AXON // Mesh Network
AXON is a decentralized, serverless messenger built on Tor Onion Services. It creates a private, encrypted mesh network between you and your trusted peers. There are no central servers, no phone numbers, and no metadata leaks.
🛡️ Key Features
Tor-Native: Every node is a Hidden Service (.onion). Connections are anonymous and NAT-punching is automatic.
Trust Graph: A visual topology map showing your direct neighbors and the peers they know (transitive trust).
End-to-End Encrypted: All messages are secured using X25519 key exchange and AES-256-GCM.
Store & Forward: Messages sent to offline peers are queued locally and auto-delivered when they return online.
Gossip Discovery: Your node automatically learns about "friends of friends," expanding your network organically.
🚀 Getting Started
- Run the Node
Start the application. It will automatically launch a local Tor instance and bind the Web UI to port 8080. Bash
./axon
To run multiple instances on the same machine (for testing), use the port flag: Bash
./axon -port 8080
- Access the Interface
Open your browser and navigate to: http://127.0.0.1:8080
📖 User Guide
-
Identity Setup
Go to the Identity tab.
Set a Display Name (e.g., "Ghost"). This is how you will appear to others.
Copy your Onion Address (e.g., pnkt...tqd.onion). This is your permanent ID.
-
Adding a Peer
Go to the Topology tab.
Click the User Plus (+) icon in the top right.
Paste your friend's Onion Address.
Wait. The initial handshake takes 30-60 seconds while Tor builds a circuit.
Once connected, their node will appear as a bubble on your map.
-
Chatting
Click any node on the Topology Map or select them from the Comms Sidebar.
The connection status (Online/Offline) is handled automatically.
✓ Green check: Message delivered.
🕒 Grey clock: Message pending (peer is offline; will retry automatically).
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Managing Peers
Delete: In the chat window, click the Trash icon to remove a peer and wipe history.
Block: Click the Ban icon to ignore all future connection attempts from that address.
📡 Technical Protocol
AXON uses a custom JSON-over-HTTP protocol routed exclusively through Tor SOCKS5 proxies.
Handshake: Nodes exchange persistent Identity Keys (Ed25519) and ephemeral Encryption Keys (X25519).
Gossip: Every 60 seconds, nodes exchange partial peer lists with random neighbors to maintain the mesh.
Persistence: Identity keys, peer lists, and chat history are saved to the local ./data_[port]/ directory.
Disclaimer: This is experimental software. While it uses industry-standard crypto primitives, it has not been audited.