A discord-like nostr client based on the idea of "relays as groups". Supports NIP 29 groups, chat, DMs, threads, calendars, classifieds, zap goals, articles, microblogging, and cross-posting between different contexts.

Install

• Web — app.flotilla.social, installable as a PWA
• Android — Google Play
• Android APK — releases, see Releasing
• iOS — App Store
• Your own server — see Deployment

Hosted spaces are available at flotilla.social.

Features

• Spaces and rooms, threads, direct and group messages
• Voice and video calls
• Calendar events, long-form articles, and polls
• Reactions, custom emoji, zaps, link previews, and media sharing
• Invite codes, member management, bans, roles, and reports
• Push notifications, unread indicators, and per-room mute

If you would like to be interoperable with Flotilla, please check out this guide.

Environment

Create an .env.local file to override any of the values in .env:

Platform branding

• VITE_PLATFORM_URL - The url where the app will be hosted
• VITE_PLATFORM_NAME - The name of the app
• VITE_PLATFORM_LOGO - A logo url for the app. Can be a local path or https link. Must be a PNG file.
• VITE_PLATFORM_ACCENT - A hex color for the app's accent color (used only for generated manifest, for more control create a custom theme file)
• VITE_PLATFORM_DESCRIPTION - A description of the app
• VITE_PLATFORM_ABOUT - URL to your marketing or about page
• VITE_PLATFORM_TERMS - URL to your terms of service page
• VITE_PLATFORM_PRIVACY - URL to your privacy policy page
• VITE_PLATFORM_LOGEE - A hex pubkey which will receive logs users send from their privacy settings
• VITE_THEME - The visual preset components are styled with: clay, flat, navy, or nature

Platform mode

• VITE_PLATFORM_RELAYS - A comma-separated list of relay urls that will make flotilla operate in "platform mode". Disables all space browse/add/select functionality and makes the first platform relay the home page.

Defaults

• VITE_DEFAULT_PUBKEYS - A comma-separated list of hex pubkeys for bootstrapping web of trust
• VITE_DEFAULT_SPACES - A comma-separated list of relay urls that new users will be automatically joined to on signup. Each one may optionally include an invite code, delimited by |, e.g. my.space.com|CODE.
• VITE_DEFAULT_RELAYS - A comma-separated list of relay urls used as default outbox/inbox relays
• VITE_DEFAULT_MESSAGING_RELAYS - A comma-separated list of relay urls used for encrypted direct messages
• VITE_DEFAULT_SEARCH_RELAYS - A comma-separated list of relay urls used for search
• VITE_DEFAULT_BLOSSOM_SERVERS - A comma-separated list of blossom server urls used for file uploads

Infrastructure

• VITE_INDEXER_RELAYS - A comma-separated list of relay urls used for user profile/key lookup
• VITE_SIGNER_RELAYS - A comma-separated list of relay urls used for NIP-55 remote signers
• VITE_BLOCKED_RELAYS - A comma-separated list of relay urls that will be blocked
• VITE_PUSH_SERVER - URL of the push notification server
• VITE_PUSH_BRIDGE - WebSocket URL of the push notification relay bridge
• VITE_POMADE_SIGNERS - A comma-separated list of Pomade signer server URLs (3+ required to enable email signup)
• VITE_THUMBNAIL_URL - URL of the image thumbnail service

These values won't be used for a built version. Instead, env variables should be provided to scripts/build/app.sh directly or to the built container.

If you're deploying a custom version of flotilla, be sure to remove the plausible.coracle.social script from app.html. This sends analytics to a server hosted by the developer.

Development

pnpm install
pnpm run dev

See CONTRIBUTING.md for conventions and workflow.

Desktop development (Linux)

Desktop secrets are encrypted with the OS keyring or keychain. If protected storage is unavailable or unreadable, the app warns, keeps secrets in memory until it closes, and leaves the saved file untouched. Unlocking or configuring the keyring and restarting restores persistence. The app never uses Linux's insecure basic_text backend.

Use only disposable accounts with unsigned development packages.

The Electron subproject installs separately, so ordinary web and mobile installs don't download Electron:

pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
npm ci --prefix electron
pnpm run dev:desktop

dev:desktop starts Vite on 127.0.0.1 and runs the Capawesome Electron platform against it, with the Capacitor plugin bridge and frontend HMR. No previous frontend build is needed. It uses the existing Vite port (1847 by default) and fails if that port is occupied. The platform allows one instance at a time, so quit any other desktop instance before switching modes. Restart the command after editing Electron TypeScript, and quit Electron or press Ctrl+C to stop.

