Getting‐Started

Getting Started

There are three ways to use Lattix. All of them run the same crypto locally and talk to a Lattix relay server (which you or someone else hosts).

• A. Run from source — quickest for trying it out.
• B. Standalone desktop app — double-click install, no Python.
• C. Chrome extension — a toolbar button that opens the app.

Heads-up: off localhost, Lattix requires HTTPS. Browsers only expose the Web Crypto API in a secure context, so a public deployment must be served over https://. See Self-Hosting & Deployment.

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A. Run from source

Requires Python 3.10+.

git clone https://github.com/aingram702/Lattix.git
cd Lattix/Lattix                   # the app lives in the repo's Lattix/ subfolder

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate          # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

python run.py                      # opens http://localhost:8000

Useful flags:

python run.py --host 0.0.0.0 --port 9000   # expose on your LAN
python run.py --reload                     # dev auto-reload
python run.py --no-browser                 # don't auto-open a browser

To try it end-to-end, open the app in two different browsers (or one normal

• one private window), create two accounts, and start chatting — each browser holds its own identity vault.

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B. Standalone desktop app

Double-click installers bundle a Python runtime — nothing to install on the target machine. Launching Lattix starts a local relay on http://localhost:8000 and opens it in your browser.

Platform	Artifact
Windows	LattixSetup.exe
macOS	Lattix-<ver>-<arch>.dmg
Linux	Lattix-<ver>-<arch>.run

Get them from the repo's Actions tab (run the matching build workflow and download the artifact), from a tagged Release, or build locally. See Desktop Apps & Extension.

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C. Chrome extension

The client/ folder is also a Chrome MV3 extension.

1. Run a Lattix relay somewhere (python run.py, an installer, or a deployment).
2. Chrome → chrome://extensions → enable Developer mode → Load unpacked → select the client/ folder.
3. Click the Lattix toolbar icon, then Settings → Relay server and point it at your server URL (default http://localhost:8000).

See Desktop Apps & Extension for details.

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First run: creating your identity

1. Create account — pick a username and a password. Lattix generates your post-quantum keys on-device and seals them into an encrypted vault with your password. The server only receives your public keys.

   Your password cannot be recovered. If you lose it, you lose the vault on that device — export a backup (below) to be safe.

2. Unlock — on a device that already has a vault, you just enter your password.
3. Import a vault — move your identity to a new device with an exported .vault.json file (Settings → Export vault).

Starting a conversation

• New chat: click + New chat, search a username, and message them.
• New group: click 👥 New group, name it, add members, create.
• Verify a contact: open a chat's Verify dialog and compare the safety code with what your contact sees on their device. Matching codes mean the channel is authentic (no man-in-the-middle). This is the one manual step that upgrades "encrypted" to "encrypted and verified" — see Security & Trust Model.

Next: the full Features tour.