Sideband is an extensible LXMF messaging client, situational awareness tracker and remote control and monitoring system for Android, Linux, macOS and Windows. It allows you to communicate with other people or LXMF-compatible systems over Reticulum networks using LoRa, Packet Radio, WiFi, I2P, Encrypted QR Paper Messages, or anything else Reticulum supports.
Sideband is completely free, end-to-end encrypted, permission-less, anonymous and infrastructure-less. Sideband uses the peer-to-peer and distributed messaging system [LXMF](https://github.com/markqvist/lxmf "LXMF"). There is no sign-up, no service providers, no "end-user license agreements", no data theft and no surveillance. You own the system.
This also means that Sideband operates differently than what you might be used to. It does not need a connection to a server on the Internet to function, and you do not have an account anywhere. Please read the Guide section included in the program, to get an understanding of how Sideband differs from other messaging systems.
- **Secure** and **self-sovereign** messaging using the LXMF protocol over Reticulum.
- **Image** and **file transfers** over all supported mediums.
- **Audio messages** that work even over **LoRa** and **radio links**, thanks to [Codec2](https://github.com/drowe67/codec2/) and [Opus](https://github.com/xiph/opus) encoding.
- Secure and direct P2P **telemetry and location sharing**. No third parties or servers ever have your data.
- Situation display on both online and **locally stored offline maps**.
- Exchanging messages through **encrypted QR-codes on paper**, or through messages embedded directly in **lxm://** links.
- Using **Android devices as impromptu Reticulum routers** (*Transport Instances*), for setting up or extending networks easily.
- Remote **command execution and response engine**, with built-in commands, such as `ping`, `signal` reports and `echo`, and **full plug-ing expandability**.
- Remote **telemetry querying**, with strong, secure and cryptographically robust authentication and control.
- **Plugin system** that allows you to easily **create your own commands**, services and telemetry sources.
Sideband is fully compatible with other LXMF clients, such as [MeshChat](https://github.com/liamcottle/reticulum-meshchat), and [Nomad Network](https://github.com/markqvist/nomadnet). The Nomad Network client also allows you to easily host Propagation Nodes for your LXMF network, and more.
For your Android devices, you can install Sideband through F-Droid, by adding the [Between the Borders Repo](https://reticulum.betweentheborders.com/fdroid/repo/), or you can download an [APK on the latest release](https://github.com/markqvist/Sideband/releases/latest) page. Both sources are signed with the same release keys, and can be used interchangably.
After the application is installed on your Android device, it is also possible to pull updates directly through the **Repository** section of the application.
On all Linux-based operating systems, Sideband is available as a `pip` package. This installation method **includes desktop integration**, so that Sideband will show up in your applications menu and launchers.
Depending on your system, you may need to install the `python-pyaudio` or `python3-pyaudio` package for audio messaging support. Make sure you have Python and `pip` installed (default on most modern distributions), and run:
**Please Note!** If you are using an operating system that blocks normal user package installation via `pip`, it's easy to permanently return `pip` to normal behaviour by editing the `~/.config/pip/pip.conf` file, and adding the following directive in the `[global]` section:
You can also simply add the `--break-system-packages` directive on a per-installation basis. For example, on a system that blocks normal user package installation, you can install Sideband by running `pip install sbapp --break-system-packages`.
If you have not already installed Python and `pip3` on your macOS system, [download and install](https://www.python.org/downloads/) the latest version first.
Even though there is currently not an automated installer, or packaged `.exe` file for Sideband on Windows, you can still install it through `pip`. If you don't already have Python installed, [download and install](https://www.python.org/downloads/) the latest version of Python.
**Important!** When asked by the installer, make sure to add the Python program to your PATH environment variables. If you don't do this, you will not be able to use the `pip` installer, or run the `sideband` command.
When Python has been installed, you can open a command prompt and install sideband via `pip`:
The Sideband application can now be launched by running the command `sideband` in the command prompt. If needed, you can create a shortcut for Sideband on your desktop or in the start menu.
When running Sideband for the first time, a default Reticulum configuration file will be created, if you don't already have one. If you don't have any existing Reticulum connectivity available locally, you may want to edit the file, located at `C:\Users\USERNAME\.reticulum\config` and manually add an interface that provides connectivity to a wider network. If you just want to connect over the Internet, you can add one of the public hubs on the [Reticulum Testnet](https://reticulum.network/connect.html).
While I wouldn't generally recommend it, you *can* use the `pipx` tool to install Sideband, but on Linux you will have to launch Sideband from the command line, or create your own launcher links, since `pipx` does not support desktop integration. Unfortunately, it does not seem like `pipx` will be adding desktop integration in the near future, so restoring the original `pip` tool to its proper behaviour is recommended for now.
The `pipx` installer also has trouble with including distribution-installed Python packages, so you will need to install additional packages on your system that will allow `pipx` to build required dependencies from source. In general, it will require a working build environment and header files for PortAudio. On Debian and derivatives, this would look something like `sudo apt install build-essential portaudio19-dev`. On Manjaro you would want something like `pamac install base-devel portaudio`.
If you want to use `pipx` anyway, and after the necessary dependencies are installed, you can simply do:
You can try out the paper messaging functionality by using the following QR-code. It is a paper message sent to the LXMF address `6b3362bd2c1dbf87b66a85f79a8d8c75`. To be able to decrypt and read the message, you will need to import the following base32-encoded Reticulum Identity into the app:
You can import the identity into Sideband in the **Encryption Keys** part of the program. After the you have imported the identity, you can scan the following QR-code and open it in the app, where it will be decrypted and added to your messages.
You can also find the entire message in <ahref="lxm://azNivSwdv4e2aoX3mo2MdTAozuI7BlzrLlHULmnVgpz3dNT9CMPVwgywzCJP8FVogj5j_kU7j7ywuvBNcr45kRTrd19c3iHenmnSDe4VEd6FuGsAiT0Khzl7T81YZHPTDhRNp0FdhDE9AJ7uphw7zKMyqhHHxOxqrYeBeKF66gpPxDceqjsOApvsSwggjcuHBx9OxOBy05XmnJxA1unCKgvNfOFYc1T47luxoY3c0dLOJnJPwZuFRytx2TXlQNZzOJ28yTEygIfkDqEO9mZi5lgev7XZJ0DvgioQxMIyoCm7lBUzfq66zW3SQj6vHHph7bhr36dLOCFgk4fZA6yia2MlTT9KV66Tn2l8mPNDlvuSAJhwDA_xx2PN9zKadCjo9sItkAp8r-Ss1CzoUWZUAyT1oDw7ly6RrzGBG-e3eM3CL6u1juIeFiHby7_3cON-6VTUuk4xR5nwKlFTu5vsYMVXe5H3VahiDSS4Q1aqX7I">this link</a>:
On operating systems that allow for registering custom URI-handlers, you can click the link, and it will be decoded directly in your LXMF client. This works with Sideband on Android.
Permission is hereby granted to use Sideband in binary form, for any and all purposes, and to freely distribute binary copies of the program, so long as no payment or compensation is charged or received for such distribution or use.
