This is the Nomadnet Guide feb23 Topics: Introduction Concepts & Terminology Hosting a Node Configuration Options Keyboard Shortcuts Markup First Run Network Configuration Display Test Credits & Licenses TOPIC_INTRODUCTION Communicate Freely The intention with this program is to provide a tool to that allows you to build private and resilient communications platforms that are in complete control and ownership of the people that use them. Nomad Network is build on LXMF and Reticulum, which together provides the cryptographic mesh functionality and peer-to-peer message routing that Nomad Network relies on. This foundation also makes it possible to use the program over a very wide variety of communication mediums, from packet radio to fiber. Nomad Network does not need any connections to the public internet to work. In fact, it doesn't even need an IP or Ethernet network. You can use it entirely over packet radio, LoRa or even serial lines. But if you wish, you can bridge islanded Reticulum networks over the Internet or private ethernet networks, or you can build networks running completely over the Internet. The choice is yours. The current version of the program should be considered a beta release. The program works well, but there will most probably be bugs and possibly sub-optimal performance in some scenarios. On the other hand, this is the best time to have an influence on the direction of the development of Nomad Network. To do so, join the discussion on the Nomad Network project on GitHub. TOPIC_SHORTCUTS Keyboard Shortcuts The different sections of the program has a number of keyboard shortcuts mapped, that makes operating and navigating the program easier. The following lists details all mapped shortcuts. >>`!Conversations Window`! >>>Conversation List - Ctrl-N Start a new conversation - Ctrl-E Display and edit selected peer info - Ctrl-X Delete conversation - Ctrl-R Open LXMF syncronisation dialog >>>Conversation Display - Ctrl-D Send message - Ctrl-K Clear input fields - Ctrl-T Toggle message title field - Ctrl-O Toggle sort mode - Ctrl-P Purge failed messages - Ctrl-X Clear conversation history - Ctrl-G Toggle fullscreen conversation - Ctrl-W Close conversation >>`!Network Window`! >>>Announce Stream - Ctrl-L Switch to Known Nodes list - Ctrl-X Delete selected announce - Ctrl-P Display peered LXMF Propagation Nodes >>>Known Nodes - Ctrl-L Switch to Announce Stream - Ctrl-X Delete selected node entry - Ctrl-P Display peered LXMF Propagation Nodes >>>Browser - Ctrl-D Back - Ctrl-F Forward - Ctrl-R Reload page - Ctrl-U Open URL entry dialog - Ctrl-S Save connected node - Ctrl-G Toggle fullscreen browser window - Ctrl-W Disconnect from node TOPIC_CONCEPTS Concepts and Terminology The following section will briefly introduce various concepts and terms used in the program. >>Peer A `*peer`* refers to another Nomad Network client, which will generally be operated by another person. But since Nomad Network is a general LXMF client, it could also be any other LXMF client, program, automated system or machine that can communicate over LXMF. All peers (and nodes) are identified by their `*address`* (which is, technically speaking, a Reticulum destination hash). An address consist of 32 hexadecimal characters (16 bytes), and looks like this: `c `l Anyone can choose whatever display name they want, but addresses are always unique, and generated from the unique cryptographic keys of the peer. This is an important point to understand. Since there is not anyone controlling naming or address spaces in Nomad Network, you can easily come across another user with the same display name as you. Your addresses will always be unique though, and you must always verify that the address you are communicating with is matching the address of the peer you expect to be in the other end. To make this easier, Nomad Network allows you to mark peers and nodes as either `*trusted`*, `*unknown`* or `*untrusted`*. In this way, you can mark the peers and nodes that you know to be legitimate, and easily spot peers with similar names as unrelated. >>Announces An `*announce`* can be sent by any peer or node on the network, which will notify other peers of its existence, and contains the cryptographic keys that allows other peers to communicate with it. In the `![ Network ]`! section of the program, you can monitor announces on the network, initiate conversations with announced peers, and announce your own peer on the network. You can also connect to nodes on the network and browse information shared by them. >>Conversations Nomad Network uses the term `*conversation`* to signify both direct peer-to-peer messaging threads, and also discussion threads with an arbitrary number of participants that might change over time. Both things like discussion forums and chat threads can be encapsulated as conversations in Nomad Network. The user interface will indicate the different characteristics a conversation can take, and also what form of transport encryption was used for messages within. In