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.
Sideband works well with the terminal-based LXMF client [Nomad Network](https://github.com/markqvist/nomadnet), which 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 Archive 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.
**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`.
You *can* use the `pipx` tool to install Sideband in an isolated environment, 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. If you want to use `pipx` anyway, it is as simple as:
It is possible to install and run Sideband on Windows, although some features are not fully functional. 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`:
```bash
pip install sbapp
```
The Sideband application can now be launched by running the command `sideband` in the command prompt.
**Most importantly**, the `AutoInterface` in Reticulum is not yet supported on Windows. This means that on the first run, Sideband will not be able to automatically find any peers or potential Reticulum Transport Nodes you have on your local network.
When running Sideband for the first time, a default Reticulum configuration file will be created, if you don't already have one. You will have to edit this 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).
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.
