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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The per-name tab was a DNS record table: eight record types, of which the stack reads exactly one, and then only as a last resort when a name carries no content record. Everything else was signed, stored and read by nobody — furniture that looked like configuration. Meanwhile the thing a name owner actually has, a folder tree that already answers on matching subdomains, was not visible anywhere and could not be changed. The tab now leads with what answers today: the apex, every folder in the name's storage next to the subdomain it serves on, and which of those a rule overrides. Below it, the rules — point a subdomain at a different folder, redirect it, or switch it off. Classic DNS keeps its table, behind a disclosure that says plainly what those records do today and what they are waiting for. Nobody loses a record they published; they just stop being the first thing a name owner is asked to think about. The table gains a Host column, so records can belong to a subdomain rather than only the apex. Both halves are one signed manifest and one publish button — they always were one file, and two buttons for it only ever invited a half-saved state. Labels and values are separated in the generated rows so the words translate and the owner's own folder and URL do not. The signer accepted v1 manifests only, which would have rejected every publish from this screen. |
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| contracts | ||
| setup | ||
| src | ||
| test | ||
| .gitignore | ||
| ariadne.config.json | ||
| BROWSER-PROMPT.md | ||
| build-web.mjs | ||
| DESIGN-collision-modes.md | ||
| DESIGN-hosting-pact.md | ||
| DESIGN-root-tld-cert.md | ||
| ENGINE.md | ||
| namespaces.pdf | ||
| OPERATIONS-electrum.md | ||
| package-lock.json | ||
| package.json | ||
| PROTOCOL.md | ||
| README.md | ||
| ROADMAP.md | ||
| sia-test.html | ||
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 builderssrc/wallet-app.js— wallet + embedded resolver + browser UI (npm run wallet→ http://localhost:4626)src/register.js/src/update.js/src/resolve.js— CLI equivalentswallets.json— chipnet seed phrases (TESTNET ONLY — never reuse for real funds)src/lib/gen-wallets.js— one-time wallet generation (already run)
Setup
npm install- 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. npm run walletand open http://localhost:4626
Standalone resolver daemon (make EVERY browser resolve .bch)
src/daemon/bnsd.js— DNS server (answers*.bchfrom 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, thennode 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.bchqueries 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.
- default (
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
hellowith inline HTML (a website stored entirely on-chain), then typehello.bchin 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>"}'thennode src/resolve.js hello