the `![ Conversations ]`! part of the program you can view and interact with all currently active conversations. You can also edit nickname and trust settings for peers belonging to these conversations here. To edit settings for a peer, select it in the conversation list, and press `!Ctrl-E`!. By default, Nomad Network will attempt to deliver messages to a peer directly. This happens by first establishing an encrypted link directly to the peer, and then delivering the message over it. If the desired peer is not available because it has disconnected from the network, this method will obviously fail. In this case, Nomad Network will attempt to deliver the message to a node, which will store and forward it over the network, for later retrieval by the destination peer. The message is encrypted before being transmitted to the network, and is only readable by the intended recipient. For propagated delivery to work, one or more nodes must be available on the network. If one or more trusted nodes are available, Nomad Network will automatically select the most suitable node to send the message via, but you can also manually specify what node to use. To select a node manually, go to the `![ Network ]`! part of the program, choose the desired node in the `*Known Nodes`* list, and select the `!< Info >`! button. In the `!Node Info`! dialog, you can specify the selected node as the default propagation node. By default, Nomad Network will check in with propagation nodes, and download any available messages every 6 hours. You can change this interval, or disable automatic syncronisation completely, by editing the configuration file. You can always initiate a sync manually, by pressing `!Ctrl-R`! in the `![ Conversations ]`! part of the program, which will open the syncronisation window. >>Node A Nomad Network `*node`* is an instance of the Nomad Network program that has been configured to host information for other peers and help propagate messages and information on the network. Nodes can host pages (similar to webpages) written in a markup-language called `*micron`*, as well as make files and other resources available for download for peers on the network. Nodes also form a distributed message store for offline users, and allows messages to be exchanged between peers that are not online at the same time. If no nodes exist on a network, all peers will still be able to communicate directly peer-to-peer, but both endpoints of a conversation will need to be available at the same time to converse. When nodes exist on the network, messages will be held and syncronised between nodes for deferred delivery if the destination peer is unavailable. Nodes will automatically discover and peer with each other, and handle syncronisation of message stores. To learn how to host your own node, read the `*Hosting a Node`* section of this guide. TOPIC_HOSTING Hosting a Node To host a node on the network, you must enable it in the configuration file, by setting `*enable_node`* directive to `*yes`*. You should also configure the other node-related parameters such as the node name and announce interval settings. Once node hosting has been enabled in the configuration, Nomad Network will start hosting your node as soon as the program is launched, and other peers on the network will be able to connect and interact with content on your node. By default, no content is defined, apart from a short placeholder home page. To learn how to add your own content, read on. >>Distributed Message Store All nodes on the network automatically form a distributed message store that allows users to exchange messages, even when they are not available at the same time. When Nomad Network is configured to host a node, it also configures itself as an LXMF Propagation Node, and automatically discovers and peers with other propagation nodes on the network. This process is completely automatic and requires no configuration from the node operator. To view LXMF Propagation nodes that are currently peered with your node, go to the `![ Network ]`! part of the program and press `!Ctrl-P`!. The distributed message store is resilient to intermittency, and will remain functional as long as at least one node remains on the network. Nodes that were offline for a time will automatically be synced up to date when they regain connectivity. >>Pages Nomad Network nodes can host pages similar to web pages, that other peers can read and interact with. Pages are written in a compact markup language called `*micron`*. To learn how to write formatted pages with micron, see the `*Markup`* section of this guide (which is, itself, written in micron). Pages can be linked together with hyperlinks, that can also link to pages (or other resources) on other nodes. To add pages to your node, place micron files in the `*pages`* directory of your Nomad Network programs `*storage`* directory. By default, the path to this will be `!