Candidates refresh (server + mobile + desktop clients):
- GET /api/client-auth/connection/candidates returns the server's current
LAN URLs, relay candidate, and serverId for already-paired devices
- /health and /api/version expose serverId so clients can verify a learned
address belongs to the expected server before sending their bearer token
- mobile: refresh saved candidates over the live transport after every
connect/wake, hot-switch relay->LAN when a fresh address is reachable;
serverId gate on direct probes; token no longer sent to /health
- desktop: refresh stored host apiUrl after a relay connect and hot-switch
back to direct; electron probe verifies serverId before authenticated fetch
Fixes found while debugging a dead pairing:
- settings: strict reader that throws on corrupt/unreadable file instead of
returning {}; relay signing/encryption key generation is now gated on it,
so a swallowed read failure can no longer mint a new server identity and
orphan every paired device (loud log when a keypair IS generated)
- SessionAuthGate: bounded auto-retry for transient session-check failures
(initial request racing the relay tunnel's first WS attempt, startup 5xx)
Adds OpenChamber Relay — an opt-in way to reach an instance from a phone,
browser, or another desktop from anywhere, with no open inbound ports, no
tunnel, and no shared LAN. The instance dials outbound to a relay; all app
traffic (HTTP, the event stream, terminal, dictation) is multiplexed and
encrypted through a single connection per client, so the relay only ever
forwards opaque ciphertext.
Transport
- End-to-end-encrypted channel over WebCrypto (ECDH P-256 -> HKDF ->
AES-256-GCM) with a capability-negotiated handshake and a small
HTTP/SSE/WebSocket multiplexing protocol. A byte-compatible JS host mirror
is cross-checked by tests.
- Host: outbound connection manager, per-client tunnel dispatcher to the local
server over loopback, reuse of the existing instance identity key, and
management routes. Disabled by default; explicit opt-in.
- Client: plugs into the existing runtime layer (runtime-fetch/-url/-switch/
-auth, event pipeline, terminal, dictation) so features work over the relay
unchanged; direct-URL and Electron realtime-proxy paths are untouched.
Pairing & UX
- Relay section in Settings -> Remote Instances (live status, QR/link pairing,
revocation via the existing client-token list) and the mobile connect flow.
- Frame batching and idle-gated keepalive keep tunnel message volume low
without affecting streaming smoothness.
Security
- The tunnel is transport only; the server authenticates every tunneled
request exactly as for a direct remote client.
fragments only. The relay stores no keys, tokens, or payloads.
Operability
- The endpoint can be pinned to a self-hosted rel
paired clients inherit it from the offer automatically.
- Relay module DOCUMENTATION.md and a relay-trans
invariants that future WebSocket/streaming changes must follow.
The relay transport is complete and tested; the UI for enabling and pairing
is gated behind openchamber_relay_gate and stays
Bohdan Triapitsyn