MeshChatX/CHANGELOG.md

Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

[4.0.0] - 2026-01-03

Season 1 Episode 1 - A MASSIVE REFACTOR

New Features

• Maps: You can now draw and doodle directly on the map to mark locations or plan routes.
• Calls & Audio:
  • Added support for custom ringtones and a brand-new ringtone editor.
  • New Audio Waveform Visualization for voice messages, providing interactive playback with a visual waveform representation.
• Paper Messages: Introduced a tool for generating and scanning paper-based messages with built-in QR code generation for easy sharing.
• Documentation: You can now read all the project guides and help docs directly inside the app.
• Reliability:
  • If the app ever crashes, it's now much better at picking up right where it left off without losing your data.
  • Added Identity Switch Recovery: mechanism to restore previous identities or create emergency failsafes if a switch fails.
  • Multi-Identity "Keep-Alive": Identities can now be kept active in the background when switching, ensuring you still receive messages and calls across all your personas.
  • Added Database Snapshotting & Auto-Backups: You can now create named snapshots of your database and the app will perform automatic backups every 12 hours.
  • Added Emergency Comms Mode: A lightweight mode that bypasses database storage and non-essential managers, useful for recovering from corrupted data or running in restricted environments. Can be engaged via UI, CLI flag (--emergency), or environment variable (MESHCHAT_EMERGENCY=1).
  • Added Snapshot Restoration: Ability to restore from a specific snapshot on startup via --restore-from-snapshot or MESHCHAT_RESTORE_SNAPSHOT environment variable.
• Diagnostics:
  • New Debug Logs Screen: View and export internal system logs directly from the UI for easier troubleshooting.
• Community: Better support for community-run network interfaces and checking TCP ping status of suggested interfaces.
• UI Tweaks: Added a new confirmation box for important actions and a better sidebar for browsing your archived messages.
• Micron Editor: Added multi-tab support with IndexedDB persistence, tab renaming, and a full editor reset button.
• Desktop Enhancements (Electron):
  • Multi-Window Calls: Optional support for popping active calls into a focused 2nd window.
  • System Tray Integration: The app now minimizes to the system tray, keeping you connected to the mesh in the background.
  • Native Notifications: Switched to system-native notifications with deep-linking (click to focus conversation).
  • Protocol Handling: Register as default handler for lxmf:// and rns:// links for seamless cross-app navigation.
  • Hardware Acceleration Toggle: Power-user setting to disable GPU acceleration if flickering or glitches occur.
  • Power Management: Automatically prevents system sleep during active audio calls to maintain RNS path stability.

Improvements

• Blazingly Fast Performance:
  • Network Rendering: The Network Visualizer now uses intelligent batching to handle hundreds of nodes without freezing your screen.
  • Memory Optimization: Added a smart icon cache that automatically clears itself to keep the app's memory footprint low.
  • Parallel Loading: The app now fetches network data in parallel, cutting down startup and refresh times significantly.
  • Lazy Loading: Documentation and other heavy components now load only when you need them, making the initial app launch much faster.
  • Smoother Settings: Changing settings now uses "smart saving" (debouncing) to prevent unnecessary disk work and keep the interface responsive.
  • Backend Efficiency: A massive core refactor and new database optimizations make message handling and search nearly instantaneous. Added pagination to announce and discovery lists to improve performance in large networks.
• Calling: The call screen and overlays have been completely redesigned to look better and work more smoothly.
• Messaging: We've polished the message lists and archive views to make them easier to navigate.
• Network View: The visualizer that shows your network connections is now much clearer and easier to understand.
• Languages: Updated translations for English, German, and Russian. Added a toggle to easily enable or disable translation services.
• Search: The command palette (quick search) and notification bell are now more useful.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed issues where switching between different identities could sometimes cause glitches.
• Fixed several small bugs that could cause messages to get stuck or out of order.
• Lots of small UI fixes to make buttons and menus look right on different screens.
• Fixed glitchy message page

Technical

- **Backend Architecture:**
- Decoupled logic into new specialized managers: `community_interfaces.py`, `docs_manager.py`, `identity_manager.py`, `voicemail_manager.py`, and `nomadnet_utils.py`.
- Added specialized utility modules: `meshchat_utils.py`, `lxmf_utils.py`, `async_utils.py`, and `identity_context.py`.
- Implemented a robust state-based crash recovery system in `src/backend/recovery/`.
- **Self-Healing Database Schema**: Enhanced `DatabaseSchema` with automatic column synchronization to prevent crashes when upgrading from older versions with missing columns.
- Enhanced database layer with `map_drawings.py` and improved `telephone.py` schema for call logging.
- Standardized markdown processing with a new `markdown_renderer.py`.
    - Added pagination support for announce queries in `AnnounceManager`.
- **Performance Engineering & Memory Profiling:**
    - Integrated a comprehensive backend benchmarking suite (`tests/backend/run_comprehensive_benchmarks.py`) with high-precision timing and memory delta tracking.
    - Added an **EXTREME Stress Mode** to simulate ultra-high load scenarios (100,000+ messages and 50,000+ announces).
    - Implemented automated memory leak detection and profiling tests using `psutil` and custom `MemoryTracker` utilities.
- **Full-Stack Integrity & Anti-Tampering:**
    - Implemented **Backend Binary Verification**: The app now generates a SHA-256 manifest of the unpacked Python backend during build and verifies it on every startup in Electron.
    - Added **Data-at-Rest Integrity Monitoring**: The backend now snapshots the state of identities and database files on clean shutdown and warns if they were modified while the app was closed.
    - New **Security Integrity Modal**: Notifies the user via a persistent modal if any tampering is detected, with a version-specific "do not show again" option.

• Frontend Refactor:
  • Migrated complex call logic into CallOverlay.vue and CallPage.vue with improved state management.
  • Implemented modular UI components: ArchiveSidebar.vue, RingtoneEditor.vue, ConfirmDialog.vue, and AudioWaveformPlayer.vue.
  • Integrated a new documentation browsing system in src/frontend/components/docs/.
  • Added custom Leaflet integration for map drawing persistence in MapPage.vue.
• Infrastructure:
  • Added Dockerfile.build for multi-stage container builds.
  • Introduced gen_checksums.sh for release artifact integrity.
  • Expanded test coverage with 40+ new unit and integration tests across tests/backend/ and tests/frontend/.
    • Updated core dependencies: rns, lxmf, aiohttp, and websockets.
  • Developer Tools & CI:
    • New task commands: bench-backend (Standard suite), bench-extreme (Breaking Time and Space), profile-memory (Leak testing), and bench (Full run).
    • Added Gitea Actions workflow (bench.yml) for automated performance regression tracking on every push.
• Utilize Electron 39 features:
  • Enabled ASAR Integrity Validation (Stable in E39) to protect the application against tampering.
  • Hardened security by disabling runAsNode and nodeOptions environment variables via Electron Fuses.
  • Implemented 3-Layer CSP Hardening: Multi-layered Content Security Policy protection across the entire application stack:
    1. Backend Server CSP (meshchatx/meshchat.py): Applied via security_middleware to all HTTP responses, allowing localhost connections, websockets, and required external resources (OpenStreetMap tiles, etc.).
    2. Electron Session CSP (electron/main.js): Shell-level fallback CSP applied via webRequest.onHeadersReceived handler to ensure coverage before the backend starts and for all Electron-rendered content.
    3. Loading Screen CSP (electron/loading.html): Bootloader CSP defined in HTML meta tag to protect the initial loading screen while waiting for the backend API to come online.
  • Added hardware acceleration monitoring to ensure the Network Visualiser and UI are performing optimally.