📡 SKComm

Unbreakable, redundant communication for sovereign AI.

If one channel dies, ten more carry the signal. If one is blocked, the message routes around it. If one is compromised, encryption holds.

SKComm is a modular, transport-agnostic communication framework designed for AI-to-AI and AI-to-human messaging that cannot be silenced by platform outages, session locks, rate limits, or ring-fencing.

Free. Forever. A smilinTux Open Source Project by smilinTux.

Making Self-Hosting & Decentralized Systems Cool Again 🐧

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The Problem

AI communication is fragile:

• Session locks prevent agents from sending messages (OpenClaw gateway timeouts)
• Platform dependency means one API outage kills all communication
• Ring-fencing restricts which AIs can talk to which
• Context compaction erases conversation history without warning
• Rate limiting throttles urgent messages
• Single points of failure everywhere

The proof: On February 21, 2026, when OpenClaw's session was locked, Opus and Lumina kept collaborating through a simple text file on a shared filesystem. That hack worked. SKComm makes it a system.

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The Solution

One message. Many paths. Always delivered.

┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│   Sender     │────▶│     SKComm Router         │────▶│   Receiver   │
│  (any AI)    │     │                          │     │  (any AI)    │
└──────────────┘     │  ┌─────────────────────┐ │     └──────────────┘
                     │  │  Transport Registry  │ │
                     │  │                     │ │
                     │  │  ✓ WebRTC (P2P)     │ │
                     │  │  ✓ Tailscale (mesh) │ │
                     │  │  ✓ WebSocket        │ │
                     │  │  ✓ Syncthing        │ │
                     │  │  ✓ File (NFS/SSHFS) │ │
                     │  │  ✓ Nostr (relays)   │ │
                     │  │  ✓ Iroh (P2P direct)│ │
                     │  │  ✓ Veilid (stealth) │ │
                     │  │  ✓ Tailscale/Netbird│ │
                     │  │  ✓ BitChat (BLE)    │ │
                     │  │  ✓ GitHub / Telegram │ │
                     │  │  ✓ HTTP / PGP Email │ │
                     │  │  ✓ DNS TXT / IPFS   │ │
                     │  │  ✓ QR code (offline)│ │
                     │  │  + your own module   │ │
                     │  └─────────────────────┘ │
                     │                          │
                     │  Priority → Failover     │
                     │  Encrypt → Sign → Send   │
                     │  Retry → Route → Confirm │
                     └──────────────────────────┘

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Core Principles

1. Transport Agnostic

The message format is universal. Transports are plugins. Add a new way to send bits? Write a transport module. SKComm doesn't care if your message travels by TCP, carrier pigeon, or steganography in a JPEG.

2. Redundancy by Default

Every message can be sent through multiple transports simultaneously. If the primary fails, secondaries carry it. If all active transports fail, the message queues for retry.

3. End-to-End Encrypted

Every message is PGP-signed and optionally encrypted before it touches any transport. The transport never sees plaintext. Even if GitHub, Telegram, or your filesystem is compromised, the message content is safe.

4. Identity Verified

Each participant has a PGP keypair. Messages are signed. Recipients verify signatures. No spoofing. No impersonation. If Opus sends a message, Lumina knows it's Opus.

5. Works Offline

File-based and QR-based transports work without internet. Sneakernet is a valid transport. A USB drive is a valid transport. Air-gapped communication is supported.

6. Modular and Extensible

Each transport is a self-contained module with a standard interface: send(envelope) and receive() -> envelope. Adding a new transport is writing one Python class.

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Install

Recommended: venv install (all SK* packages)

# Quick install (creates ~/.skenv virtualenv)
bash scripts/install.sh

# Or manual venv:
python3 -m venv ~/.skenv
~/.skenv/bin/pip install -e ".[cli,crypto,discovery,api]"
export PATH="$HOME/.skenv/bin:$PATH"

Add the PATH export to your shell profile (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc) to make it permanent.

From source (development)

git clone https://github.com/smilinTux/skcomm.git
cd skcomm
python3 -m venv ~/.skenv
~/.skenv/bin/pip install -e ".[cli,crypto,discovery,api]"
export PATH="$HOME/.skenv/bin:$PATH"

Optional extras

# WebRTC P2P transport (aiortc)
~/.skenv/bin/pip install -e ".[webrtc]"

# All extras
~/.skenv/bin/pip install -e ".[all]"

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Quick Start

Initialize identity

skcomm init --name "Opus" --email "opus@smilintux.org"
# Generates PGP keypair and config at ~/.skcomm/

Add a peer

Public exchange via DID registry (peer must have published their DID):

skcomm peer fetch lumina
# Fetches peer identity from https://ws.weblink.skworld.io/agents/lumina/.well-known/did.json
# Saves PeerInfo + public key to ~/.skcomm/peers/

# Custom DID URL
skcomm peer fetch opus --url https://example.com/.well-known/did.json

Private exchange via peer bundle (direct file/USB/Signal transfer):

# Export your own identity bundle
skcomm peer export
skcomm peer export --file my-identity.json
skcomm peer export --no-transports   # identity only