To build and run local production assets instead:

pnpm run build:desktop
pnpm run start:desktop

build:desktop builds the frontend without PWA/service-worker registration, synchronizes the Electron platform, and compiles its TypeScript entrypoint. It uses the same branding environment as the web build, and does not synchronize Android or iOS. start:desktop opens the last build without Vite, so rerun build:desktop after frontend changes.

Run pnpm run test:desktop after building to check the Linux desktop window. On a headless Linux runner, use xvfb-run -a pnpm run test:desktop, and install libgtk-3-0t64, which Playwright's Chromium dependencies leave out. The test drops Chromium's sandbox when it runs as root. It does not start a web dev server, does not run in CI, and verifies nothing about Windows or macOS.

Desktop packaging

pnpm run package:desktop:linux
pnpm run package:desktop:windows
pnpm run package:desktop:macos

Each command rebuilds production assets, copies and updates Capacitor, compiles Electron, vendors its runtime and plugins, and runs electron-builder without publishing. Packages land in electron/dist/: a Linux x64 AppImage, a Windows x64 NSIS installer, and macOS x64 and arm64 DMGs and ZIPs. The version comes from the root package.json, the product name from VITE_PLATFORM_NAME, and the Capacitor app ID stays fixed. Vite's .env.local overrides apply and explicit VITE_* environment values take precedence, so use production branding when building for others. VITE_PLATFORM_LOGO can be a local or HTTPS image, and packaging resizes it to 1024×1024.

macOS packages are signed and notarized when CSC_NAME names a Developer ID Application certificate in the keychain and APPLE_API_KEY, APPLE_API_KEY_ID and APPLE_API_ISSUER are set. All other packages are unsigned.

Window and Dock icons use the branding image, including in local runs. On Linux, a packaged app registers a hidden desktop entry and an icon under XDG_DATA_HOME (normally ~/.local/share) so Wayland docks can identify it. It leaves existing user and system launchers alone, never writes an entry from a development run, and updates the entry when an update renames the AppImage. Windows uses the executable's icon resources.

Linux packaging from macOS and Windows packaging from Linux or macOS use the pinned official electronuserland/builder Wine image through Docker, copying in only a temporary copy of the prepared Electron project. Set DOCKER=podman in .env.local to use Podman instead. Native addons need a target-OS ABI rebuild and cannot use this cross-build path. Native Windows preparation needs Bash on PATH, for example Git Bash. DMG creation requires macOS. On Linux, pnpm run package:desktop:macos --dir prepares unsigned bundles for inspection only, and verifies nothing about the macOS runtime, Gatekeeper, or signing.

To smoke-test a package, run as a non-root user with the sandbox enabled:

FLOTILLA_DESKTOP_EXECUTABLE="/absolute/path/to/application" pnpm run test:desktop

Use the AppImage or installed executable rather than the installer. This checks packaged metadata, local assets, navigation, workers, and CSP using a disposable profile. Installation, reboot, and uninstall need testing on the target OS.

Desktop updates

Packaged apps check for an update once at startup, download it, and install it on a normal quit. There is no update notification or updater UI, and development runs never check. Update errors are logged and leave the app usable. The feed is Gitea's latest release, set in electron/electron-builder.config.mjs. Releasing covers how a release fills it. electron-builder writes app-update.yml and the latest*.yml manifests beside the installers, even with --publish never. macOS only installs updates to a signed app. Windows and Linux packages update unsigned.

For local updater QA, use disposable copies with temporary A/B versions and an isolated user-data directory. In those copies only, point the builder's generic feed at a local HTTP server. Package both versions and serve B's generated metadata and artifacts. Run AppImage A, wait for B to download, quit normally, and relaunch the installed AppImage to verify its version and saved state. Check that preferences, protected secrets, tray controls, and notification activation survive. Also exercise missing files, interrupted downloads, invalid checksums and versions, and an already-current version. A failed update must not install. Never bypass integrity checks. On macOS, build both architectures together and verify the single generated manifest references both ZIPs with matching hashes. Do not hand-create or merge updater manifests.

Releasing

A release is two runs against one tag. pnpm release:local does everything that needs a signing key, so those keys never leave your machine: the web bundle and native projects, the signed APK on gitea and zapstore, the AAB on Google Play, the iOS build on App Store Connect, and the signed and notarized macOS packages. Pushing the tag starts the release workflow in .gitea/workflows/release.yml, which needs nothing but its own gitea token and the registry's: it builds the container image as latest and the version, and runs pnpm release:ci to build the F-Droid apk and package the Linux and Windows apps. .agents/skills/flotilla-release has the checklist.