~/.nomadnetwork/storage/pages`!. You should probably create the file `!index.mu`! first, as this is the page that will get served by default to a connecting peer. You can control how long a peer will cache your pages by including the cache header in a page. To do so, the first line of your page must start with `!#!c=X`!, where `!X`! is the cache time in seconds. To tell the peer to always load the page from your node, and never cache it, set the cache time to zero. You should only do this if there is a real need, for example if your page displays dynamic content that `*must`* be updated at every page view. The default caching time is 12 hours. In most cases, you should not need to include the cache control header in your pages. >> Dynamic Pages You can use a preprocessor such as PHP, bash, Python (or whatever you prefer) to generate dynamic pages. To do so, just set executable permissions on the relevant page file, and be sure to include the interpreter at the beginning of the file, for example `!#!/usr/bin/python3`!. Data from fields and link variables will be passed to these scipts or programs as environment variables, and can simply be read by any method for acessing such. In the `!examples`! directory, you can find various small examples for the use of this feature. The currently included examples are: - A messageboard that receives messages over LXMF, contributed by trippcheng - A simple demonstration on how to create fields and read entered data in node-side scripts By default, you can find the examples in `!~/.nomadnetwork/examples`!. If you build something neat, that you feel would fit here, you are more than welcome to contribute it. >>Authenticating Users Sometimes, you don't want everyone to be able to view certain pages or execute certain scripts. In such cases, you can use `*authentication`* to control who gets to run certain requests. To enable authentication for any page, simply add a new file to your pages directory with ".allowed" added to the file-name of the page. If your page is named "secret_page.mu", just add a file named "secret_page.mu.allowed". For each user allowed to access the page, add a line to this file, containing the hash of that users primary identity. Users can find their own identity hash in the `![ Network ]`! part of the program, under `!Local Peer Info`!. If you want to allow access for three different users, your file would look like this: `Faaa `= d454bcdac0e64fb68ba8e267543ae110 2b9ff3fb5902c9ca5ff97bdfb239ef50 7106d5abbc7208bfb171f2dd84b36490 `= `` You can also dynamically generate this list, by making the file executable, and writing a script (in whatever language you want), that prints the list to stdout. Every time someone tries to request the page, Nomad Network will check the allowed identities list, and only grant access to allowed users. By default, Nomad Network connects anonymously to all nodes. To be able to identify, and access restricted pages, you must allow identifying on a per-node basis. To allow identifying when connecting to a node, you must go to the `!Known Nodes`! list in the `![ Network ]`! part of the program, and enable the `!Identify When Connecting`! checkbox under `!Node Info`!. >>Files Like pages, you can place files you want to make available in the `!~/.nomadnetwork/storage/files`! directory. To let a peer download a file, you should create a link to it in one of your pages. >>Links and URLs Links to pages and resources in Nomad Network use a simple URL format. Here is an example: `!18176ffddcc8cce1ddf8e3f72068f4a6:/page/index.mu`! The first part is the 10 byte destination address of the node (represented as readable hexadecimal), followed by the `!:`! character. Everything after the `!:`! represents the request path. By convention, Nomad Network nodes maps all hosted pages under the `!/page`! path, and all hosted files under the `!/file`! path. You can create as many subdirectories for pages and files as you please, and they will be automatically mapped to corresponding request paths. You can omit the destination address of the node, if you are reffering to a local page or file. You must still keep the `!:`! character. In such a case, the URL to a page could look like this: `!:/page/other_page.mu`! The URL to a local file could look like this: `!:/file/document.pdf`! Links can be inserted into micron documents. See the `*Markup`* section of this guide for info on how to do so. TOPIC_CONVERSATIONS Conversations Conversations in Nomad Network TOPIC_FIRST_RUN First Time Information Hi there. This first run message will only appear once. It contains a few pointers on getting started with Nomad Network, and getting the most out of the program. You're currently located in the guide section of the program. I'm sorry I had to drag you here by force, but it will only happen this one time, I promise. If you ever get lost, return here and peruse the list of topics you see on the left. I will do my best to fill it with answers to mostly anything about Nomad Network. To get the most out of Nomad Network, you will need a terminal that supports UTF-8 and at least 256 colors, ideally true-color. If your terminal