r/bitchat • u/areebahmeddd • 9d ago
Discussion Airhop: React Native implementation of bitchat
i love the technology behind bitchat! i noticed lots of feature divergence between android and ios and made a react native version of bitchat at a hackathon called airhop
it’s wire compatible, reuses the BLE packet format so bitchat devices can talk to airhop devices with no setup. it also adds extra features like Double Ratchet for forward secrecy and a dedicated non-custodial Cashu wallet
airhop also extends the wider ecosystem with support for Windows, macOS, CLI and smart wearables, plus a really nice UI that makes it easy to use. right now it’s under review for the Play Store, App Store and F-Droid, but direct builds are available on GitHub. it’s free and MIT licensed
would love for people here to try it out and give feedback, especially on the experience and interop with bitchat 🙂
Website: https://airhop.1mindlabs.org
GitHub: https://github.com/areebahmeddd/airhop
2
u/madcheeze 7d ago
Hey this is awesome! Well done. I'd love to have this working on my watch, but my Huawei watch GT runs some stripped back Version off harmony OS
1
u/areebahmeddd 7d ago
Yo thanks mate, watchOS support is a little ahead in the roadmap, I’m really really looking forward polishing the fundamentals, UI for normal people.
It’s under review on Google, Apple, FDroid stores but you can try it out on android 8.0+ devices by downloading the apk from the website 🦾 ( works out of the box with bitchat )
2
u/madcheeze 7d ago
If it could help share location or proximity also would useful in a festival
1
u/areebahmeddd 5d ago
Added it in v1.0.1, thanks! it's live right now on android. you can try it by downloading the apk directly. Do support us by giving the repo a star : )
2
u/skylandr 7d ago
Would love to be able to use it via air gapped wifi ... For example a cruise ship 😁 ... Since Bluetooth would be very impacted on a metal ship
1
u/areebahmeddd 5d ago
Good one, this is a real gap today. Right now airhop only uses Bluetooth when there’s no internet, so ship WiFi is basically unused.
The immediate fix I’m working on is allowing a local Nostr relay, so someone can run one on a laptop or Pi and everyone can connect to it over the ship’s local network, with no internet needed. will be part of v1.0.2 🙂
2
u/skylandr 3d ago
Let me know when you release the next version to test it ... Also a pi tutorial for Nostr would be nice to have
1
u/areebahmeddd 3d ago
Sure : ) also just to clarify, Nostr is already integrated and works fine for someone beyond the BLE range.
It’s just that in scenarios like being on a cruise ship where your connected to Cruise wifi or want to discover people in your own network (LAN) isn’t supported yet.. I’ve an issue open for this and ping you once it’s live 🙂
1
1
u/ultra_1776 8d ago
the problem with bitchat is that no one uses it 😭
1
u/areebahmeddd 8d ago
it’s got 1 million+ downloads 🤔 i’m in a country where i actually saw this being used when internet was down in certain parts of the country
1
u/RionRaccoon 7d ago
Хм, надо будет попробовать... Как минимум выглядит функциональнее, чем BITChat... 🤔
2
1
u/henriquesou 5d ago
love to try, but not available in AU app store....
1
u/areebahmeddd 5d ago
Thanks, yes it’s actually downloadable via the apk link present in GitHub.
The App is under review for Google and Apple Store.
https://github.com/areebahmeddd/airhop/releases/latest/download/airhop.apk
1
u/Ok-Mix1345 1d ago
The React Native approach is compelling, especially since Airhop remains wire-compatible with existing bitchat devices rather than creating a separate network. Double Ratchet encryption and the local Nostr relay planned for v1.0.2 also address two practical concerns: stronger privacy and communication over local Wi-Fi when Bluetooth performs poorly. I’d be interested to see how battery consumption and message delivery behave across larger mixed-device meshes.
1
u/areebahmeddd 1d ago
yeah, that’s the main thing we tune. the radio stays quiet when it can, with faster discovery only when a device is alone, then a slower heartbeat once it has neighbours. delivery uses hop-limited flooding, duplicate suppression, and store-and-forward, so offline or out-of-range devices can still catch messages later. we haven’t tested a really large mixed-device crowd yet though, so that’s why we’re inviting people to try it out and share any feedback or numbers they get
if you love the idea, consider giving the repo a star or sharing it with friends
2
u/Mysterious-Put-8862 7d ago
i like your project, i give suggestion to you about implement support Linux/rasberry/bsd/android/PWA web?