v2.0.9

Columba 2.0.9

Installation

Pick a backend, then download the APK matching your device's CPU architecture.

• Python backend, RECOMMENDED — ships Mark Qvist's official python reference implementations of Reticulum and LXMF via Chaquopy.
• Kotlin backend — ships Torlando's EXPERIMENTAL, AI-GENERATED native reticulum-kt / lxmf-kt / lxst-kt stack.

The python version is highly recommended. The kotlin version is a work in progress, and is not yet verified to be completely safe.
The kotlin version may yield better battery life depending on your device, and comes in a smaller apk due to not requiring a python runtime.

Python backend (official-rns-py)

APK	Architecture	Devices
columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-armeabi-v7a.apk	armeabi-v7a	Older 32-bit ARM phones & tablets
columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-arm64-v8a.apk	arm64-v8a	Most modern Android phones & tablets
columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-x86_64.apk	x86_64	Chromebooks, emulators, some tablets
columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-universal.apk	All	Universal fallback (larger download)

Kotlin backend (EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt)

APK	Architecture	Devices
columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-armeabi-v7a.apk	armeabi-v7a	Older 32-bit ARM phones & tablets
columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-arm64-v8a.apk	arm64-v8a	Most modern Android phones & tablets
columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-x86_64.apk	x86_64	Chromebooks, emulators, some tablets
columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-universal.apk	All	Universal fallback (larger download)

Telemetry variants:
Each APK above also has a -no-sentry variant without crash reporting for maximum privacy — append -no-sentry to any download link above (e.g. the most common builds: Python arm64-v8a no-sentry · Kotlin arm64-v8a no-sentry). Sentry collects stack traces when Columba encounters errors
and provides helpful information to the developer to improve Columba, but is hosted at sentry.io, and is thus not the maximum privacy option.

Not sure which to pick? Most Android phones use arm64-v8a. If unsure, use the universal APK.

Verification

See SECURITY.md for verification instructions.

Signing Certificate Fingerprints:

SHA-256: 02:2B:12:20:48:63:A3:1F:BF:07:5B:C9:F9:34:1E:33:52:78:80:2E:80:C9:27:A4:75:46:E4:7E:2F:4A:0C:5F
SHA-1:   0A:6B:AE:58:4E:D7:B5:D0:35:8B:3C:7B:65:11:D6:3A:81:21:0D:CE

SHA256 Checksums:

d80e60b4954eadab9f79698bb8db53fe14e64ad94d390d5c98c678cfda8f2042  columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-arm64-v8a-no-sentry.apk
10dff623760088c00fea95bbdcd32aa92d96cb6f2e6d08e9e148d51db717c859  columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-arm64-v8a.apk
b8d5b94c5e5a4f535bffad9c3d92ade83caf9de7392543781c1f2a8de2ccd1d5  columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-armeabi-v7a-no-sentry.apk
cba52a852412592e4fa69fd7942f1def6b4377332addc46d3a8158f522b7b8d4  columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-armeabi-v7a.apk
77c5df7c2521436ac3dddda43341d8ab537da9a9edd495174ce976e8d3df8e07  columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-universal-no-sentry.apk
bafb1cd3c9693c94c3fb672a7536e126457450b0ab9225d853d2cbcf9591709e  columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-universal.apk
f2231ababe6fe2a6e59da846546c858804165465f52a572f00551d7e562a3ccf  columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-x86_64-no-sentry.apk
5a39564a4cc592d60961ae0fb7329f2754e426b91c3e858ee5439f0e87a059e5  columba-2.0.9-EXPERIMENTAL-reticulum-kt-x86_64.apk
4db07f32d3f4f042b0ff0510c39350e032615fab6c8cd7114cb1ebedb6f5e143  columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-arm64-v8a-no-sentry.apk
c29392e074d0aa9e96c902c24a3e525d83abff04e1ec21cbb8055fa7aa7bad4a  columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-arm64-v8a.apk
1f2cfede410e82873351f4f66046b3a34e2a26a7ad9cb26ad74b5c0f43fa7331  columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-armeabi-v7a-no-sentry.apk
9d1c73153f5d80655eb99f418889337942536d3e76914c0f204b8494835f482d  columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-armeabi-v7a.apk
a58ef772dc1fcc0a40a78b30515640c30b229f89c845170ee30589dea8b8b876  columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-universal-no-sentry.apk
e4ec9a9342d4fb6f730db06c81b99229c63bd6f4d9da93ccca73e3419a564546  columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-universal.apk
c037a4b312483f0f4deedee4481c8ffa38aae00a0c50bfe992b8b05ddf46d093  columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-x86_64-no-sentry.apk
922bb1d06057ba51fc0af665422ad5302f42297d682d62aece30f5308b8e24de  columba-2.0.9-official-rns-py-x86_64.apk