supports true-color, you can go to the `![ Config ]`! menu item, launch the editor and change the configuration. It is recommended to use a terminal size of at least 122x32. Nomad Network will work with smaller terminal sizes, but the interface might feel a bit cramped. If you don't already have a Nerd Font installed (see https://www.nerdfonts.com/), I also highly recommend to do so, since it will greatly expand the amount of glyphs, icons and graphics that Nomad Network can use. Once you have your terminal set up with a Nerd Font, go to the `![ Config ]`! menu item and enable Nerd Fonts in the configuration instead of normal unicode glyphs. Nomad Network expects that you are already connected to some form of Reticulum network. That could be as simple as the default one that Reticulum auto-generates on your local ethernet/WiFi network, or something much more complex. This short guide won't go into any details on building networks, but you will find other entries in the guide that deal with network setup and configuration. At least, if Nomad Network launches, it means that it is connected to a running Reticulum instance, that should in turn be connected to `*something`*, which should get you started. For more some more information, you can also read the `*Introduction`* section of this guide. Now go out there and explore. This is still early days. See what you can find and create. TOPIC_CONFIG Configuration Options To change the configuration of Nomad Network, you must edit the configuration file. If you did not manually specify a config path when you started the program, Nomad Net will look for a configuration in the folllowing directories: `!/etc/nomadnetwork`! `!~/.config/nomadnetwork`! `!~/.nomadnetwork`! If no existing configuration file is found, one will be created at `!~/.nomadnetwork/config`! by default. The default configuration file contains comments on all the different configuration options present, and explains their possible settings. You can open the configuration file in any text-editor, and change the options. You can also use the editor built in to this program, under the `![ Config ]`! menu item. If the built-in editor does not gain focus, and your navigation keys are not working, try hitting enter or space, which should focus the editor and let you navigate the text. For reference, all the configuration options are listed and explained here as well. The configuration is divided into different sections, each with their own options. >> Logging Section This section hold configuration directives related to logging output, and is delimited by the `![logging]`! header in the configuration file. Available directives, along with their default values, are as follows: >>> `!loglevel = 4`! >>>> Sets the verbosity of the log output. Must be an integer from 0 through 7. >>>>> 0: Log only critical information 1: Log errors and lower log levels 2: Log warnings and lower log levels 3: Log notices and lower log levels 4: Log info and lower (this is the default) 5: Verbose logging 6: Debug logging 7: Extreme logging < >>> `!destination = file`! >>>> Determines the output destination of logged information. Must be `!file`! or `!console`!. < >>> `!logfile = ~/.nomadnetwork/logfile`! >>>> Path to the log file. Must be a writable filesystem path. < >> Client Section This section hold configuration directives related to the client behaviour and user interface of the program. It is delimited by the `![client]`! header in the configuration file. Available directives, along with their default values, are as follows: >>> `!enable_client = yes`! >>>> Determines whether the client part of the program should be started on launch. Must be a boolean value. < >>> `!user_interface = text`! >>>> Selects which interface to use. Currently, only the `!text`! interface is available. < >>> `!downloads_path = ~/Downloads`! >>>> Sets the filesystem path to store downloaded files in. < >>> `!announce_at_start = yes`! >>>> Determines whether your LXMF address is automatically announced when the program starts. Must be a boolean value. < >>> `!try_propagation_on_send_fail = yes`! >>>> When this option is enabled, and sending a message directly to a peer fails, Nomad Network will instead deliver the message to the propagation network, for later retrieval by the recipient. < >>> `!periodic_lxmf_sync = yes`! >>>> Whether the program should periodically download messages from available propagation nodes in the background. < >>> `!lxmf_sync_interval = 360`! >>>> The number of minutes between each automatic sync. The default is equal to 6 hours. < >>> `!lxmf_sync_limit = 8`! >>>> On low-bandwidth networks, it can be useful to limit the amount of messages downloaded in each sync. The default is 8. Set to 0 to download all available messages every time a sync occurs. < >> Text UI Section This section hold configuration directives related to the look and feel of the text-based user interface of the program. It is delimited by the `![textui]`! header in the configuration file. Available