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ARABA — The Offline-First Global Mesh Network

> "For the day the towers go dark."

ARABA is a zero-dependency, offline-first mesh networking protocol built in pure C++17. It turns any Linux device with a Wi-Fi adapter into an encrypted message relay node — no internet, no cell towers, no infrastructure required. It is a high-performance, zero-dependency C++ mesh networking protocol designed to create a life-saving communication network when the internet is down. It turns any laptop or device with a network card into a self-healing node in a decentralized mesh.

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ARABA (v1.0.0 Crisis-Ready Mesh Network)

An advanced, high-performance, completely dependency-free Offline-First Mesh Network Node and Cryptographic Messaging Engine engineered from bedrock principles in pure C++17.

Designed specifically for communication finality during total infrastructure collapse, regional network blackouts, or tactical isolation scenarios, ARABA operates directly over bare-metal wireless link layers (AF_PACKET / SOCK_RAW) without relying on cellular towers, internet gateways, DNS tracking, or central routing server arrays.

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🔬 Subsystem Architectural Strengths

• Sovereign Link-Layer Ingress: Binds natively to raw Wi-Fi interfaces (such as wlo1), parsing custom link-layer Ethernet frames bypassing standard network stack overhead.
• Per-Pair Dynamic Encryption: Custom dependency-free AES-256-CBC cryptographic layout where distinct pairs derive unique cryptographic keys based on mutual hardware MAC footprints combined with a base master secret passphrase.
• Volatile Byte Segmentation: Automatically splits payloads exceeding 480 bytes into isolated chunks, handles message transmission queues, tracks validation ACKs, and dynamically reassembles packet buffers on receipt.
• Store-and-Forward Persistence: Implements our custom .rue data persistence engine to automatically cache outgoing payloads to disk when a target node goes out of range, auto-delivering packets the exact moment the destination beacon drops back online.
• Topography Learning: Continuous background discovery loops (DISCOVERY) and route propagation alerts (ROUTE_ADV) running an in-memory AODV-lite matrix to calculate multi-hop message forwarding lanes.

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🛠️ Verification and Compilation Guide

📦 1. Clone the Complete Workspace Repository

git clone https://github.com
cd ARABA

🔨 2. Execute the Automated Makefile Build Script

make clean
make

🕹️ 3. Launch the Root Daemon CLI Console

sudo ./araba_node

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💻 Native Interactive Shell Commands

• send <mac_address> <message> - Encrypts, fragments, and dispatches text payloads across the mesh lanes.
• list - Displays all active direct hardware nodes currently within RF radio sight boundaries.
• table - Prints the parsed multi-hop AODV routing layout matrix tracking hop metrics.
• status - Outputs a trace read block of the last 10 silent background event logs.
• receive - Displays the secure ledger of decrypted text messages explicitly received by this node.
• queue - Inspects the persistent offline .rue message delivery cache layers.
• quit / exit - Safely shuts down running threads, unbinds sockets, and drops the node offline.

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📜 Sovereign Open-Source License

ARABA is an open-source, civilian defense communication protocol distributed under the terms of the official MIT License guidelines.

The Vision

When the grid fails, the internet dies. Starlink requires hardware and satellites. ARABA requires nothing but code. It is the vehicle for data in the darkest times.

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ARABA — Offline-First Encrypted Mesh Network

v1.0 — Crisis Ready

> "For the day the towers go dark."

ARABA is a zero-dependency, offline-first mesh networking protocol built in pure C++17. It turns any Linux device with a Wi-Fi adapter into an encrypted message relay node — no internet, no cell towers, no infrastructure required.

Features

• 🔒 AES-256 Encryption — Custom implementation, zero external dependencies
• 🔑 Per-Pair Dynamic Keys — Each node pair uses a unique derived key
• 📡 Raw Socket Mesh — Direct device-to-device communication over Wi-Fi
• 🧠 AODV-Lite Routing — Automatic route discovery and multi-hop forwarding
• 💾 Store & Forward — Messages survive reboots and auto-deliver when neighbors return (.rue format)
• ✂️ Message Fragmentation — Large messages split into multiple packets, reassembled on receive
• 🖥️ Interactive CLI — Clean shell with background network thread
• ⚙️ Config File — araba.conf for passphrase, interface, and tuning
• ⚡ Zero Bloat — No OpenSSL, no Boost, no external libraries
• Zero Dependencies: Pure C++17. No Boost, No OpenSSL (crypto is custom).
• Delay-Tolerant: Stores and forwards messages even if nodes are offline.
• Self-Healing: Automatically reroutes traffic if a node goes down.
• Lightweight: Runs on 20-year-old hardware.
• ✅ Message ACKs + Retry — Delivery confirmation with automatic retry

Hardware Tested

• Ubuntu Studio 22.04
• HP 250 G7 Notebook
• Intel Wi-Fi interface (wlo1)

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Quick Start

Prerequisites

• A Linux machine (Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, etc.)
• g++ compiler (GCC 11+ recommended)
• CMake (optional, for advanced builds)

Build

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/alistairfontaine/ARABA.git
cd ARABA

# Compile the test
g++ -std=c++17 -Wall -Wextra -o test_packet src/test_packet.cpp

# Official Compilation
g++ -std=c++17 -Wall -Wextra -I include -o araba_node src/araba_node.cpp src/network.cpp src/routing.cpp src/persistence.cpp src/crypto.cpp

# Run the test
./test_packet

# Run the Network Daemon (Coming Soon)
bash

./araba_node --interface wlan0 --mode ad-hoc

### Option 1: Makefile
```bash
cd /media/mr-fontaine/R/RECOVERY/Coding/ARABA
make
sudo ./araba_node

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## License
MIT License - Copyright (c) 2026 Alistair Fontaine

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