2026-03-24T16:59:14Z https://nostr.now fips https://nostr.now/npub1y0gja7r4re0wyelmvdqa03qmjs62rwvcd8szzt4nf4t2hd43969qj000ly https://blossom.primal.net/686f6a2747e20e97e3ce5a7e6d7e0ec6e4e8ede023e72094e28028a514368013.png https://blossom.primal.net/686f6a2747e20e97e3ce5a7e6d7e0ec6e4e8ede023e72094e28028a514368013.png https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2k9mrkhmed5mgacraa54k99cc2unu4afzcv2vzpkl878q777t4wqzyq3azthcw509acn8ld35r47yrw2rfgdenp57qgfwkdx4d2akkyhg5ul080p Unsure what FIPS can actually do? Listen to this podcast to get familiar!<br/><blockquote class="border-l-05rem border-l-strongpink border-solid"><div class="-ml-4 bg-gradient-to-r from-gray-100 dark:from-zinc-800 to-transparent mr-0 mt-0 mb-4 pl-4 pr-2 py-2">quoting <br/><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Article"><a itemprop="url" href="/nevent1qqswlt27pn4tu043caaarvcc68dgmed38f53zffehuzpeegdfpkseagpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsygy5y90592trxhy8lju73qdqhwmzhxne25v7zzw0t7wjaashdq0kygpsgqqqqqqsm3qw7k" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1">nevent1q…qw7k</a></span> </div> The Internet We Deserve w. FIPs<br/><br/>Intelligence Snacks episode 72 👀 <br/><br/>FIPS, Nostr, local-first agents, the end of API-key hell, and a spicy detour into whether AI doom is safety... or cartel theatre.<br/><br/>A better internet is possible, in this episode we talk through why we think this is the case and how we;re using it!<br/><br/><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mNhaiwZMX0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mNhaiwZMX0</a> </blockquote> 2026-09-17T17:30:21Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsx0lnrewmrc05fuxqgssjxkv0u7hjqfy7yjsg9985y6tkeu4rdpfqzyq3azthcw509acn8ld35r47yrw2rfgdenp57qgfwkdx4d2akkyhg58xuyc9 FIPS 0.4.0 is out! Thank you to everyone who has tested, reported bugs and helped us improve!<br/><blockquote class="border-l-05rem border-l-strongpink border-solid"><div class="-ml-4 bg-gradient-to-r from-gray-100 dark:from-zinc-800 to-transparent mr-0 mt-0 mb-4 pl-4 pr-2 py-2">quoting <br/><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Article"><a itemprop="url" href="/naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzqg739mu828j7ufnlkc6p6lzph9p55xues60qyyhtxn2k4wmtzt52qythwumn8ghj7unfd3hjumn0wd68y6tp9eshqup0qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qpyve5hquedwpex76n9vd6z6atsv3shgefdv9hxgttkxq6rqttjv4kx2ctnv5x75kwe" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1">naddr1qv…5kwe</a></span> </div> <h2 id="fips-project-update-and-v0-4-0-release-2">FIPS Project Update and v0.4.0 Release</h2> <p>It has been about six weeks since v0.3.0, and the response has been great. We estimate the public test mesh averages 1500-1600 nodes online at a time, with the optional bootstrap nodes peering with hundreds of inbound connections each.</p> <p>This growth is welcome on its own, but as planned its real value has been as a live test of the network design and implementation under real-world conditions that are far more demanding than any lab or CI test, including adversarial attacks and probing from the usual suspects. Running at this scale has surfaced latent bugs, race conditions, and capacity limits that have driven the bulk of the v0.4.0 release content.</p> <p>In parallel, normal development work from existing and new contributors has continued, and this release has a few new capabilities that make it more than just a patch release.</p> <h3 id="notable-contributions-2">Notable Contributions</h3> <ul> <li><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1g53mukxnjkcmr94fhryzkqutdz2ukq4ks0gvy5af25rgmwsl4ngq43drvk" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Sirius</span> (<span class="italic">npub1g53…drvk</span>)</a></span> has continued to deliver performance improvements to the FIPS data plane, with a roughly 2x throughput increase between directly connected peers. The <a href="https://git.iris.to/#/npub1xdhnr9mrv47kkrn95k6cwecearydeh8e895990n3acntwvmgk2dsdeeycm/nostr-vpn">nostr-vpn</a> project has switched to using FIPS as its underlying mesh transport.