Databag

Communication for the Decentralized Web

  

_{Mobile and Browser App Screens}

Databag is a self-hosted messaging service. Notable features include:

• Decentralized (direct communication between app and server node)
• Federated (accounts on different nodes can communicate)
• Public-Private key based identity (not bound to any blockchain or hosting domain)
• End-to-End encryption (the hosting admin cannot view sealed topics, deafult unsealed)
• Audio and Video Calls (nat traversal requires separate relay server)
• Topic based threads (messages organized by topic not contacts)
• Lightweight (server can run on a raspberry pi zero v1.3)
• Low latency (use of websockets for push events to avoid polling)
• Unlimited accounts per node (host for your whole family)
• Mobile alerts for new contacts, messages, and calls (supports UnifiedPush, FCM, APN)

The app is available in the google and apple stores; F-Droid inclusion is in progress. You can also test out the project here, but don't post anything important as this server is regularly wiped. Feedback on the UI/UX, bugs or features is greatly appreciated.

Installation

To use databag, you will need a DNS name pointing to your node with a certificate. You can deploy a node manually, but you will have a much easier time using a container service. Containers for arm64 and amd64 are available here.

Docker Compose Command

From the net/container sub directory:

• sudo docker-compose -f compose.yaml -p databag up

Example with Portainer and Nginx Proxy Manager

From Portainer:

• In the volume view, click add volumen:
  • Enter a name, then click 'Create the volume'
• In the container view, click add container:
  • In the 'Image' field enter 'balzack/databag:latest'
  • Click 'publish a new network port', and select port 7000 for both host and container
  • Under 'Advanced container settings', select 'Env', and click 'Add Environment Variable'
    • Enter 'Name' as 'ADMIN' and your admin password [password]
  • Under 'Advanced container settings', select 'Volumes', then 'map additional volume'
    • Enter '/var/lib/databag' for 'container' and the created volume for 'volume'
  • Click 'Deploy the Container'

From Nginx Proxy Manager:

• Add a host and specify:
  • Hostname [hostname.domain]
  • Portainer IP address [address]
  • Port '7000'
  • Request new SSL certificate

From Your Browser:

• Enter your server address in the address bar [hostname.domain]
  • Click the cog icon in the top right
  • Enter your admin password: [password]
  • Click the cog icon in the dashboard
    • Enter Federated Host as [hostname.domain]
    • Click 'Save'
  • Click the user icon to generate a new account link
    • Follow the link to create an account

Other installation options

Instructions for installing without a container on a Raspberry Pi Zero are here.

Instructions for installing without a container in AWS are here.

Audio and Video Calls

Databag provides audio and video calling and relies on a STUN/TURN relay server for NAT traversal. Testing was done with both coturn and pion and should work with any implementation. Instructions for installing a coturn server are provided here.

If you want to enable audio and video calls, you should setup your own relay server. For testing purposes you can however use the demo relay server configuration. In the admin configuration modal, set:

• Enable WebRTC Calls: -switch on-
• WebRTC Server URL: turn:34.210.172.114:3478?transport=udp
• WebRTC Username: user
• WebRTC Password: pass