. every peer stores their own data
• privacy-first: end-to-end encrypted by design. the relay only forwards encrypted bytes
• offline-first: continue chatting while offline. messages sync when you reconnect
• crdt-powered: automatic conflict resolution using automerge. no message loss
• lan discovery: automatic peer discovery on local networks via mDNS
• wan connectivity: connect to peers anywhere via relay server and rendezvous protocol
• invite codes: share communities without exposing IP addresses

getting started

prerequisites

• bun: package manager for frontend (https://bun.sh)
• rust: for backend and relay server (https://rustup.rs)
• node: for tauri cli (comes with bun)

installation

1. clone the repository

git clone https://git.clxud.dev/duskchat/app dusk-chat
cd dusk-chat

2. install frontend dependencies

bun install

3. (optional) clone and run the relay server locally

git clone https://git.clxud.dev/duskchat/relay relay-server
cd relay-server
cargo run

running the app

development mode (full app)

bun run tauri dev

this compiles the rust backend and starts the vite dev server on port 1420.

frontend only (no tauri shell)

bun run dev

this will run the vite dev server without the tauri backend. useful for faster iteration on UI components with mock data.

wan connectivity setup

dusk chat comes with a built-in relay server (relay.duskchat.app) that serves as the primary relay for peer discovery. you can also run your own locally or deploy it to a cloud provider.

to add your own:

DUSK_RELAY_ADDR=/ip4/<relay-ip>/tcp/<port>/p2p/<relay-peer-id>

development commands

# install frontend dependencies
bun install

# run full app (rust + vite)
bun run tauri dev

# run frontend only (demo data)
bun run dev

# build for production
bun run tauri build

# run relay server
cd relay-server && cargo run

# run relay server with custom port
DUSK_RELAY_PORT=4002 cargo run

contributing

1. fork the repository and install dependencies as described above
2. create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-feature)
3. make your changes with clear commit messages
4. ensure application is in a working state and all tests pass if applicable
5. submit a pull request with a detailed description of your changes and the problem they solve.

license

see the main project license file.