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Glossary

Words you'll meet in rettui and around Reticulum, each in a line or two, with where to read more. Reticulum's own manual explains them properly; where it and this page differ, the manual is right.

The network

  • Reticulum: a networking stack that works without servers or central addresses, over whatever links there are: a local network, the internet, radios. (Manual)
  • Identity: the key pair behind everything you are on the network. Keep it safe: lose it and your addresses are gone. Every Reticulum program keeps it in the same format, so it can move between them (see Data and Storage). (Manual)
  • Address (destination): what others reach you at, 32 hex characters. It comes from your identity and the program's purpose, so one identity has several: your LXMF address for messages, your node's address for pages, and so on. (Manual)
  • Announce: a signed note telling the network an address exists, with its public key (and, for messages, your display name). Others learn how to reach you from it; until you announce, they can't find you. (Manual)
  • Hops: how many steps away something is; each transport node on the way adds one. Shown beside everything in the Network tab. (Manual)
  • Link: an encrypted connection between two programs, set up when needed: for pages, files, syncing with a propagation node and RRC. (Manual)

Getting connected

  • Interface: one way Reticulum reaches others: the local network (the Auto interface, over IPv6), a TCP connection to an entry point, a LoRa radio, a serial line, I2P and more. Set in the Reticulum config (the Reticulum tab). (Manual)
  • Transport node: a node that passes others' traffic and announces on. Entry points are transport nodes. rettui isn't one unless you turn on enable_transport, which is meant for machines that stay on. (Manual)
  • Entry point: a transport node anyone can connect to over the internet, to reach the wider network. RMAP World (rmap.world:4242) and Ratspeak & Colorado Mesh (rns.ratspeak.org:4242) are two; the getting-started guide offers several, and directory.rns.recipes lists more. (Manual)
  • Interface discovery: entry points can announce themselves as discoverable; with discovery on, Reticulum hears of them through the connections it has, and connects to some by itself (see Settings and Reticulum Config for what works so far). (Manual)
  • Shared instance: the first program to start Reticulum on a computer opens the interfaces, and programs started after it share them. If rnsd or another program got there first, its config's interfaces are the ones in use. (Manual)
  • Network name and passphrase (IFAC): set on an interface, they keep out anyone who doesn't know them: a private network over a shared link. (Manual)
  • RNode: a LoRa radio running the RNode firmware, which Reticulum uses as an interface: no internet needed (see RNode Radios).

Messages, pages and chat

  • LXMF: the message format Reticulum messaging programs share (Sideband, NomadNet, MeshChat, rettui), end-to-end encrypted and signed. (LXMF)
  • Propagation node: keeps messages for people who are offline, until their program syncs and collects them. Propagation nodes share messages with each other. It can't read them, but sees who they're for (see Messaging). (LXMF)
  • Stamp: a little proof of work a recipient can ask of each message, so sending spam costs time; contacts can be spared it with tickets (see Blocking and spam).
  • Paper message: a message written as a QR code or lxm:// link, to carry by hand (see Paper messages).
  • NomadNet: a terminal program for Reticulum whose nodes host pages (written in its Micron markup) and files. rettui's Browser tab opens them (see NomadNet Browsing), and rettui can host a node too (see Hosting a Node). (Manual)
  • RRC (Reticulum Relay Chat): live chat rooms on hubs, closer to IRC than to messaging: what's said while you're away doesn't wait for you (see RRC Chat). (Manual)