What's Changed

• deps: bump Chaquopy 16.1.0 → 17.0.0 for Gradle 9 compat by @torlando-tech in #643
• feat(map): declutter overlapping contact markers by @MatthieuTexier in #572
• feat: add background location permission flow in Location Sharing settings by @MatthieuTexier in #600
• feat: add 'Locate on Map' to Chats, Messaging, and Contacts screens by @MatthieuTexier in #597
• fix: prevent binder buffer exhaustion causing crash loop by @torlando-tech in #652
• feat: add offline mode banner (#623) by @torlando-tech in #626
• fix: show notifications when app backgrounded on active conversation by @torlando-tech in #649
• fix: sort messages by local receive time to prevent clock-drift reordering by @torlando-tech in #645
• ci: split module tests into separate job to prevent shard 0 timeouts by @torlando-tech in #655
• Prevent duplicate message notifications on service restart by @torlando-tech in #650
• feat: add block & blackhole peer protection by @torlando-tech in #601
• feat: clean up stale announces, add PHONE NodeType and cross-link buttons by @torlando-tech in #581
• feat: add WiFi hotspot sharing for APK distribution without existing network by @torlando-tech in #632
• ci: trigger CI on release/* branches by @torlando-tech in #660
• fix: catch SecurityException when location permission revoked while backgrounded by @torlando-tech in #662
• feat: multiple firmware sources + custom firmware in RNode flasher (#485) by @torlando-tech in #582
• feat: RNode disconnect notification by @torlando-tech in #628
• fix: path persistence + proactive path resolution by @torlando-tech in #665
• chore: bump GitHub Actions dependencies to latest versions by @torlando-tech in #667
• feat: show outbound interface in message details (#646) by @torlando-tech in #666
• feat: NomadNet browser with Micron rendering, URL bar, and URI handler by @torlando-tech in #671
• ci: Bump reactivecircus/android-emulator-runner from 2.36.0 to 2.37.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #682
• fix: prevent crash on corrupted interface in edit dialog by @torlando-tech in #710
• fix: replace modal restart dialog with inline banner by @torlando-tech in #711
• fix: preserve settings state when combine flow re-fires (#688) by @torlando-tech in #712
• feat: add IFAC network_name and passphrase support for RNode interfaces by @torlando-tech in #718
• fix: prevent identity file loss and add opportunistic key backup by @MatthieuTexier in #717
• test: add regression tests for identity recovery edge cases by @torlando-tech in #720
• fix: prevent initial camera from overriding Locate on Map by @MatthieuTexier in #715
• fix: show address for auto-discovered backbone interfaces by @torlando-tech in #722
• fix: handle inline field=value variables in Micron links by @torlando-tech in #723
• feat: improve NomadNet page request reliability and status reporting by @torlando-tech in #724
• feat: add NomadNet file download support by @torlando-tech in #725
• Add micron parser audit comparing Columba against NomadNet and micron-parser-js by @torlando-tech in #678
• fix: prevent stale page request from overwriting current page by @torlando-tech in #726
• feat: render discovered interfaces as map pins with type filtering by @torlando-tech in #729
• fix: prevent announce list scroll jumps when new announces arrive by @torlando-tech in #727
• chore: upgrade to Gradle 9.4.1 and AGP 9.1.0 by @torlando-tech in #730
• fix: deduplicate path requests with hasPath guard by @torlando-tech in #735
• ci: bump gradle/actions from 5 to 6 by @dependabot[bot] in #731
• deps(deps): Bump the compose group with 2 updates by @dependabot[bot] in #684
• deps(deps): Bump cameraX from 1.5.2 to 1.5.3 by @dependabot[bot] in #685
• ci: bump codecov/codecov-action from 5 to 6 by @dependabot[bot] in #732
• fix: scope MapViewModel announce query to location senders by @torlando-tech in #737
• Interface discovery: search + filter + IFAC handling by @torlando-tech in #772
• Fix/sentry gradle hang by @torlando-tech in #776
• Complete native Reticulum migration and remove Python runtime by @torlando-tech in #762
• ci: bump softprops/action-gh-release from 2 to 3 by @dependabot[bot] in #768
• ci: bump actions/github-script from 8 to 9 by @dependabot[bot] in #769