Both runs check the tag, the changelog section, every credential and every tool up front, and refuse to start if any is missing. Each finishes with a list of what's left to do by hand, such as rolling out on Play and submitting for review.

pnpm bump minor            # or patch, major, or an explicit x.y.z
# write the CHANGELOG.md section for the new version
pnpm release:changelog     # copies it to fastlane/ for F-Droid, which reads it from the tag
git add -A && git commit -m "Bump version"
git tag 1.12.0 && git push origin dev 1.12.0
pnpm release:local

pnpm release:local --check runs those checks and reports the plan without building anything. Naming steps runs a subset, such as pnpm release:local ios or pnpm release:local apk gitea. A step that fails stops the run and prints the command to pick up from there. To rerun CI steps, run the Release workflow by hand from a branch with the fix, naming the steps; it releases package.json's version without moving its tag, and skips the container image.

step	run by	what it does
web	local	scripts/build/app.sh: web bundle, cap sync, generated icons and splash screens
apk	local	assembleRelease signed with the distribution key, renamed to the path in zapstore.yaml
play	local	bundleRelease signed with the upload key, uploaded to a Play track as a draft (or PLAY_STATUS)
ios	local	cap build ios to an archive and IPA, uploaded with altool, then attached to the App Store version with its release notes once processed
fdroid	ci	builds the tag with F-Droid's recipe in their buildserver image and uploads the unsigned apk to the flotilla-fdroid package
fdroid-sign	local	waits for that apk, signs it with the distribution key, and uploads it beside it for F-Droid to verify its own build against
desktop	both	package:desktop:* for this OS: signed and notarized macOS from a Mac, Linux and Windows from Linux
gitea	both	creates a draft release from the changelog, attaches what this run built, and publishes it once every platform is there
zapstore	local	zsp publish --skip-preview --quiet zapstore.yaml

Gitea's latest release is the desktop update feed, so the release stays a draft, hidden from updaters and Obtainium, until it has the APK and all three latest*.yml manifests. Whichever run attaches the last of them publishes it. Each manifest is uploaded after the files it lists. A mobile-only release can't be published, so package the desktop apps for every release.

Release notes come from the CHANGELOG.md section matching package.json's version, so every store shows the same text. The APK and zapstore share one artifact, whose path lives in zapstore.yaml.

F-Droid builds from the tag on its own servers and ships our apk instead of its own when the two match, so it keeps our signature (reproducible builds). The fdroid step makes that apk the way F-Droid will. It runs last in CI, so a broken F-Droid build holds back only F-Droid and fdroid-sign, not the desktop packages or the release. Preparation patches source with exact-match replacements, so it breaks quietly when the files it rewrites change. The step is slow because it installs and builds from scratch.

Credentials

These go in .env.local, which is gitignored. pnpm release:local --check lists whichever are missing along with how to get them.

variable	what it is
GITEA_TOKEN	gitea access token with write:repository and write:package, from Settings → Applications
ANDROID_KEYSTORE_PATH, ANDROID_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD, ANDROID_KEYSTORE_ALIAS	the key APKs outside the app stores are signed with; it can never change without breaking updates
PLAY_KEYSTORE_PATH, PLAY_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD, PLAY_KEYSTORE_ALIAS	the Play upload key
PLAY_SERVICE_ACCOUNT	path to a service account json with the Release manager role, from Play Console → Setup → API access
ASC_KEY_ID, ASC_ISSUER_ID, ASC_KEY_PATH	App Store Connect API key with the App Manager role, from Users and Access → Integrations; also notarizes the macOS app
CSC_NAME	the Developer ID Application certificate in the keychain that signs the macOS app, without its prefix
SIGN_WITH	nostr key for zapstore: an nsec, a bunker:// url, or browser

Add _ALIAS_PASSWORD to either keystore prefix when the alias has its own password. PLAY_TRACK (default production) and PLAY_STATUS (default draft) choose where a Play upload lands. Keystores and API keys belong outside the repository; only their paths go in .env.local.

Without the keystore variables, Android Studio still builds the project and produces an unsigned release build.

Obtainium

Obtainium installs and updates Android apps from their release pages. Gitea and Forgejo share a release API, so it works against this repository:

• App source URL: https://gitea.coracle.social/coracle/flotilla
• Override source: Forgejo (Codeberg)

Obtainium reports the git tag as the version.

Deployment

To run your own Flotilla:

pnpm install
pnpm run build
pnpm run start

Or, if you prefer to use a container:

docker run -d -p 3000:3000 gitea.coracle.social/coracle/flotilla:latest

Either one serves the build through server.js, which fills in the link preview for each page from the space, person or note its url names.

Alternatively, you can copy the build files into a directory of your choice and serve it yourself, in which case every page gets the platform's own preview:

mkdir ./mount
docker run -v ./mount:/app/mount gitea.coracle.social/coracle/flotilla:latest bash -c 'cp -r build/* mount'

License

MIT