directives, along with their default values, are as follows: >>> `!intro_time = 1`! >>>> Number of seconds to display the intro screen. Set to 0 to disable the intro screen. < >>> `!intro_text = Nomad Network`! >>>> The text to display on the intro screen. < >>> `!editor = editor`! >>>> What editor program to use when launching a text editor from within the program. Defaults to the `!editor`! alias, which in turn will use the default editor of the operating system. < >>> `!glyphs = unicode`! >>>> Determines what set of glyphs the program uses for rendering the user interface. >>>>> The `!plain`! set only uses ASCII characters, and should work on all terminals, but is rather boring. The `!unicode`! set uses more interesting glyphs and icons, and should work on most terminals. This is the default. The `!nerdfont`! set allows using a much wider range of glyphs, icons and graphics, and should be enabled if you are using a Nerd Font in your terminal. < >>> `!mouse_enabled = yes`! >>>> Determines whether the program should react to mouse/touch input. Must be a boolean value. < >>> `!hide_guide = no`! >>>> This option allows hiding the `![ Guide ]`! section of the program. < >>> `!animation_interval = 1`! >>>> Sets the animation refresh rate for certain animations and graphics in the program. Must be an integer. < >>> `!colormode = 256`! >>>> Tells the program what color palette is supported by the terminal. Most terminals support `!256`! colors. If your terminal supports full-color / RGB-mode, set to `!24bit`!. Available options: >>>>> `!monochrome`! Single-color (black/white) palette, for monochrome displays `!16`! Low-color mode for really old-school terminals `!88`! Standard palletised color-mode for terminals `!256`! Almost all modern terminals support this mode `!24bit`! Most new terminals support this full-color mode < >>> `!theme = dark`! >>>> What color theme to use. Set it to match your terminal theme. Can be either `!dark`! or `!light`!. < >> Node Section This section holds configuration directives related to the node hosting. It is delimited by the `![node]`! header in the configuration file. Available directives, along with example values, are as follows: >>> `!enable_node = no`! >>>> Determines whether the node server should be started on launch. Must be a boolean value, and is turned off by default. < >>> `!node_name = DisplayName's Node`! >>>> Defines what the announced name of the node should be. < >>> `!announce_at_start = yes`! >>>> Determines whether your node is automatically announced on the network when the program starts. Must be a boolean value. < >>> `!announce_interval = 360`! >>>> Determines how often, in minutes, your node is announced on the network. Defaults to 6 hours. < >>> `!pages_path = ~/.nomadnetwork/storage/pages`! >>>> Determines where the node server will look for hosted pages. Must be a readable filesystem path. < >>> `!files_path = ~/.nomadnetwork/storage/files`! >>>> Determines where the node server will look for downloadable files. Must be a readable filesystem path. < >>> `!message_storage_limit = 2000`! >>>> Configures the maximum amount of storage, in megabytes, that the LXMF Propagation Node will use to store messages. < >>> `!prioritise_destinations = 41d20c727598a3fbbdf9106133a3a0ed, d924b81822ca24e68e2effea99bcb8cf`! >>>> Configures the LXMF Propagation Node to prioritise storing messages for certain destinations. If the message store reaches the specified limit, LXMF will prioritise keeping messages for destinations specified with this option. This setting is optional, and generally you do not need to use it. < >> Printing Section This section holds configuration directives related to printing. It is delimited by the `![printing]`! header in the configuration file. Available directives, along with example values, are as follows: >>> `!print_messages = no`! >>>> Determines whether messages should be printed upon arrival. Must be a boolean value, and is turned off by default. < >>> `!message_template = ~/.nomadnetwork/print_template_msg.txt`! >>>> Determines where the template for printed messages is found. Must be a filesystem path. If you set this path to a non-existing file, an example will be generated in the specified location. < >>> `!print_from = 76fe5751a56067d1e84eef3e88eab85b, trusted`! >>>> Determines from which destinations messages are printed. Can be a list of destinations hashes, the keyword "trusted", or "everywhere". < >>> `!print_command = lp -d PRINTER_NAME -o cpi=16 -o lpi=8`! >>>> Specifies the command that Nomad Network uses to print the message. Defaults to "lp". The above example works well for small thermal-roll printers. Ignoring Destinations If you encounter peers or nodes on the network, that you would rather not see in your client, you can add them to the `!