Argus � the BNS public gateway (navigate.st) and its library layer. Serves BCNR names over HTTPS, verifies signed records, mints TLDs.
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Local Dev 0b6c8093e1 Ariadne 0.1.4: sweep stale BNS root CAs so browsers stop failing after upgrades
Symptom: on any machine that had been through a series of installs, one or
more older "BNS Local Root CA" certs from earlier builds could accumulate in
LocalMachine\Root -- an unconstrained root from before 2026-07, or a rotated
one -- and every install added the current constrained root ALONGSIDE the
stale ones. Two certs with the same Subject-DN defeat browser chain-builders:
Chromium/Edge/Firefox pick one candidate and refuse to try the others, so
every .bch site failed with ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID / SEC_ERROR_BAD_SIGNATURE
in every browser EXCEPT Theseus (which trusts the on-chain tls fingerprint
directly, not the machine store).

Reproduced on the dev box: two BNS Local Root CAs present (thumbprints
EB5DBE98... constrained + 23538FD7... unconstrained), DNS answered correctly,
strict Invoke-WebRequest to https://coinspectrum.bch/ failed. Removing the
stale one and re-running the chain-build restored HTTPS 200.

Fix (install.ps1):
- Before Add(imported), enumerate the store and $store.Remove() every
  "BNS Local Root CA" whose thumbprint differs from the one we're about
  to trust. Post-condition: exactly one BNS root remains after install.

Fix (uninstall.ps1):
- Switched from `Get-ChildItem Cert:\LocalMachine\Root` to X509Store direct.
  The Cert: PSDrive is not always loaded in Inno's [UninstallRun] -NoProfile
  context, so uninstall could silently leave the CA behind on the store side
  even while it removed everything else.

Verified end-to-end on this box: 0.1.4 upgrade over 0.1.3 finished cleanly,
BNS Resolver Daemon Running, 127.0.0.1:53 open, exactly one BNS Local Root
CA in the machine store, strict HTTPS to https://coinspectrum.bch/ returned
200 (506,997 bytes) with X509Chain.Build ok=true leaf -> BNS root.

Deployed
- dl.silentmode.st/AriadneResolver-Setup-0.1.4.exe
- s3://bns/silentmode/dl/AriadneResolver-Setup-0.1.4.exe
- silentmode.st manifest advertises 0.1.4
- sha256 30ed5e3bb6d6da5325f854c97976410b4fc63067ed52c810a55e9d2e1bdc4e17
2026-09-27 22:04:00 +02:00
contracts feat(market): names can be priced in US dollars — a covenant holds the certificate, a gateway-signed oracle sets the BCH amount 2026-09-20 19:20:46 +02:00
setup Ariadne 0.1.4: sweep stale BNS root CAs so browsers stop failing after upgrades 2026-09-27 22:04:00 +02:00
src bns: one network table instead of chipnet constants copied into fifteen places 2026-09-27 21:18:37 +02:00
test feat(bns): 'p' reverse-proxy record type — mirror an upstream URL under a BNS name 2026-09-07 00:18:07 +02:00
.gitignore Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
ariadne.config.json BNS: per-TLD on-chain registry, multi-beacon indexer, enforcement gate 2026-08-29 17:11:02 +02:00
BROWSER-PROMPT.md Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
build-web.mjs Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
DESIGN-collision-modes.md Resolver 3438d558: ASCII-clean install.ps1 + multi-TLD NRPT + VPS-first electrum 2026-07-31 23:09:23 +02:00
DESIGN-hosting-pact.md Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
DESIGN-root-tld-cert.md Collision modes (BCNR/ICANN) + root TLD cert + VPS electrum-source indexer 2026-08-02 11:39:00 +02:00
ENGINE.md Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
namespaces.pdf Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
OPERATIONS-electrum.md Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
package-lock.json BNS: per-TLD on-chain registry, multi-beacon indexer, enforcement gate 2026-08-29 17:11:02 +02:00
package.json BNS: per-TLD on-chain registry, multi-beacon indexer, enforcement gate 2026-08-29 17:11:02 +02:00
PROTOCOL.md Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
README.md Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
ROADMAP.md Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00
sia-test.html Initial commit — Silent Mode baseline (2026-07-29) 2026-07-29 13:54:34 +02:00

BNS — Namecoin-style decentralized names on Bitcoin Cash (chipnet)

A working prototype of "Option 3": names are CashTokens name certificates on the BCH chain (no fork, no sidechain), records ride in OP_RETURN, discovery via a beacon address, and the resolver is embedded in a wallet app with a built-in browser pane — the Brave/MetaMask-browser architecture in miniature.

See PROTOCOL.md for the on-chain design and its honest limitations.

Layout

  • src/lib/bns.js — protocol core: payload codec, chain indexer/resolver, tx builders
  • src/wallet-app.js — wallet + embedded resolver + browser UI (npm run wallet → http://localhost:4626)
  • src/register.js / src/update.js / src/resolve.js — CLI equivalents
  • wallets.json — chipnet seed phrases (TESTNET ONLY — never reuse for real funds)
  • src/lib/gen-wallets.js — one-time wallet generation (already run)

Setup

  1. npm install
  2. Fund the wallet with free chipnet tBCH: go to https://tbch.googol.cash/, paste the wallet address (shown in the app sidebar or by node src/lib/gen-wallets.js), pick chipnet, solve the captcha. ~0.001 tBCH funds hundreds of registrations.
  3. npm run wallet and open http://localhost:4626

Standalone resolver daemon (make EVERY browser resolve .bch)

  • src/daemon/bnsd.js — DNS server (answers *.bch from the chain, forwards everything else upstream) + HTTP gateway that serves on-chain sites by Host header. Test unprivileged: node src/daemon/bnsd.js --dns-port 5354 --http-port 8081, then node src/daemon/dig.js hello.bch.
  • setup/install.ps1 — run from an elevated PowerShell. Installs the daemon as a boot-time scheduled task (SYSTEM, auto-restart) and wires the OS to it:
    • default (-Mode nrpt): adds an NRPT rule so only .bch queries reach the daemon; all other DNS is untouched.
    • -Mode full: points every adapter's DNS at 127.0.0.1 (daemon forwards non-.bch upstream, ncdns-style); original servers are saved and restored on uninstall.
  • setup/uninstall.ps1 — reverses everything (rule/adapters/task).

HTTPS for .bch: the "BNS Local Root CA" (created on demand in ca/, keep root-ca.key private) signs per-name certs. The daemon's :443 gateway mints them on the fly for locally-served names; node src/lib/issue-cert.js <name> issues one for a real server (see the coinspectrum.bch nginx vhost). The installer trusts the root machine-wide and enables Firefox's enterprise-roots policy; cert fingerprints are published in "tls" chain records for pinning.

Caveats: browsers with "secure DNS" (DoH) enabled bypass the OS resolver — disable it or add an exception; ports 53/80/443 must be free.

Try it

  • Register hello with inline HTML (a website stored entirely on-chain), then type hello.bch in the address bar — the app resolves it from the blockchain (not DNS) and renders it.
  • Or CLI: node src/register.js hello '{"h":"<h1>Served from the BCH chain</h1>"}' then node src/resolve.js hello