• deps(deps): bump com.squareup.leakcanary:leakcanary-android from 2.13 to 2.14 by @dependabot[bot] in #756
• Default transport node to disabled for new users by @torlando-tech in #777
• Keep foreground notification in sync after :reticulum process restart by @torlando-tech in #775
• deps(deps): bump org.robolectric:robolectric from 4.16 to 4.16.1 by @dependabot[bot] in #755
• Rename com.lxmf.messenger -> network.columba.app by @torlando-tech in #779
• Remove AIDL surface from ReticulumService by @torlando-tech in #780
• Remove Python-era dead code from ReticulumService by @torlando-tech in #781
• Collapse Room migrations — ColumbaDatabase v1 + InterfaceDatabase v1 by @torlando-tech in #782
• Make builds reproducible by @torlando-tech in #783
• Consume Reticulum/LXMF/LXST stack from JitPack (drop submodules) by @torlando-tech in #786
• Wire delivery + transport identities through memory, scrub on-disk copies by @torlando-tech in #785
• Bump LXST-kt to v0.0.3 (JVM 21 target) by @torlando-tech in #787
• Drop files/reticulum/ backup exclusion (take 2, with LXMF ratchets) by @torlando-tech in #790
• About card: AGPLv3 label, catalog-driven protocol versions, settings-flow state preservation by @torlando-tech in #789
• Eliminate plaintext identity-file window in createIdentity/importIdentity paths by @torlando-tech in #791
• Bump LXMF-kt to v0.0.4 by @torlando-tech in #793
• Register MIGRATION_2_3 + destinationRatchetStore in NativeReticulumProtocol by @torlando-tech in #794
• Update and rename LICENSE to LICENSE.md by @serialrf433 in #797
• Route to IdentityUnlockScreen when Keystore-wrapped identity can't be decrypted after restore by @torlando-tech in #796
• fix: harden Room DB against process-kill corruption (COLUMBA-8C) by @torlando-tech in #799
• fix: ignore CancellationException in rapid interface toggles by @torlando-tech in #801
• fix: remove TestHostActivity launcher entry and LeakCanary icon by @torlando-tech in #743
• fix: route all PRAGMAs through db.query() so Android accepts them by @torlando-tech in #803
• fix: pass IFAC passphrase through to TCPClientInterface factory by @torlando-tech in #804
• fix: render image/file/audio-only messages instead of skipping as telemetry by @torlando-tech in #805
• fix: render file attachments sent in LXMF positional wire format by @torlando-tech in #806
• Bump reticulum-kt to v0.0.8 by @torlando-tech in #808
• Surface announce filters as sticky chip rows; rebrand Nodes → Sites by @torlando-tech in #807
• fix: guard PRAGMA journal_mode and synchronous against Room transactions by @sentry[bot] in #809
• Fix ANR when answering LXST call on slow transports by @torlando-tech in #811
• Restore long-press → delete on interface cards by @torlando-tech in #812
• Refresh interface online status when library state changes by @torlando-tech in #813
• Stop interface-card subtitle from repeating the type label by @torlando-tech in #814
• Bump reticulum-kt to v0.0.10 by @torlando-tech in #815
• NativeInterfaceFactory owns its own coroutine scope by @torlando-tech in #818
• Plumb received-side RSSI/SNR/interface/hop fields to MessageEntity by @torlando-tech in #819
• Propagate LXMessage packet metadata through the receive pipeline by @torlando-tech in #820
• Bump reticulum-kt to v0.0.11 (BLE per-packet RSSI) + local composite-build dev loop by @torlando-tech in #826
• Remove .drop(1) from interface online observer to close fast-transition race by @torlando-tech in #827
• Bump reticulum-kt to v0.0.12 (expire path on link establishment failure) by @torlando-tech in #828
• Dispatch MapViewModel.loadInterfaceMarkers to IO to avoid main-thread Room read by @torlando-tech in #829
• Bump LXMF-kt to v0.0.6 (send-hang fix) + dependencySubstitution for JitPack-collapsed libs by @torlando-tech in #830
• Add Edit action to interface-card long-press menu by @torlando-tech in #831
• Give interface cards the same semantic icon mapping as announce cards by @torlando-tech in #832
• Unify IFAC network-access UI across all interface wizards by @torlando-tech in #833
• Implement TCPServer branch in NativeInterfaceFactory by @torlando-tech in #834
• Bump reticulum-kt to v0.0.13 (BLE handshake concurrency fix) by @torlando-tech in #835
