Chris Nennemann
db46b72f58
- Create quicproquo-ffi crate with 7 extern "C" functions: connect, login, send, receive, disconnect, last_error, free_string (produces libquicproquo_ffi.so and .a) - Feature-gate quicproquo-core for WASM: identity, hybrid_kem, safety_numbers, sealed_sender, app_message, padding, transcript all compile to wasm32-unknown-unknown - Add Python ctypes example (examples/python/qpq_client.py) with QpqClient wrapper class and CLI - Add SDK documentation: FFI reference, WASM guide, qpq-gen generators - Update Dockerfile for quicproquo-ffi workspace member
290 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
290 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
<p align="center">
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<img src="assets/logo.png" alt="QPQ logo" width="200">
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</p>
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# QPQ — quicproquo
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[](https://github.com/nickvidal/quicproquo/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
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> End-to-end encrypted messaging over **QUIC + TLS 1.3 + MLS** (RFC 9420), written in Rust.
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The server never sees plaintext. Every byte on the wire is protected by a QUIC
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transport secured with TLS 1.3 (`quinn` + `rustls`). The inner **MLS** layer
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provides forward secrecy, post-compromise security, and ratcheted group key
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agreement across any number of participants. Messages are framed with
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**Cap'n Proto** for zero-copy, schema-versioned serialisation.
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```
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
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│ Application / MLS ciphertext │ <- group key ratchet (RFC 9420)
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├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
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│ Cap'n Proto RPC │ <- typed, schema-versioned framing
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├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
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│ QUIC + TLS 1.3 (quinn/rustls) │ <- mutual auth + transport secrecy
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└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
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```
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| Property | Mechanism |
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|---|---|
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| Transport confidentiality | TLS 1.3 over QUIC (rustls) |
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| Transport authentication | TLS 1.3 server cert (self-signed or CA) |
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| Group key agreement | MLS `MLS_128_DHKEMX25519_AES128GCM_SHA256_Ed25519` |
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| Post-compromise security | MLS epoch ratchet |
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| Forward secrecy | Per-epoch key schedule |
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| Identity | Ed25519 (MLS credential + leaf node signature) |
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| Password auth | OPAQUE (password never sent to server) |
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| Post-quantum readiness | X25519 + ML-KEM-768 hybrid KEM envelope |
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| Local storage encryption | SQLCipher + Argon2id + ChaCha20-Poly1305 |
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| Message framing | Cap'n Proto (unpacked wire format) |
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---
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## Features
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### Core
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- **Interactive REPL** — multi-conversation chat with auto-register, auto-login, slash commands, background polling, and message history
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- **1:1 DMs** — dedicated channels with server-enforced membership authorization
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- **Multi-party groups** — N-member MLS groups with Commit fan-out and epoch sync
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- **OPAQUE authentication** — password-authenticated key exchange (password never leaves the client)
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- **Encrypted local storage** — SQLCipher database + encrypted session tokens (Argon2id + ChaCha20-Poly1305)
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- **Persistent state** — server and client survive restarts; SQLite/SQLCipher or file-backed storage
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- **Self-DM notepad** — send messages to yourself (local-only, no server round-trip)
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- **Certificate pinning** — pass the server cert as `--ca-cert` to trust only that server
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- **Federation** — server-to-server message relay via Cap'n Proto RPC over QUIC with mTLS
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- **mDNS discovery** — servers announce `_quicproquo._udp.local.`; clients auto-discover nearby nodes
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- **Sealed sender mode** — optional anonymous enqueue (sender identity inside MLS ciphertext only)
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- **Prometheus metrics** — `--metrics-listen` exposes `/metrics` endpoint for monitoring
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- **Dynamic plugin system** — load `.so`/`.dylib` plugins at runtime via `--plugin-dir`
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- **Safety numbers** — `/verify <username>` for out-of-band key verification (60-digit numeric code)
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- **Transcript export** — encrypted, tamper-evident message archives with hash-chain integrity verification
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- **20 CLI subcommands** — `register-user`, `login`, `create-group`, `invite`, `join`, `send`, `recv`, `chat`, `repl`, `export`, `export-verify`, and more
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### REPL slash commands
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| Command | Description |
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|---|---|
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| `/dm <username>` | Start a 1:1 DM with a peer |
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| `/create-group <name>` (or `/cg`) | Create a new group |
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| `/invite <username>` | Add a member to the current group |
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| `/remove <username>` | Remove a member from the current group |
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| `/join` | Join a pending group invitation |
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| `/leave` | Leave the current group |
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| `/switch @user` or `/switch #group` | Switch active conversation |
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| `/list` or `/ls` | List all conversations |
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| `/members` | Show group members |
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| `/history [count]` (or `/hist`) | Show message history (default 20) |
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| `/verify <username>` | Compare safety numbers with a peer |
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| `/update-key` (or `/rotate-key`) | Rotate your MLS key material |
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| `/mesh peers` | Scan for nearby qpq nodes via mDNS |
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| `/mesh server <host:port>` | Note a discovered server address |
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| `/whoami` | Show identity and group status |
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| `/help` | Command reference |
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| `/quit` | Exit |
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### Experimental / proof-of-concept
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- **Tauri 2 GUI** (`quicproquo-gui`) — foundational desktop app shell; not feature-complete
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- **Mobile FFI** (`quicproquo-mobile`) — C API for QUIC connection migration (wifi to cellular)
