DARK/NODE

Sovereign Infrastructure Stack — Local AI · LoRa Mesh Radio · Off-Grid Payments

---

Run your own node. Local AI inference, mesh radio communication, and off-grid payments — unified in a single stack that runs on your hardware. No servers. No accounts. No internet required.

---

What is DARKNODE?

DARKNODE combines three systems that nobody has combined before:

System	Technology	What it does
🤖 Local AI	llama.cpp + GGUF	Runs a quantized LLM fully on-device. No API keys. No cloud calls.
📡 Mesh Radio	Meshtastic + LoRa	Bridges to LoRa radio over USB. Range: 5–15 km per hop. No towers.
₿ Off-Grid Payments	Bitcoin HD + Cashu	Send ecash tokens as plain text over radio. Works without internet.

---

Quick Install

Requirements: Node.js 18+ and Python 3.11+

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/kingzero-creator/darknode && cd darknode

# Run the full installer
npm run install:full

The installer automatically downloads:

• llama.cpp runtime binary for your platform
• A starter GGUF model (Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct-Q4_K_M)
• Python dependencies for Meshtastic

Then open http://localhost:3333 in your browser.

---

Features

🤖 Local AI

• Runs llama.cpp inference entirely on-device
• No API keys, no cloud calls, no data leaves your machine
• Supports any GGUF model from 0.5B to 7B+ parameters
• Model manager: download/switch models from the web UI
• Mesh-triggered queries: any node can send @bot or !ask over radio

📡 LoRa Mesh Radio

• Bridges to any Meshtastic-compatible device via USB serial
• Auto-detects port, auto-installs Python bridge
• Tracks all nodes: battery, SNR, GPS position, environment sensors
• Full inbound/outbound message log
• Range: 5–15 km per hop, extendable through relay nodes

₿ Off-Grid Payments

• Built-in Bitcoin HD wallet (BIP44, stored locally)
• Cashu ecash wallet — tokens are plain text strings
• Send tokens over radio as messages
• Redeem to Lightning when connectivity returns
• No internet required at transfer time

🔒 Privacy & Security

• 100% local data storage in ./data/
• Zero telemetry, zero analytics, zero accounts
• Air-gap ready — works completely disconnected
• Fully auditable open-source code

---

Compatible Hardware

Device	Price	Notes
Heltec LoRa 32	~$20–30	Best starter. Compact, built-in OLED.
LilyGO T-Beam	~$35–45	Built-in GPS + battery management.
RAK WisBlock	~$40–60	Modular, great for permanent installs.
SenseCAP T1000	~$50–60	Card-sized, ultra portable.

No radio? DARKNODE still runs — local AI and wallet work fine without a device connected.

---

How It Works

[Any LoRa Device]
      │
      │ "@bot what is the weather?"
      │
      ▼
[Relay Node] ──hop──► [Relay Node] ──hop──► [DARKNODE AI Node]
                                                    │
                                              llama.cpp inference
                                              (fully on-device)
                                                    │
[Any LoRa Device] ◄──hop──◄──hop──◄─── response broadcast

1. Connect — Plug in a Meshtastic LoRa device. App auto-detects it.
2. Ask — Any device in range sends @bot your question over radio.
3. Inference — The AI node processes it locally, no internet needed.
4. Response — Answer routes back through the mesh to the requester.
5. Pay — Cashu tokens travel the same way as messages.

---

Project Structure

darknode/
├── src/
│   ├── ai/          # llama.cpp bridge, model manager
│   ├── radio/       # Meshtastic serial bridge
│   ├── wallet/      # Bitcoin HD + Cashu ecash
│   └── web/         # Web dashboard (port 3333)
├── data/            # Local storage (messages, nodes, wallet, proofs)
├── models/          # GGUF model files
├── scripts/         # Install scripts (Linux/Mac/Windows)
└── README.md

---

Use Modes

Mode 1 — Local AI Only

No radio needed. Full web UI, local AI chat, wallet functions.

Node.js 18+ + Python 3.11+ + GGUF model

Mode 2 — Full Mesh Node

Everything above plus a Meshtastic device. Becomes an AI gateway and relay for the entire mesh.

Node.js 18+ + Python 3.11+ + GGUF model + Meshtastic LoRa device

---

Changelog

v0.4.0 — Mar 2025 major

• New web dashboard with real-time node map
• Model manager: download/switch GGUF models from UI
• Cashu ecash wallet integration
• Fixed serial port auto-detection on Windows

v0.3.2 — Jan 2025 patch

• Reduced memory usage on low-RAM devices
• Fixed mesh reconnect loop on signal loss
• Added support for Qwen2.5 model family

v0.3.0 — Nov 2024 minor

• Built-in HD Bitcoin wallet
• LoRa bridge via Meshtastic USB serial
• ⚠️ Config format changed — re-run installer

v0.2.0 — Sep 2024 minor

• First public release
• Local llama.cpp inference via web UI
• @bot and !ask mesh query routing
• Auto-download GGUF models on install

---

Support the Project

This project is free and open source. If it's useful — in a blackout, off the grid, or just for the idea — consider sending something to keep development going.

Bitcoin

bc1p3p87l267hte2dgg60jjt7w9xk8vfcjenr534yya0hedhet4l4fvq2x2svp

Monero

42SWAqWMKAiAHokhaGjBRUdcdQqvMk3rmBAnnUpPNGhridJKFAknqCQeYnixXhbPtyEHzxBmUkMxAjQtLSQbiVq57Pbvge5

Ethereum

0xaA01e4F453d5ae9903EebeABA803f3388D20d024

---

Links

• 🌐 Website: darknode.html
• 🐦 Twitter/X: @zeroking0905
• 🔗 Featured on: Orynth.dev
• 📡 Meshtastic: meshtastic.org
• ⚡ Cashu: cashu.space

---

License

MIT License — free to use, modify, and distribute.

Free & Open Source · No Cloud · No Accounts · No Telemetry