• Move map interface filters behind a layers icon by @torlando-tech in #838
• Add map style picker (Auto / Light / Dark) to the layers sheet by @torlando-tech in #839
• Bump LXMF-kt to v0.0.7 (processingScope silent-drop fix) by @torlando-tech in #840
• Render Micron links on form lines in the NomadNet browser by @torlando-tech in #841
• Auto-linkify bare http/https URLs in the NomadNet browser by @torlando-tech in #842
• fix: prevent spontaneous scroll jumps when reading old messages by @torlando-tech in #668
• fix: replace continuous GPS with on-demand one-shot in Group Tracker by @MatthieuTexier in #746
• Move Transport Node toggle to a new Advanced settings card by @torlando-tech in #846
• Bump LXMF-kt to v0.0.8 — DIRECT double-delivery + dedup keys fixes by @torlando-tech in #848
• Bump reticulum-kt v0.0.14 + LXMF-kt v0.0.9 — multi-hop link race fixes + version alignment by @torlando-tech in #849
• detekt: add DiscardedConcurrencyReturn custom rule by @torlando-tech in #858
• feat(NomadNetBrowserScreen): replace duplicate Identify dropdown item with Close site by @torlando-tech in #882
• chore: bump reticulum-kt v0.0.14 → v0.0.16, LXMF-kt v0.0.9 → v0.0.11 by @torlando-tech in #870
• chore(build): isolate debug builds with .debug applicationId + columbatest label by @torlando-agent[bot] in #885
• fix(SmokeTest): assert context.packageName == BuildConfig.APPLICATION_ID by @torlando-agent[bot] in #895
• fix(OnboardingPagerScreen): refresh permission cards on resume by @torlando-agent[bot] in #890
• feat(InterfaceConfig): per-interface Wi-Fi/cellular network restriction by @torlando-agent[bot] in #896
• fix(viewmodel): deflake DebugViewModelEventDrivenTest + ApkSharingViewModelTest by @torlando-agent[bot] in #891
• feat(MicronPageContent): allow text selection on rendered NomadNet pages by @torlando-agent[bot] in #884
• Update ci.yml - update JDK to 25 and setup-java to @5 by @serialrf433 in #778
• ci(release): include reticulum-kt / LXMF-kt / LXST-kt changelogs in release notes by @torlando-tech in #908
• test(debug): TestReceiver/TestController for phone harness Stage 1 by @torlando-tech in #909
• deps(reticulum-kt, LXMF-kt): bump v0.0.16 → v0.0.17, v0.0.11 → v0.0.12 by @torlando-tech in #910
• Fix shutdown race that could close DB while Room writes are mid-transaction (Sentry COLUMBA-8R) by @torlando-tech in #857
• deps(LXMF-kt): bump v0.0.12 → v0.0.13 (Sideband stamp-drop fix) by @torlando-tech in #914
• deps(reticulum-kt): bump v0.0.17 → v0.0.20 by @torlando-tech in #915
• fix(nomadnet): submit field defaults and pad form for IME (#917) by @torlando-tech in #918
• feat(rns): dual-backend architecture (kotlin + python flavors) by @torlando-tech in #932
• feat: LXST call privacy gates + telemetry responder (dual-build) by @torlando-tech in #933
• feat: punch-list items 3-7 + 10 + identity flow + RNode (dual-build) by @torlando-tech in #934
• fix(python-backend): map shows no discovered-interface markers by @torlando-tech in #935
• chore(license): AGPLv3 -> MPL 2.0 for Reticulum compatibility by @torlando-tech in #936
• Dual-backend release: Python-first APKs, co-installable Kotlin flavor, R8 bridge gate by @torlando-tech in #938
• feat(rns,ui): user-toggleable Share Instance hosting (Python backend) by @torlando-tech in #939
• fix(release): keep minified pythonBackend Python startup working (duplicate org.json) by @torlando-tech in #940
• feat(ble): surface live BLE peer connections to the Network Status card by @torlando-tech in #941
• feat(settings): add BLE Connections button to the Network card by @torlando-tech in #942
• ci(release): bump release build timeout 20m → 40m by @torlando-tech in #943
• fix(rns): TCP/interface type shows as obfuscated "wy2" in release builds by @torlando-tech in #946
• feat(telemetry): consent-based crash reporting + build-time Sentry removal by @torlando-tech in #947
• ci(release): link APKs directly from the release body tables by @torlando-tech in #948
• fix(rns): inbound LXST voice R8 regression + enforce @ReflectivelyKept keep contract by @torlando-tech in #949
• fix(ci): raise Gradle heap to 6GB to stop release APK packaging OOM by @torlando-tech in #950