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- **P2P transport** (`quicproquo-p2p`) — iroh-based direct peer-to-peer messaging with NAT traversal (feature-gated behind `--features mesh`)
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- **Bot framework** (`quicproquo-bot`) — programmable bot client
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---
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## Quick start
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```bash
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# Prerequisites: Rust 1.77+, capnp CLI
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brew install capnp # macOS
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# apt-get install capnproto # Debian/Ubuntu
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# Build (excludes GUI — requires GTK system libs)
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cargo build --bin qpq-server --bin qpq
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# Run tests
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cargo test --workspace --exclude quicproquo-gui
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# Start the server (port 7000 by default, auto-generates self-signed cert)
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cargo run --bin qpq-server -- --allow-insecure-auth
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# Interactive REPL (auto-registers and logs in)
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cargo run --bin qpq -- repl --username alice --password mypass
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```
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### REPL quickstart (two terminals)
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```bash
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# Terminal 1
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qpq repl --username alice --password secretA
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# Terminal 2
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qpq repl --username bob --password secretB
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# In Alice's REPL:
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/dm bob
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Hello from Alice!
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# Bob sees: [alice] Hello from Alice!
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```
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### Server configuration (TOML)
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```bash
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cat > qpq-server.toml <<'EOF'
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listen = "0.0.0.0:7000"
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data_dir = "data"
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tls_cert = "data/server-cert.der"
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tls_key = "data/server-key.der"
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auth_token = "your-strong-token-here"
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store_backend = "sql" # or "file"
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db_path = "data/qpq.db"
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db_key = "your-db-encryption-key"
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metrics_listen = "0.0.0.0:9090"
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metrics_enabled = true
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# Federation (optional)
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# federation_enabled = true
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# federation_domain = "chat.example.com"
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# federation_listen = "0.0.0.0:7001"
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# Plugin loading (optional)
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# plugin_dir = "/etc/qpq/plugins"
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EOF
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cargo run --bin qpq-server -- --config qpq-server.toml
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```
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> **Production:** use a strong `QPQ_AUTH_TOKEN`, set `QPQ_DB_KEY` when using `store_backend = "sql"`, and provide real TLS certificates (the server refuses to auto-generate certs in production mode).
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See the [full demo walkthrough](docs/src/getting-started/demo-walkthrough.md) for a step-by-step guide.
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---
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## Crate layout
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| Crate | Purpose |
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| `quicproquo-core` | MLS group operations, hybrid KEM, OPAQUE auth, crypto primitives |
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| `quicproquo-proto` | Cap'n Proto schemas and generated RPC code |
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| `quicproquo-server` | QUIC server, NodeService RPC, storage backends, federation, plugins |
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| `quicproquo-client` | CLI + REPL, session management, conversation store |
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| `quicproquo-plugin-api` | C-compatible plugin hook API (`HookVTable`) |
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| `quicproquo-kt` | Key transparency / Merkle-log identity bindings |
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| `quicproquo-bot` | Programmable bot client framework |
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| `quicproquo-gen` | Code generation utilities |
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| `quicproquo-gui` | Tauri 2 desktop app (experimental, requires GTK) |
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| `quicproquo-mobile` | C FFI for mobile connection migration (experimental) |
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| `quicproquo-p2p` | iroh-based P2P transport (feature-gated, `--features mesh`) |
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---
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## CI pipeline
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GitHub Actions runs on every push and PR:
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- `cargo fmt --check` — formatting
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- `cargo build --workspace` — full build
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- `cargo test --workspace` — 103+ tests (core, server, client, E2E, doctests)
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- `cargo clippy --workspace` — lint
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- `cargo deny check` — license and advisory audit
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- `cargo audit` — vulnerability scan
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- `cargo tarpaulin` — code coverage (uploaded as artifact)
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- `docker build` — container image validation
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---
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## Milestones
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| # | Name | Status | What it adds |
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|---|------|--------|--------------|
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| M1 | QUIC/TLS transport | **Done** | QUIC + TLS 1.3 endpoint, length-prefixed framing, Ping/Pong |
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| M2 | Authentication Service | **Done** | Ed25519 identity, KeyPackage generation, AS upload/fetch |
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| M3 | Delivery Service + MLS groups | **Done** | DS relay, `GroupMember` create/join/add/send/recv |
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| M4 | Group CLI subcommands | **Done** | Persistent CLI, OPAQUE login, 20 subcommands |
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| M5 | Multi-party groups | **Done** | N > 2 members, Commit fan-out, `send --all`, epoch sync |
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| M6 | Persistence + REPL | **Done** | SQLite/SQLCipher, interactive REPL, DM channels, encrypted local storage |
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| M7 | Post-quantum MLS | **Planned** | Hybrid X25519 + ML-KEM-768 integrated into MLS ciphersuite |
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M7 note: the hybrid KEM envelope is already implemented and tested (10 tests passing). What remains is integrating it into the OpenMLS CryptoProvider so all MLS key material gets post-quantum confidentiality.
