Ratspeak

Ratspeak is a native desktop and mobile client for E2EE conversations over Reticulum, a new type of mesh networking. Ratspeak gives you messaging, file/image sharing, voice calls (experimental), LoRa capability, WiFi, BLE, TCP, offline messaging, turn-based games, and more.

Docs | Build from source | rsReticulum | rsLXMF | rsLXST

Note: Ratspeak is currently in ALPHA. If you are looking for a more stable
experience, I recommend waiting until v1.1.0 is released.

Ratspeak is for private messaging when the normal internet is unavailable, untrusted, or not the path you want to depend on. When your cell tower is down, when natural disaster hits, or when you just want an alternative. When you know the current system is broken.

It runs on Reticulum and LXMF, so conversations can happen over regular internet, LoRa radios, WiFi, Bluetooth, there is no limit - if it can move data it can be a part of the mesh.

There is no Ratspeak account server, no central database, no hub where everything routes through by default. Your Reticulum identity is generated on your device and becomes your address on the mesh, no personal information needed.

Ratspeak is in experimental/alpha status. That means there are bugs, there are quirks, and things are not perfect. We stand by a strict contribute, don't complain policy. If something isn't working up to your standards, or at all, contribute by opening an issue and providing valuable feedback required to fix the issue. Code does not have emotion, so there's no reason a bug report should either.

Supported app targets are macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. Public desktop and Android packages will be linked from ratspeak.org/download.html as they are released. iOS does not have a public download yet; and macOS is unsigned, with Window's .MSIX needing signing for BLE Peering support. These will come once LLC formation is complete and I have the patience to deal with Apple and signing-certificates.

• Account-free messaging over Reticulum.
• Full offline messaging support.
• Local Network, TCP, RNode/LoRa support, Bluetooth Peering, and more.
• Contacts, discovered peers, path requests, interface status, propagation status, and transport health in the app.
• Experimental peer-to-peer voice calls over LXST (contacts-only, 0-hop, native microphone/speaker).
• Chess and Tic-Tac-Toe.
• I'm tired boss, this whole README is going to get a revamp.

Use the download page when public builds are available: ratspeak.org/download.html.

For setup help, see:

• Install and Platform Setup
• Your First Session
• Troubleshooting

The full build guide is here: Building from Source. It covers desktop prerequisites, Android APKs, iOS signing, and the required sibling checkout layout.

After installing the desktop prerequisites, the shortest local path is:

mkdir ratspeak-src
cd ratspeak-src
git clone https://github.com/ratspeak/rsReticulum
git clone https://github.com/ratspeak/rsLXMF
git clone https://github.com/ratspeak/lrgp-rs
git clone https://github.com/ratspeak/rsLXST   # experimental voice; skip with --no-default-features
git clone https://github.com/ratspeak/Ratspeak

cd Ratspeak
bash dashboard/build-css.sh
cd src-tauri
cargo tauri dev

For a release bundle, run cargo tauri build from Ratspeak/src-tauri. Desktop bundles land under Ratspeak/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.

To build without the experimental voice stack and skip the rsLXST sibling, pass --no-default-features to cargo tauri dev or cargo tauri build.

Voice calls run on LXST over Reticulum links — no servers, no relays. The stack is new and intentionally narrow:

• Microphone and speaker access goes through the OS: RECORD_AUDIO and MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS on Android, NSMicrophoneUsageDescription on macOS/iOS, the default audio device on Linux/Windows.
• Incoming calls are restricted to contacts on a cached 0-hop path. Calls from non-contacts are dropped before any audio path opens.
• Persistently rejected callers are blackholed (rate-limit reason) so they cannot keep ringing the device.
• The lxst-voice Cargo feature is on by default. Disable it with cargo tauri dev --no-default-features if you want to build Ratspeak without the voice stack.

Voice is experimental — expect rough edges. Codec quality, call setup, ringtones, and platform audio routing are all subject to change.

• iOS does not support general USB serial. Local Network, multicast, notifications, and background behavior depend on Apple permissions as well, and currently don't have support at this time.
• Windows Bluetooth Peer advertiser support needs the future signed MSIX lane.
• Linux Bluetooth Peer depends on BlueZ GATT server and LE advertising support.
• Voice calls require microphone permission per platform; the prompt is triggered the first time you place or answer a call.

GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later. See LICENSE.