naxalnet

naxalnet is an experiment to create a wireless mesh network for communicating with each other during an internet shutdown, using existing software and tech as much as possible. Currently you can only communicate with other peers running naxalnet or using the same network as naxalnet. It uses B.A.T.M.A.N. Advanced, an implementation of the B.A.T.M.A.N. routing protocol to communicate with peers.

The name naxal comes from Naxalbari, a village in Darjeeling, West Bengal.

Requirements

• systemd{,-networkd} v248 or more (for batman support)
• Linux kernel with batman-adv module (if modinfo batman-adv shows no error then you already have it)
• iwd (for starting ad-hoc network)
• python3
• python-dasbus
• wifi adapter with ad-hoc support
• two or more computers with wifi adapter
• systemd-resolved (optional, for DNS)

Installing

Arch Linux

Install naxalnet-git from the AUR with your favourite helper:

yay -S naxalnet-git

Optionally, setup systemd-resolved if any of the computers have internet access.

Manually

Clone the repo and cd into it.

Run sudo make install to install naxalnet. This will install naxalnet in /usr/bin/naxalnet.

After installing, reload systemd so that you can enable naxalnet.service without rebooting:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Running the program

You need more than one computer running for the connection to work. Start the naxalnet service:

sudo systemctl start naxalnet.service

Starting the service will stop NetworkManager.service and wpa_supplicant.service if it is running. If you start either of these services after naxalnet is started, systemd will stop naxalnet.

To run naxalnet at boot, enable the service:

sudo systemctl enable naxalnet.service

Now naxalnet will configure a batman interface on every boot. Disable the service to stop running at boot:

sudo systemctl disable naxalnet.service

How it works

The program naxalnet copies predefined systemd-networkd configuration into networkd's runtime configuration directory. It uses iwd to start an ad-hoc network named "HelloWorld". See the systemd-networkd directory to see how systemd-networkd configures the network. You can now use services like IPFS, Jami, Secure Scuttlebutt and others which can work without internet access.

Uninstalling

Currently there is now way to uninstall naxalnet than manually removing the files:

sudo rm -rf /usr/{bin,share}/naxalnet \
/usr/lib/systemd/system/naxalnet.service

License

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

See LICENSE for the complete version of the license.

This project is in alpha stage. Documentation is incomplete.