witchat v0.1.0

First public release of witchat 🧙‍♀️, an independent Windows and Linux client for the bitchat Bluetooth mesh. Not official, and not affiliated with the bitchat project.

What you get

• A real mesh peer: #mesh, relaying with the same timing and TTL rules as iOS, fragments and gossip sync. Witchat connects out to phones and, where the adapter allows it, lets phones connect in.
• Private messages with Noise end-to-end encryption, delivered and read receipts, a 24 h encrypted outbox, a Nostr fallback for mutual favorites, and a sealed copy a trusted peer can carry when no relay has accepted the message.
• Location channels, files and voice notes, opt-in Tor, the tray, notifications that never show message text, QR verification and a panic wipe.
• witchat --relay: a headless relay node for a PC or Linux box left on.
• The full list is in README.md.

Known issues

• Two phones relaying through the PC has been shown once with iOS phones; not yet with Android.
• Windows sometimes does not start advertising, so the footer stays "central-only" until you quit and open witchat again. Phones can still be reached, because witchat connects out to them.
• Linux: the GATT server (phones connecting in) and the relay user service build and pass tests, but have not been run with a phone on a real Linux desktop. Reports are welcome (CONTRIBUTING.md).
• A PC cannot discover an iPhone while bitchat is in the background there. Open bitchat on the phone once; the link then keeps working in the background.
• Phones that only see each other over Wi-Fi Aware do not appear.
• One copy per PC: the window app and --relay share the Bluetooth adapter, so a second copy refuses to start.
• Windows: after quitting and restarting witchat, Windows can keep a stuck connection to the phones, so they never reappear. witchat spots this and offers "reset Bluetooth", which turns the radio off and on and restarts witchat (headphones drop for a few seconds). The same button is on the Debug tab, and witchat --ble-links shows whether Windows still holds a phone. A headless --relay on Windows resets once by itself.
• Windows: the binary is unsigned, so the first start warns you. The browser may call the zip uncommon, SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC" (More info → Run anyway), and Defender may say "Risky action blocked" if the folder is on the Desktop or in OneDrive (Protection history → Allow on device). Check the hash below first. A match means this is the file from this release. Do not turn Defender off. Steps: docs/WINDOWS.md and README.md.

More limits, unchanged between releases: README.md.

Check your download

• The archive: its hash is in SHA256SUMS.txt on this release page.
• Windows: Get-FileHash witchat.exe must match witchat.exe.sha256.
• Linux: sha256sum -c witchat.sha256.
• Review these release archives on VirusTotal: Windows zip · Linux tar