</li> </ul> <p>He also contributed a new opt-in mDNS LAN discovery mechanism, which lets IP overlay-based nodes on the same local network find and peer with each other without having to go through the full Nostr-based overlay discovery process.</p> <ul> <li><p><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub16q4rk48xgvlu0snq36v7lx62akgrjezygmdfsgkjpdde3yykfuhscgxcms" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>oleksky</span> (<span class="italic">npub16q4…xcms</span>)</a></span> added an outbound Nym mixnet transport, so a FIPS node can peer through the Nym network for metadata-resistant connectivity. Mesh traffic mixes into Nym cover traffic, and it ships with a single-container demo.</p></li> <li><p><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1uac67zc9er54ln0kl6e4qp2y6ta3enfcg7ywnayshvlw9r5w6ehsqq99rx" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>sandwich</span> (<span class="italic">npub1uac…99rx</span>)</a></span> implemented a Nix flake for reproducible from-source builds on Nix and NixOS, plus AUR packaging fixes.</p></li> <li><p><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1hw6amg8p24ne08c9gdq8hhpqx0t0pwanpae9z25crn7m9uy7yarse465gr" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Arjen</span> (<span class="italic">npub1hw6…65gr</span>)</a></span> continues to develop and maintain the native macOS FIPS port, fixing some connectivity bugs that were revealed in 0.3.0 deployments.</p></li> </ul> <p>He also implemented OpenWrt 25+ support, with a native <code>.apk</code> package alongside the existing <code>.ipk</code> one for 24.x.</p> <hr> <h2 id="community-2">Community</h2> <p>Beyond the code in this release, the wider FIPS community has been busy over the same six weeks.</p> <ul> <li><p><strong>Learning and onboarding.</strong> The <a href="https://fips.network/">fips.network</a> website got a substantial redesign, and a new interactive <a href="https://learn.fips.network/">Learn FIPS</a> guide walks through self-organization and coordinate routing, hop-by-hop and end-to-end encryption, and the full connection lifecycle with layer-by-layer simulations. <a href="https://join.fips.network/">Join FIPS</a> does browser-side peer discovery, the <a href="https://map.fips.network/">FIPS Map</a> shows live node geography, and <a href="https://awesome.fips.network/">Awesome FIPS</a> catalogues projects built on and around the mesh.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Podcasts.</strong> FIPS featured across several shows: the No Solutions podcast discussed it in its <a href="https://sovereignengineering.io/podcast/25-white-noise-mls-and-marmot-w-jeff-g">White Noise, MLS and Marmot</a> and <a href="https://sovereignengineering.io/podcast/21-hashtree-nostr-vpn-and-iris-w-martti-malmi">Nostr VPN</a> episodes; Open Markets covered FIPS as a decentralization play in <a href="https://pod.link/1889558301">&#34;What The Fips&#34;</a>; and Citadel Dispatch&#39;s <a href="https://fountain.fm/episode/2luFagFMSN3J2IX7m4wj">CD193 — &#34;FIPS — Fixing The Internet&#34;</a> is still being reshared.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Projects building on FIPS.</strong> Martti Malmi&#39;s <a href="https://nostrvpn.org/">NostrVPN</a> — a Tailscale-style private mesh on a FIPS-backed data plane — shipped v4.0.80. Community members are also experimenting with decentralized email addressed by npub and prototyping Nostr-native voice spaces — all reachable directly over <code>.fips</code> addresses.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Sentiment.</strong> In-person FIPS conversations happened at BTC Prague, and there&#39;s a healthy push from the community for high code-quality standards in projects meant to last. We share that goal, and a lot of this release reflects it. A few notes from the community over the past six weeks:</p></li> </ul> <blockquote> <p>Nostr + FIPS is like the telephone game, but with perfect information the whole way.