~/.nomadnetwork/ignored`! file. To ignore nodes or peers, add one 32-character hexadecimal destination hash per line to the file. To unignore one again, simply remove the corresponding entry from the file and restart Nomad Network. TOPIC_NETWORKS Network Configuration Nomad Network uses the Reticulum Network Stack for communication and encryption. This means that it will use any interfaces and communications channels already defined in your Reticulum configuration. Reticulum supports using many kinds of devices as networking interfaces, and allows you to mix and match them in any way you choose. The number of distinct network topologies you can create with Reticulum is more or less endless, but common to them all is that you will need to define one or more interfaces for Reticulum to use. If you have not changed the default Reticulum configuration, which should be located at `!~/.reticulum/config`!, you will have one interface active right now. With it, you should be able to communicate with any other peers and systems that exist on your local ethernet or WiFi network, if your computer is connected to one, and most probably nothing else outside of that. To learn how to configure your Reticulum setup to use LoRa radios, packet radio or other interfaces, or connect to other Reticulum networks via the Internet, the best places to start is to read the relevant parts of the Reticulum Manual, which can be found on GitHub: `c`_https://markqvist.github.io/Reticulum/manual/interfaces.html`_ `l If you don't currently have access to the Internet, you can generate a configuration file full of examples of all the supported interface types, by using the command `!rnsd --exampleconfig`!. Using those examples, it should be possible to get a working setup going. For future reference, you can download the Reticulum Manual in PDF format here: `c`_https://github.com/markqvist/Reticulum/raw/master/docs/Reticulum%20Manual.pdf`_ `l It might be nice to keep that handy when you are not connected to the Internet, as it is full of information and examples that are also very relevant to Nomad Network. >The Reticulum Testnet If you have Internet access, and just want to get started experimenting, you are welcome to join the Unsigned.io RNS Testnet. The testnet is just that, an informal network for testing and experimenting. It will be up most of the time, and anyone can join, but it also means that there's no guarantees for service availability. The Testnet also runs the latest version of Reticulum, often even a short while before it is publicly released, which means strange behaviour might occur. If none of that scares you, add the following interface to your Reticulum configuration file to join: [[RNS Testnet Zurich]] type = TCPClientInterface interface_enabled = yes outgoing = True target_host = zurich.connect.reticulum.network target_port = 4242 If you connect to the testnet, you can leave nomadnet running for a while and wait for it to receive announces from other nodes on the network that host pages or services, or you can try connecting directly to some nodes listed here: - Dublin Hub Testnet Node : `!`[abb3ebcd03cb2388a838e70c001291f9]`! - Frankfurt Hub Testnet Node : `!`[ea6a715f814bdc37e56f80c34da6ad51]`! To browse pages on a node that is not currently known, open the URL dialog in the `![ Network ]`! section of the program by pressing `!Ctrl+U`!, paste or enter the address and select `!< Go >`! or press enter. Nomadnet will attempt to discover and connect to the requested node. You can save the currently connected node by pressing `!Ctrl+S`!. TOPIC_DISPLAYTEST Markup & Color Display Test You can use this section to gauge how well your terminal reproduces the various types of formatting used by Nomad Network. `a`!This line should be bold, and aligned to the left`! `c`*This one should be italic and centered`* `r`_And this one should be underlined, aligned right`_ `` The following line should contain a red gradient bar: `B100 `B200 `B300 `B400 `B500 `B600 `B700 `B800 `B900 `Ba00 `Bb00 `Bc00 `Bd00 `Be00 `Bf00`b The following line should contain a green gradient bar: `B010 `B020 `B030 `B040 `B050 `B060 `B070 `B080 `B090 `B0a0 `B0b0 `B0c0 `B0d0 `B0e0 `B0f0`b The following line should contain a blue gradient bar: `B001 `B002 `B003 `B004 `B005 `B006 `B007 `B008 `B009 `B00a `B00b `B00c `B00d `B00e `B00f`b The following line should contain a grayscale gradient bar: `Bg06 `Bg13 `Bg20 `Bg26 `Bg33 `Bg40 `Bg46 `Bg53 `Bg59 `Bg66 `Bg73 `Bg79 `Bg86 `Bg92 `Bg99`b Unicode Glyphs : \u2713 \u2715 \u26a0 \u24c3 \u2193 Nerd Font Glyphs : \uf484 \uf9c4 \uf719 \uf502 \uf415 \uf023 \uf06e TOPIC_LICENSES Thanks, Acknowledgements and Licenses This program uses various other software components, without which Nomad Network would not have been possible. Sincere thanks to the authors and contributors of the following projects >>> - `!Cryptography.io`! by `*pyca`* https://cryptography.io/ BSD License - `!Urwid`! by `*Ian Ward`* http://urwid.org/ LGPL-2.1 License - `!Additional Urwid Widgets`! by `*AFoeee`* https://github.com/AFoeee/additional_urwid_widgets MIT License - `!Scrollable`! by `*rndusr`* https://github.com/rndusr/stig/blob/master/stig/tui/scroll.py GPLv3 License - `!Configobj`! by `*Michael Foord`* https://github.com/DiffSK/configobj BSD License - `!Reticulum Network Stack`! by `*unsignedmark`* https://github.com/markqvist/Reticulum MIT License - `!LXMF`! by `*unsignedmark`* https://github.com/markqvist/LXMF MIT License TOPIC_MARKUP Outputting Formatted Text `c`!Hello!