Argus � the BNS public gateway (navigate.st) and its library layer. Serves BCNR names over HTTPS, verifies signed records, mints TLDs.
e6f2e4b99f
The first .bch page now opens with zero user-visible latency and stays fresh
for as long as the browser runs. Four sources conspire in parallel — none of
them can block a navigation:
1. Warm start from disk (sync)
warmFromSnapshot loads the user-cache snapshot first, then falls back to
the copy bundled with the build. sharedIndex is set BEFORE the first
navigation can even fire.
2. Continuous background delta refresh (every 30 s)
startBnsPolling opens one electrum connection, fetches the beacon
history (a single call), and only pulls verbose tx bodies for txids we
don't already have — mergeFreshHistory-style. Merges into memory,
rebuilds the index locally, persists the enlarged snapshot to disk.
Turns a ~60 s full walk into ~1 s per new event.
3. Sia snapshot pull on boot (one-shot, wins the NEXT boot)
refreshSnapshotFromSia downloads the operator's published snapshot from
s3.silentmode.st for the next launch. After a long idle period the
browser resumes from that fresher snapshot instead of walking days of
events.
4. ensureIndex full-walk fallback
Still runs on boot for the case where there's no bundled snapshot AND
the poll hasn't landed yet — very first launch, offline install, etc.
resolveHost now prefers sharedIndex (which the poll keeps live) and, on a
miss with a stale index, triggers pollAndMerge (delta fetch) instead of
ensureIndex (full walk). The old full-walk fallback is only taken if the
delta primitives aren't available (running against an older resolver-web).
Argus/src/lib/resolver-web.js exports connectElectrum so the Theseus poll
can drive its own ad-hoc queries against the pool without duplicating the
Electrum wrapper.
Bundled starter snapshot refreshed: 73 beacon txs, root c37b859682…54e414ba.
Artifacts:
dist-public/TheseusNavigator-Setup-0.0.7.exe (95.4 MB)
sha256 1b0dabcd2b13067aa1fd89c3271708b35ba22dfc7a620e248b35e0487b7a104f
dist-public/TheseusNavigator-0.0.7-portable.exe (92.7 MB)
sha256 706dc01b21a88d3c2fbc3eeced0cab6ace873630bf3edc2d40915ca5be5c8cae
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|---|---|---|
| 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