• fix(rns-host): 1-arg readParcelable in snapshot reader (API 33 NoSuchMethodError on minSdk 24) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #953
• chore(lint): enable Android Lint (NewApi, no baseline) + fix 6 NewApi violations by @torlando-agent[bot] in #954
• feat(reactions): migrate reaction wire format to canonical LXMF FIELD_REACTION (0x40) by @torlando-tech in #956
• fix(settings): don't crash on RnsException(BackendNotReady) during availability polling by @torlando-tech in #960
• ci: Bump actions/setup-python from 5 to 6 by @dependabot[bot] in #959
• fix(reactions): reject blank/absent emoji on the legacy 0x10 parse path by @torlando-tech in #957
• fix(rns-ipc): guard network-status observer registration against dead backend by @torlando-tech in #962
• fix(rns-ipc): guard all observer registrations against dead backend (COLUMBA-B0) by @torlando-tech in #963
• fix(proguard): keep LXST NativeCodec2/NativeOpus for JNI RegisterNatives (COLUMBA-B1/B2) by @torlando-tech in #964
• chore(deps): bump LXST-kt to v0.0.4 (JNI keep for NativeCodec2/NativeOpus) by @torlando-tech in #966
• fix(rns-ipc): transfer LXMF attachments out-of-band to fix TransactionTooLargeException by @torlando-tech in #967
• fix(performance): batch interface_first_seen inserts in MapViewModel by @sentry[bot] in #951
• fix(build): enable java.time desugaring for minSdk 24 by @sentry[bot] in #944
• Match Sideband's LXMF telemetry-request command: epoch-seconds timebase + collector flag (#927) by @torlando-tech in #968
• fix(settings): handle ActivityNotFoundException when opening URLs by @sentry[bot] in #958
• fix(ui): treat NomadNet page addresses in messages as in-app links by @torlando-agent[bot] in #971
• fix(ui): make announce-stream filter chips exclusive (closes #862) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #975
• feat(ui): collapsible announce-stream filter chips + WindowSizeClass foundation (closes #922) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #976
• fix(announce,ui): make announce-card interface icon resilient to classifier-cache drift by @torlando-agent[bot] in #978
• fix(rns-ipc): inbound attachments out-of-band + stop observer-detach cascade (TransactionTooLargeException) by @torlando-tech in #979
• feat(share-instance): surface host row + Hub icon, fix Change-pending hint by @torlando-agent[bot] in #974
• fix(share-instance): persist hosting toggle + close 37428 listener so hosting survives :reticulum restart by @torlando-tech in #980
• build: bump ktlint to 1.5.0 to relax discouraged-comment-location (#923) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #984
• Fix: pan short NomadNet pages from anywhere in the viewport (#681) by @torlando-tech in #982
• fix(location): restore precise location for sharing — drop merged FINE maxSdkVersion cap (#855) by @torlando-tech in #986
• feat(messaging): add "Select text" action to copy message substrings (#920) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #985
• feat(nomadnet): remember selected page rendering mode across sessions by @torlando-tech in #983
• fix(location): gate precise-permission prompt on location sharing enabled (#991) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #992
• fix(announce): route test announce through proper LXMF self-announce (#988) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #989
• deps(deps): Bump the kotlin group across 1 directory with 6 updates by @dependabot[bot] in #913
• fix(identity): reject non-64-byte keys before RNS reconstruction (COLUMBA-B8) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #993
• chore(deps): bump reticulum-kt v0.0.20 → v0.0.21 (COLUMBA-B7) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #994
• fix(nomadnet): handle link field/query params on deep-link & URL-bar page loads by @torlando-tech in #998
• fix(qr): don't crash when CameraX init fails on virtual cameras (COLUMBA-BA) by @torlando-agent[bot] in #1000
• feat(messaging): send on Enter, Shift+Enter for newline by @torlando-agent[bot] in #999
• deps(deps): bump the compose group with 2 updates by @dependabot[bot] in #995
• feat(InterfaceManagementScreen): network-restriction chip on interface cards by @torlando-agent[bot] in #906

New Contributors

• @torlando-agent[bot] made their first contribution in #885

Full Changelog: v0.9.18...v2.0.9