The server knows nothing. The terminal is everything.

[View Demo (Coming Soon)] | [Report Bug (Coming Soon)] | [Request Feature (Coming Soon)]

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📡 Transmission Incoming

Note on the Rename: ZeroDrop is now ZeroDrop. This change ensures absolute identity clarity and avoids naming collisions with parallel communication tech, keeping this standalone TUI chat fully distinct.

ZeroDrop is a secure, ephemeral TUI chat client for those who prefer keyboards over mouse clicks. Built with Rust and Ratatui, it combines the aesthetic of a cyberpunk system monitor with the privacy of a dead-drop.

📸 Visual Recon

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⚡ Core Systems

Feature	Description
👻 Ephemeral Relay	The relay server is a "dumb broadcast." It routes traffic without storing or processing it.
🛡️ End-to-End Encryption	Direct messages are encrypted automatically with X25519 + ChaCha20-Poly1305 and per-message ratchets.
🔐 Verification & Ephemera	Safety-number verification, self-destructing messages, replay protection, and key rotation are implemented.
🖥️ High-Fidelity TUI	Built on Ratatui. Supports mouse capture, resizing, and custom themes.
🚀 Blazing Fast	Written in Async Rust (Tokio). Minimal footprint, maximum throughput.
🎨 Cyberpunk Aesthetics	Detailed telemetry, network activity charts, and real-time statistics.

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💾 Initialize Uplink (Installation)

macOS

🍺 Homebrew (Recommended)

brew tap jcyrus/tap
brew install zerodrop

⚡️ Quick Install Script

curl -sL https://zerodrop.jcyrus.com/install | bash

Windows

📦 Scoop (Recommended)

scoop bucket add jcyrus https://github.com/jcyrus/scoop-bucket
scoop install zerodrop

⚡️ Quick Install Script

irm https://zerodrop.jcyrus.com/install.ps1 | iex

Note: After installation, you may need to restart your terminal for the PATH changes to take effect. If zerodrop is not recognized, run:

$env:Path = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path','User')

Linux

⚡️ Quick Install Script

curl -sL https://zerodrop.jcyrus.com/install | bash

📦 Manual Installation

Prerequisites

• Rust Toolchain: 1.70+ (2021 Edition)
• Terminal: Support for TrueColor (NerdFonts recommended for icons)

Compile from Source

Clone the repository and build the binary:

git clone https://github.com/jcyrus/zerodrop.git
cd zerodrop

# Build the client only (The part you use)
cargo build --release -p zerodrop

🔄 Updating ZeroDrop

Method	Update Command
Homebrew (macOS)	brew upgrade zerodrop
Scoop (Windows)	scoop update zerodrop
Quick Install Script	Re-run the installation command
Manual (from source)	git pull && cargo build --release -p zerodrop

Check your current version:

zerodrop --version

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🚀 Usage

After installation, connect to the public relay:

# Connect with your username (connects to wss://zerodrop.jcyrus.com/ws by default)
zerodrop your_username

# Or connect to a custom server
zerodrop your_username wss://your-server.com/ws

# For local development (requires local server running)
zerodrop your_username ws://localhost:8080/ws

Controls

Message Mode:

• i or Enter: Enter message mode
• Esc: Exit message mode
• Enter: Send message

Security Commands:

• /verify <username>: Show a peer's safety number for out-of-band comparison
• /confirm <username>: Mark a peer as trusted after verifying the safety number
• /expire <seconds> <message>: Send a self-destructing message with TTL
• /groupkey <group> <user1,user2,...>: Manually distribute a sender key for a group channel

Navigation:

• Esc or q: Quit (in normal mode)
• h/l or ←/→: Navigate channels
• Tab: Activate selected channel
• #: Jump to global channel
• d: Create DM with selected user
• J/K: Select user (for DM creation)

Scrolling:

• j/k or ↓/↑: Scroll down/up (one line)
• PageDown/PageUp: Scroll down/up (page)
• G: Jump to bottom (latest messages)
• g: Jump to top (oldest messages)

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☁️ Deployment (Host Your Own Relay)

Want to create a private network for your friends? Spin up the "Dumb Relay" in seconds.

Option A: The "One-Click" (Shuttle.rs)

No config required. Perfect for free tier hosting.

cd server
cargo shuttle deploy
# Copy the URL provided (e.g., wss://zerodrop.shuttleapp.rs)

Option B: Local / VPS

# For local development
cd server
cargo run --bin zerodrop-local
# Listens on 0.0.0.0:8080 by default

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📂 Documentation

• User Guide - Comprehensive guide to using ZeroDrop
• Security Model - Cryptographic design and threat analysis

For developer documentation, see the docs/dev/ directory:

• Client Architecture - Async/sync split, module breakdown
• Server Architecture - Relay pattern, deployment
• Feature Details - Implementation specifics
• Local Development - Development setup

🔎 Click to expand Technical Internals

The Stack

• Client: Ratatui (UI), Tokio (Async), Tungstenite (WebSockets)
• Server: Axum (Http), Shuttle (Infra)

The Threading Model (Critical)

To ensure the UI never freezes at 60fps, we use a strict Actor-model separation:

1. Main Thread: Synchronous. Handles drawing the UI and capturing keystrokes.
2. Network Task: Asynchronous. Runs on Tokio. Handles the WebSocket stream.
3. Bridge: mpsc::unbounded_channel passes messages between the two worlds.

The Protocol (JSON)

{
  "type": "MSG",
  "payload": "EncryptedBase64String...",
  "channel": "dm:alice:bob",
  "meta": {
    "sender": "User_Hash_ID",
    "timestamp": 171542100
  },
  "recipient": "bob",
  "ttl": 60
}

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🤝 Contributing (Join the Network)

We welcome all hackers, cypherpunks, and Rustaceans.

1. Fork the Project
2. Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feature/MatrixRain)
3. Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'Add Matrix rain effect')
4. Push to the Branch (git push origin feature/MatrixRain)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.

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_{Built with 🦀 and ☕ by jCyrus}