</p> <p>FIPS supports the Pillars of Propagation; the way information flows throughout the internet will change forever.</p> <p>NOSTR / FIPS / Bitcoin / Lightning / Cashu / Personal AI — once we have the models and the hardware, there will be no stopping this freedom train.</p> <p>A new alternative internet infrastructure is being built with FIPS, but how can we get access to internet when ISPs start to do KYC or the state demands a digital ID? You can partly get around with TollGate, but getting an internet connection trustlessly, bought with bitcoin — that would be a game changer.</p> </blockquote> <hr> <h2 id="upgrade-2">Upgrade</h2> <p>v0.4.0 is wire-compatible with v0.3.0. Linux, macOS, Windows, OpenWrt, and Arch (AUR) packages are on the <a href="https://github.com/jmcorgan/fips/releases/tag/v0.4.0">release page</a>, the Nix flake builds from source, and the public bootstrap nodes are ready for you to join.</p> <p>Full release notes: <a href="https://github.com/jmcorgan/fips/blob/v0.4.0/docs/releases/release-notes-v0.4.0.md">release notes</a>.</p> </blockquote> 2026-06-27T18:49:01Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2tn7tyvfap8xh8g2m05n4x36rqxfk6905gdxyf9y3dn6yxphld3szyq3azthcw509acn8ld35r47yrw2rfgdenp57qgfwkdx4d2akkyhg5thlkcc FIPS v0.3.0 is out!<br/><br/>Peer discovery over Nostr. 2.5x speed improvements. Windows, MacOS &amp; OpenWrt support. Bluetooth transport. FIPS gateway and maaaany bugfixes!<br/><br/>Want to know more? Start at <a href="https://fips.network">https://fips.network</a><br/><br/>nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzqg739mu828j7ufnlkc6p6lzph9p55xues60qyyhtxn2k4wmtzt52qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq3wamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwwpexjmtpdshxuet59uqrqenfwpej6urjda4x2cm5946hqerpw3jj6a3sxvcz6ctwvskkztt8wfhhw6twvukkxmmdd46ku6t50yucjl8r <br/><br/>Or, learn more in one of these podcasts:<br/><br/>Citadel Dispatch CD193: FIPS - Fixing the Internet - <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq3zamnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wwa5kuef0qqsthdwa5rs42euhnuz5xsrmmssr84hshwes7uj392vpeldj7z0zw3cu38d6t" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Arjen</span> (<span class="italic">nprofile…8d6t</span>)</a></span> : <a href="https://fountain.fm/episode/2luFagFMSN3J2IX7m4wj">https://fountain.fm/episode/2luFagFMSN3J2IX7m4wj</a><br/> <br/>No Solutions #24: Building FIPS - <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7cn9wehjumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6qgkwaehxw309a3xjarrda5kuetj9eek7cmfv9kqqgptht8920h7havd64v3y95ljtq3y04kzgwhhgyj7mzszp90cvdvau8vsjfc" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>jcorgan</span> (<span class="italic">nprofile…sjfc</span>)</a></span> : <a href="https://fountain.fm/episode/7Zscpi0DAtOBtxjbvdAE">https://fountain.fm/episode/7Zscpi0DAtOBtxjbvdAE</a><br/><br/>Open Markets Podcast #5: What The Fips - <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq3zamnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wwa5kuef0qqsthdwa5rs42euhnuz5xsrmmssr84hshwes7uj392vpeldj7z0zw3cu38d6t" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Arjen</span> (<span class="italic">nprofile…8d6t</span>)</a></span> : <a href="https://fountain.fm/episode/eaQOAVu8jhFQUhqu3XTu">https://fountain.fm/episode/eaQOAVu8jhFQUhqu3XTu</a> 2026-05-11T21:46:43Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqszxhda0qkem32mxvhmxupe66nfxqz2pz8hte74xkdvj86rrsvnrdgzyq3azthcw509acn8ld35r47yrw2rfgdenp57qgfwkdx4d2akkyhg5282hpz FIPS v0.2.0 is here!<br/><br/>Make sure to update your nodes as it includes some breaking changes!