Reticulum
Reticulum is a cryptography-based networking stack for building local and wide-area networks over almost any medium, including LoRa radios, packet radio, serial lines, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet. It is developed by Mark Qvist, and its reference implementation is a Python package, rns. Addresses come from public keys, so the network needs no central coordination.
How it works
Each destination on a Reticulum network is identified by a hash of its public keys. Traffic is encrypted using X25519 key exchange and signed with Ed25519. Nodes announce destinations, and paths form across whatever interfaces are configured, so one network can mix radio links and IP links.
Applications build on it: the LXMF message format, for example, and messaging apps such as Sideband. The stack is designed for slow, high-latency links as well as fast ones.
Why it matters
Reticulum lets groups run their own encrypted networks over radios they control, where there is no internet or the internet cannot be trusted. It is popular with off-grid and amateur radio users.
It is released under the Reticulum License, an MIT-style license with use restrictions: the software may not be used in systems designed to harm people, or to create datasets for training AI or machine learning models. Check those terms before adopting it.
How it relates to Offline Protocol
Offline Protocol can use Reticulum as one of its transports: the SDK connects to a Reticulum daemon or gateway that your deployment provides, and that network's links can include radios or IP. The SDK package does not ship the daemon, and it does not give a phone a LoRa radio.
That makes Reticulum a bridge from a phone mesh to longer-range radio networks you already run. See the docs on Reticulum and Nostr and LoRa.
Frequently asked questions
What is Reticulum used for?
Running encrypted networks over links you control, from LoRa and packet radio to Wi-Fi and Ethernet, often off-grid. Messaging apps such as Sideband use it through the LXMF format.
Is Reticulum open source?
Its source is public under the Reticulum License, which is MIT-style but adds use restrictions: it may not be used in systems designed to harm people, or to create AI or machine learning training datasets.
Does Offline Protocol support Reticulum?
Yes, as an opt-in transport through a Reticulum daemon or gateway your deployment provides. The SDK package does not include the daemon, so turning the setting on alone does not create a path.
