Sideband: the reference Reticulum messenger

By the end of this page Sideband on your phone or computer is connected to the IranTalk node, the Offline Inbox is set, and you have sent a first message.

Tier 2: open internet · Needs internet.

Sideband is the official messenger of the Reticulum network and understands the same addresses as Ratspeak: on Android, Linux, macOS and Windows. The addresses this page needs are on Ways to connect. Copy them from there and from nowhere else.

1. Install

1. Android: get the APK from the offline pack or from the maker's release, and before installing compare its hash with the signed file list (Check the fingerprint and the signed list). Sideband is not in the app stores; installing from a file is normal.
2. Computer: the Linux, macOS or Windows build from the same release, or with Python: pipx install sbapp.
3. The first start creates a Reticulum identity. In Settings, give it a display name that is not your real name.

2. Connect to the node

1. From the main menu, open Connectivity.
2. Switch on "Connect via TCP".
3. Enter the host and port from the "Reticulum (TCP)" row on Ways to connect.
4. When the internet is filtered and you have I2P, switch on "Connect via I2P" instead and enter the "Reticulum (I2P)" row.
5. Close and reopen the app so the connection comes up. After a few minutes the IranTalk node appears in the Announce Stream.

3. Offline Inbox

The LXMF propagation node is what Ratspeak calls the Offline Inbox: a message for someone who is not online right now waits there until they come and collect it.

1. In the Announce Stream, find the propagation node whose address matches the "LXMF propagation node" row on Ways to connect. Compare it character by character.
2. Open it and choose it as your propagation node.
3. On the Conversations screen, the Sync button fetches waiting messages from the inbox. In Settings you can make syncing automatic.

4. First message

1. On the Conversations screen, announce yourself so others can see you.
2. Start a new conversation and paste the other person's LXMF address, or pick them from their announce.
3. Write and send. If they are offline and the Offline Inbox is set, the message waits on the node.

5. By radio, without internet

The same app works over Bluetooth with a radio for your phone: in Connectivity, "Connect via RNode". The radio settings (frequency, bandwidth, power) must match your group's. Before you switch a radio on, read Before you switch on a radio.