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---
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## Roadmap
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See [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md) for the full phased plan. Summary:
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| Phase | Focus | Status |
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|-------|-------|--------|
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| 1 | Production hardening (unwrap removal, secure defaults, Docker) | In progress |
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| 2 | Test and CI maturity | Partially done |
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| 3 | Client SDKs (Go, Python, WASM, FFI, WebTransport) | Planned |
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| 4 | Trust and security (audit, key transparency, PQ MLS) | Planned |
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| 5 | Features and UX (multi-device, offline queue, file transfer) | Planned |
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| 6 | Scale and operations (horizontal scaling, observability) | Planned |
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| 7 | Platform expansion (mobile, web, federation, sealed sender) | Planned |
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| 8 | Freifunk / community mesh networking | F0-F2 done |
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| 9 | Developer experience and community growth | Planned |
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### Recently completed
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- **Federation routing** — server-to-server message relay with mTLS
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- **mDNS discovery** — servers advertise on local network, clients discover peers
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- **P2P transport** — iroh-based direct messaging re-included in workspace (`--features mesh`)
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- **CI pipeline** — fmt, build, test, clippy, deny, audit, coverage, Docker build
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- **Plugin system** — dynamic `.so`/`.dylib` loading with C-compatible hook API
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- **Safety numbers** — Signal-style 60-digit verification codes
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- **Transcript export** — encrypted, hash-chained message archives
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---
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## Building without the GUI
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The GUI crate requires GTK system libraries. To build just the server and client:
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```bash
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cargo build --bin qpq-server --bin qpq
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```
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To build the client with mesh/P2P support:
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```bash
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cargo build -p quicproquo-client --features mesh
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```
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---
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## Documentation
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Full documentation is available as an **mdBook** in [`docs/`](docs/):
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```bash
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cargo install mdbook # once
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mdbook serve docs # http://localhost:3000
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```
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- **[Architecture Overview](docs/src/architecture/overview.md)** — two-service model, dual-key design, crate layout
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- **[Protocol Deep Dives](docs/src/protocol-layers/overview.md)** — QUIC/TLS 1.3, Cap'n Proto, MLS, Hybrid KEM
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- **[Cryptographic Properties](docs/src/cryptography/overview.md)** — forward secrecy, post-compromise security, PQ readiness, threat model
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- **[Design Rationale](docs/src/design-rationale/overview.md)** — why MLS over Signal/Matrix, ADRs for key decisions
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- **[Wire Format Reference](docs/src/wire-format/overview.md)** — annotated Cap'n Proto schemas
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- **[Getting Started](docs/src/getting-started/prerequisites.md)** — build, run, demo walkthrough
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- **[Roadmap](docs/src/roadmap/milestones.md)** — milestones, production readiness, future research
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- **[Future Improvements](docs/FUTURE-IMPROVEMENTS.md)** — prioritised list of security, ops, and feature improvements
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---
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## Security
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This is a **research project** and has not undergone a formal third-party audit. See the [threat model](docs/src/cryptography/threat-model.md) and [security audit](docs/SECURITY-AUDIT.md) for details.
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- The server only routes opaque ciphertexts by recipient key — it never sees plaintext.
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- OPAQUE ensures passwords never leave the client.
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- Local databases are encrypted with SQLCipher when a password is provided.
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- Session tokens are encrypted at rest (Argon2id key derivation + ChaCha20-Poly1305).
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- **Certificate pinning:** pass the server cert as `--ca-cert` so the client trusts only that server.
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- **Sealed sender:** optional mode where the server cannot see who sent a message.
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- **Dependency checks:** CI runs `cargo deny check` and `cargo audit` on every PR.
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---
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## License
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MIT
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