<br/><br/>To join the mesh, connect to our pubic nodes over TCP/UDP:<br/>- testnode1.fips.network<br/>- testnode2.fips.network<br/><blockquote class="border-l-05rem border-l-strongpink border-solid"><div class="-ml-4 bg-gradient-to-r from-gray-100 dark:from-zinc-800 to-transparent mr-0 mt-0 mb-4 pl-4 pr-2 py-2">quoting <br/><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Article"><a itemprop="url" href="/naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzqg739mu828j7ufnlkc6p6lzph9p55xues60qyyhtxn2k4wmtzt52qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qgkwaehxw309aex2mrp0yhxg6t5w3hjuur4vghsqynxd9c8xttkxqerqttjv4kx2ctnv4jqha7h4l" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1">naddr1qv…7h4l</a></span> </div> <p>FIPS v0.2.0 is now available. This release includes a major discovery protocol overhaul, Tor transport support, runtime peer management, and 12 bug fixes.</p> <h2 id="highlights-2">Highlights</h2> <h3 id="smarter-discovery-routing-2">Smarter Discovery Routing</h3> <p>The discovery protocol has been rewritten to use bloom-filter-guided tree routing instead of flooding. Lookups are now forwarded only to spanning tree peers whose bloom filter contains the target, reducing discovery traffic by 90%. When no tree peer matches, a non-tree fallback preserves reachability. The new design includes originator retry with exponential backoff and transit-side rate limiting for defense-in-depth.</p> <h3 id="tor-transport-2">Tor Transport</h3> <p>Nodes can now peer over Tor using SOCKS5 for outbound connections and directory-mode onion services for inbound. This enables anonymous peering without exposing IP addresses.</p> <h3 id="runtime-peer-management-2">Runtime Peer Management</h3> <p>New <code>fipsctl connect</code> and <code>fipsctl disconnect</code> commands allow adding and removing peers at runtime without restarting the daemon. Supports hostname resolution from <code>/etc/fips/hosts</code>.</p> <h3 id="reproducible-builds-2">Reproducible Builds</h3> <p>The build infrastructure now produces deterministic, reproducible packages. Rust toolchain pinning via <code>rust-toolchain.toml</code> and <code>SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH</code> timestamps ensure bit-identical output across builds from the same commit.</p> <h2 id="breaking-change-2">Breaking Change</h2> <p>This release changes the discovery wire format. The visited bloom filter has been removed from LookupRequest, and a forwarded flag has been added to LookupResponse. <strong>Nodes running v0.1.0 cannot interoperate with v0.2.0 on discovery.</strong> All mesh nodes must be upgraded to v0.2.0.</p> <h2 id="bug-fixes-2">Bug Fixes</h2> <ul> <li><p>DNS responder NXDOMAIN for A queries on <code>.fips</code> names (#9)</p></li> <li><p>Stale sessions blocking reconnect (#5)</p></li> <li><p>Rekey dual-initiation race on Tor links</p></li> <li><p>Rekey cutover race causing AEAD failures</p></li> <li><p>Post-rekey jitter spikes corrupting EWMA (#10)</p></li> <li><p>ICMPv6 PTB source address ignored by Linux (#16)</p></li> <li><p>Parent selection bypassing SRTT eligibility gate</p></li> <li><p>Auto-connect peers permanently abandoned after retry exhaustion</p></li> <li><p>MMP metric discontinuity across rekey</p></li> <li><p>Control socket permissions for non-root users</p></li> <li><p>Reconnect backoff reset on link-dead cycles (#5)</p></li> <li><p>ETX unresponsive to recent loss (#14)</p></li> </ul> <h2 id="install-2">Install</h2> <p>Packages available:</p> <ul> <li><p>Debian/Ubuntu: <code>.deb</code> package</p></li> <li><p>Systemd tarball: <code>fips-0.2.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz</code></p></li> <li><p>OpenWrt: opkg <code>.ipk</code> package</p></li> <li><p>Source: <a href="https://github.com/jmcorgan/fips">https://github.com/jmcorgan/fips</a></p></li> </ul> <h2 id="contributors-2">Contributors</h2> <p>@jmcorgan, @v0l, @alopatindev, @Origami74</p> <p>Full changelog: <a href="https://github.com/jmcorgan/fips/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md">https://github.com/jmcorgan/fips/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md</a></p> </blockquote> 2026-03-22T21:43:13Z