waste-go/QUICKSTART.md

waste — quick start

waste is a private, encrypted chat and file sharing app for people you trust. No accounts, no phone numbers, no central server that knows your messages.

Pick the option that fits you best.

---

Option 1 — Just open it in your browser

If someone is running a waste anchor server and has shared the URL with you:

1. Open the URL in any modern browser
2. Enter your name and a network name your group has agreed on
3. Done — you're in

On mobile, tap Share → Add to Home Screen to install it as an app icon.

To invite someone: click the 🔗 button in the sidebar and share the link.

Your identity and messages stay in your browser. Nothing is stored on the server — the server only helps peers find each other.

---

Option 2 — Desktop app (recommended for regular use)

Download the latest waste binary for your platform from the releases page.

Linux / macOS:

chmod +x waste-linux-amd64   # or waste-darwin-arm64, etc.
./waste-linux-amd64

Windows: double-click waste-windows-amd64.exe.

The app opens a window with the waste UI. Enter your name, the anchor URL, and a network name to join. Your identity is saved between sessions in your config directory (~/.config/waste on Linux, ~/Library/Application Support/waste on macOS, %APPDATA%\waste on Windows).

On Linux and Windows a tray icon appears — closing the window hides to tray rather than quitting. Right-click the tray icon to reopen or quit.

---

Option 3 — Run the daemon + TUI or web UI locally (power users / dev)

Example scripts are provided for the common local workflows. Copy them and fill in your anchor URL:

# TUI (terminal UI):
cp launch-tui.sh.example launch-tui.sh
$EDITOR launch-tui.sh          # set ANCHOR=wss://your-anchor/ws
./launch-tui.sh

# Web UI in daemon mode (Vite dev server + daemon):
cp launch-web.sh.example launch-web.sh
$EDITOR launch-web.sh          # set ANCHOR=wss://your-anchor/ws
./launch-web.sh

The real script files are gitignored so your local edits (anchor URL, alias, network) are never accidentally committed.

---

Option 4 — Run the daemon manually (headless)

If you want the daemon running in the background without the desktop UI — on a server, over SSH, or with the web UI in a browser pointed at your local machine:

# Download waste-daemon from the releases page, then:
./waste-daemon -alias yourname -anchor wss://YOUR_ANCHOR_DOMAIN/ws

Then open the web UI in a browser at the anchor URL, or point the web UI's daemon mode at ws://127.0.0.1:17338.

Full flag reference:

Flag	Default	Description
-alias	anon	Your display name
-anchor	—	Anchor server WebSocket URL
-data-dir	~/.waste	Where identity and messages are stored
-download-dir	same as data-dir	Where received files are saved
-ipc-port	17337	Local TCP IPC port
-ws-port	0 (off)	WebSocket IPC port (needed for web UI)
-turn-url	—	TURN relay URL (fixes mobile/CGNAT)
-turn-secret	—	TURN shared secret

---

Inviting someone

1. Click Ctrl+I in the TUI, or click Generate invite in the web UI
2. Share the waste:... link with your friend (Signal, email, anything)
3. They open it in a browser or pass it to waste-daemon --join 'waste:...'

Invite links encode the anchor URL and network name. The anchor never sees your messages.

---

Running your own anchor server

The anchor is a tiny signaling server that helps peers find each other — it never sees plaintext messages or file contents. You need a VPS with a domain and TLS.

# On your VPS:
./waste-anchor -bind 127.0.0.1:8080 -turn-secret YOUR_COTURN_SECRET

Put it behind nginx with /ws and /turn-credentials proxied to the anchor, and the web UI static files at /. See README.md for the full nginx setup.