`! This is output from `*micron`* Micron generates formatted text for your terminal `a Nomad Network supports a simple and functional markup language called `*micron`*. If you are familiar with `*markdown`* or `*HTML`*, you will feel right at home writing pages with micron. With micron you can easily create structured documents and pages with formatting, colors, glyphs and icons, ideal for display in terminals. >>Recommendations and Requirements While micron can output formatted text to even the most basic terminal, there's a few capabilities your terminal `*must`* support to display micron output correctly, and some that, while not strictly necessary, make the experience a lot better. Formatting such as `_underline`_, `!bold`! or `*italics`* will be displayed if your terminal supports it. If you are having trouble getting micron output to display correctly, try using `*gnome-terminal`* or `*alacritty`*, which should work with all formatting options out of the box. Most other terminals will work fine as well, but you might have to change some settings to get certain formatting to display correctly. >>>Encoding All micron sources are intepreted as UTF-8, and micron assumes it can output UTF-8 characters to the terminal. If your terminal does not support UTF-8, output will be faulty. >>>Colors Shading and coloring text and backgrounds is integral to micron output, and while micron will attempt to gracefully degrade output even to 1-bit terminals, you will get the best output with terminals supporting at least 256 colors. True-color support is recommended. >>>Terminal Font While any unicode capable font can be used with micron, it's highly recommended to use a `*"Nerd Font"`* (see https://www.nerdfonts.com/), which will add a lot of extra glyphs and icons to your output. > A Few Demo Outputs `F222`Bddd `cWith micron, you can control layout and presentation `a `` `B33f You can change background ... `` `B393 `r`F320... and foreground colors`f `a `b If you want to make a break, horizontal dividers can be inserted. They can be plain, like the one below this text, or you can style them with unicode characters and glyphs, like the wavy divider in the beginning of this document. - `cText can be `_underlined`_, `!bold`! or `*italic`*. You can also `_`*`!`B5d5`F222combine`f`b`_ `_`Ff00f`Ff80o`Ffd0r`F9f0m`F0f2a`F0fdt`F07ft`F43fi`F70fn`Fe0fg`` for some fabulous effects. `a >>>Sections and Headings You can define an arbitrary number of sections and sub sections, each with their own named headings. Text inside sections will be automatically indented. - If you place a divider inside a section, it will adhere to the section indents. >>>>> If no heading text is defined, the section will appear as a sub-section without a header. This can be useful for creating indented blocks of text, like this one. >Micron tags Tags are used to format text with micron. Some tags can appear anywhere in text, and some must appear at the beginning of a line. If you need to write text that contains a sequence that would be interpreted as a tag, you can escape it with the character \\. In the following sections, the different tags will be introduced. Any styling set within micron can be reset to the default style by using the special \\`\\` tag anywhere in the markup, which will immediately remove any formatting previously specified. >>Alignment To control text alignment use the tag \\`c to center text, \\`l to left-align, \\`r to right-align, and \\`a to return to the default alignment of the document. Alignment tags must appear at the beginning of a line. Here is an example: `Faaa `= `cThis line will be centered. So will this. `aThe alignment has now been returned to default. `rThis will be aligned to the right `` `= `` The above markup produces the following output: `Faaa`B333 `cThis line will be centered. So will this. `aThe alignment has now been returned to default. `rThis will be aligned to the right `` >>Formatting Text can be formatted as `!bold`! by using the \\`! tag, `_underline`_ by using the \\`_ tag and `*italic`* by using the \\`* tag. Here's an example of formatting text: `Faaa `= We shall soon see `!bold`! paragraphs of text decorated with `_underlines`_ and `*italics`*. Some even dare `!`*`_combine`` them! `= `` The above markup produces the following output: `Faaa`B333 We shall soon see `!bold`! paragraphs of text decorated with `_underlines`_ and `*italics`*. Some even dare `!`*`_combine`!