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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Silent Mode 24b83dee4d feat(theseus): a subdomain rule applies wherever the name is served from
The gateway checks a name's host rules before it decides what to serve, so a
blocked or redirected subdomain behaves the same whatever record the name
carries. Theseus only inherited that for names it proxies through the
gateway's /bns/ mount. A name with both s3 and ip — the shape that caused
the 2026-08-13 subdomain bug — would have had its blocked subdomain answer
anyway, because Theseus talks straight to the IP.

It now asks the gateway for the host's verified rule before taking either of
the paths it serves itself, and only for those paths, so an ordinary
subdomain navigation gains no round trip. Verification stays in one place:
the client reads a decision, it does not re-derive one.

The spec catches up with what is implemented — it still described v1 and
called hosts a future idea.
2026-09-28 01:25:22 +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 0.1.7: system-wide collision policy is runtime-switchable 2026-09-28 01:18:47 +02:00
src feat(theseus): a subdomain rule applies wherever the name is served from 2026-09-28 01:25:22 +02:00
test feat(gateway): a name's owner decides what its subdomains serve 2026-09-28 01:04:36 +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