`*`_ them! `` >>Sections To create sections and subsections, use the > tag. This tag must be placed at the beginning of a line. To specify a sub-section of any level, use any number of > tags. If text is placed after a > tag, it will be used as a heading. Here is an example of sections: `Faaa `= >High Level Stuff This is a section. It contains this text. >>Another Level This is a sub section. >>>Going deeper A sub sub section. We could continue, but you get the point. >>>> Wait! It's worth noting that we can also create sections without headings. They look like this. `= `` The above markup produces the following output: `Faaa`B333 >High Level Stuff This is a section. It contains this text. >>Another Level This is a sub section. >>>Going deeper A sub sub section. We could continue, but you get the point. >>>> Wait! It's worth noting that we can also create sections without headings. They look like this. `` >Colors Foreground colors can be specified with the \\`F tag, followed by three hexadecimal characters. To return to the default foreground color, use the \\`f tag. Background color is specified in the same way, but by using the \\`B and \\`b tags. Here's a few examples: `Faaa `= You can use `B5d5`F222 color `f`b `Ff00f`Ff80o`Ffd0r`F9f0m`F0f2a`F0fdt`F07ft`F43fi`F70fn`Fe0fg`f for some fabulous effects. `= `` The above markup produces the following output: `Faaa`B333 You can use `B5d5`F222 color `f`B333 `Ff00f`Ff80o`Ffd0r`F9f0m`F0f2a`F0fdt`F07ft`F43fi`F70fn`Fe0fg`f for some fabulous effects. `` >Links Links to pages, files or other resources can be created with the \\`[ tag, which should always be terminated with a closing ]. You can create links with and without labels, it is up to you to control the formatting of links with other tags. Although not strictly necessary, it is good practice to at least format links with underlining. Here's a few examples: `Faaa `= Here is a link without any label: `[72914442a3689add83a09a767963f57c:/page/index.mu] This is a `[labeled link`72914442a3689add83a09a767963f57c:/page/index.mu] to the same page, but it's hard to see if you don't know it Here is `F00a`_`[a more visible link`72914442a3689add83a09a767963f57c:/page/index.mu]`_`f `= `` The above markup produces the following output: `Faaa`B333 Here is a link without any label: `[72914442a3689add83a09a767963f57c:/page/index.mu] This is a `[labeled link`72914442a3689add83a09a767963f57c:/page/index.mu] to the same page, but it's hard to see if you don't know it Here is `F00f`_`[a more visible link`72914442a3689add83a09a767963f57c:/page/index.mu]`_`f `` When links like these are displayed in the built-in browser, clicking on them or activating them using the keyboard will cause the browser to load the specified URL. >Fields & Requests Nomad Network let's you use simple input fields for submitting data to node-side applications. Submitted data, along with other session variables will be available to the node-side script / program as environment variables. >>Request Links Links can contain request variables and a list of fields to submit to the node-side application. You can include all fields on the page, only specific ones, and any number of request variables. To simply submit all fields on a page to a specified node-side page, create a link like this: `Faaa `= `[Submit Fields`:/page/fields.mu`*] `= `` Note the `!*`! following the extra `!\``! at the end of the path. This `!*`! denotes `*all fields`*. You can also specify a list of fields to include: `Faaa `= `[Submit Fields`:/page/fields.mu`username|auth_token] `= `` If you want to include pre-set variables, you can do it like this: `Faaa `= `[Query the System`:/page/fields.mu`username|auth_token|action=view|amount=64] `= `` >> Fields Here's an example of creating a field. We'll create a field named `!user_input`! and fill it with the text `!Pre-defined data`!. Note that we are using background color tags to make the field more visible to the user: `Faaa `= A simple input field: `B444``b `= `` You must always set a field `*name`*, but you can of course omit the pre-defined value of the field: `Faaa `= An empty input field: `B444``b `= `` You can set the size of the field like this: `Faaa `= A sized input field: `B444`<16|with_size`>`b `= `` It is possible to mask fields, for example for use with passwords and similar: `Faaa `= A masked input field: `B444``b `= `` And you can of course control all parameters at the same time: `Faaa `= Full control: `B444``b `= `` Collecting the above markup produces the following output: `Faaa`B333 A simple input field: `B444``B333 An empty input field: `B444``B333 A sized input field: `B444`<16|with_size`>`B333 A masked input field: `B444``B333 Full control: `B444``B333 `` >Comments You can insert comments that will not be displayed in the output by starting a line with the # character. Here's an example: `Faaa `= # This line will not be displayed This line will `= `` The above markup produces the following output: `Faaa`B333 # This line will not be displayed This line will `` >Literals To display literal content, for example source-code, or blocks of text that should not be interpreted by micron, you can use literal blocks, specified by the \\`= tag. If you made it all the way here, you should be well equipped to write documents, pages and applications using micron and Nomad Network. Thank you for staying with me