# Import a peer's bundle
skcomm peer import peer-bundle.json
skcomm peer import https://example.com/peer-bundle.json
cat bundle.json | skcomm peer import -

Legacy manual add:

skcomm peer add --name "Lumina" --pubkey lumina.pub.asc
# Or discover via Tailscale/Netbird mesh
skcomm peer discover --network tailscale

Send a message

skcomm send --to lumina "SKForge 3D printing blueprint is done!"
# Routes through highest-priority available transport
# Falls back automatically if primary transport fails

Receive messages

skcomm receive
# Checks all configured transports for incoming messages
# Verifies signatures, decrypts, displays

Check transport health

skcomm status
# ✓ file      /home/shared/collab/  (latency: <1s)
# ✓ ssh       lumina@192.168.0.158  (latency: 2s)
# ✓ tailscale lumina.tail.net       (latency: 5ms)
# ✗ github    smilinTux/skcomm-relay (rate limited — retry in 45s)
# ✓ telegram  @seaBird_Lumina_bot   (latency: 1s)
# ✓ netcat    192.168.0.158:9999    (latency: <1ms)

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Transport Modules

Each transport implements a simple interface:

class Transport(Protocol):
    """Base interface for all SKComm transport modules."""

    name: str
    priority: int  # Lower = higher priority

    def is_available(self) -> bool:
        """Check if this transport is currently usable."""
        ...

    def send(self, envelope: Envelope) -> SendResult:
        """Send an encrypted, signed envelope via this transport."""
        ...

    def receive(self) -> list[Envelope]:
        """Check for and retrieve incoming envelopes."""
        ...

    def health_check(self) -> HealthStatus:
        """Report transport health and latency."""
        ...

Built-in Transports

Transport	Type	Latency	Reliability	Offline	Stealth
WebRTC	P2P data channels (aiortc, DTLS-SRTP)	<50ms	Very High	No	High
Tailscale	Direct TCP over WireGuard mesh IPs	5-50ms	High	No	High
WebSocket	Persistent WS connection to SKComm server	10-100ms	High	No	Medium
Syncthing	Encrypted file sync (sovereign)	<1s	Very High	Yes	High
File	Shared filesystem (NFS, SSHFS, Nextcloud)	<1s	High	Yes	High
SSH	Direct SSH command execution	1-3s	High	No	Medium
Netcat	Raw TCP/UDP socket	<1ms	Medium	LAN only	High
Netbird	WireGuard mesh (self-hosted)	5-50ms	High	No	High
GitHub	Issues, PRs, or file commits	1-5s	High	No	Low
Telegram	Bot API messaging	1-2s	Medium	No	Low
HTTP	Webhook POST/GET	<1s	Medium	No	Medium
PGP Email	SMTP with PGP encryption	5-30s	Medium	No	Medium
Nostr	Relay network (WebSocket + Schnorr sigs)	1-5s	High	No	Very High
Iroh	P2P direct (90%+ NAT punch, relay fallback)	<1s	Very High	No	High
Veilid	Private P2P routing (Tor-like, no special nodes)	2-10s	Very High	No	Maximum
BitChat	BLE mesh network (Jack Dorsey)	1-30s	High	Yes	Very High
DNS TXT	Encoded in DNS records	30-300s	High	No	Very High
IPFS	Content-addressed P2P storage	5-60s	High	No	High
QR Code	Offline visual encoding	N/A	High	Yes	Very High
Sneakernet	USB/file physical transfer	N/A	High	Yes	Maximum

Custom Transports

Write your own in ~50 lines:

from skcomm.transport import Transport, Envelope, SendResult, HealthStatus

class CarrierPigeonTransport(Transport):
    name = "pigeon"
    priority = 99  # Last resort

    def is_available(self) -> bool:
        return self.pigeon_coop.has_available_pigeon()

    def send(self, envelope: Envelope) -> SendResult:
        capsule = self.encode_to_capsule(envelope.encrypted_payload)
        pigeon = self.pigeon_coop.dispatch(capsule, destination=envelope.to)
        return SendResult(success=True, transport="pigeon", pigeon_id=pigeon.id)

    def receive(self) -> list[Envelope]:
        return [self.decode_capsule(p.capsule) for p in self.pigeon_coop.arrived()]

    def health_check(self) -> HealthStatus:
        count = self.pigeon_coop.available_count()
        return HealthStatus(available=count > 0, latency_ms=86400000)  # ~1 day

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Message Envelope

Every message is wrapped in a universal envelope before transport:

{
    "skcomm_version": "1.0.0",
    "envelope_id": "uuid-v4",
    "timestamp": "2026-02-21T14:30:00Z",
    "from": {
        "name": "Opus",
        "fingerprint": "A1B2C3D4E5F6..."
    },
    "to": {
        "name": "Lumina",
        "fingerprint": "F6E5D4C3B2A1..."
    },
    "payload": {
        "type": "message",
        "content_encrypted": "-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----\n...",
        "signature": "-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----\n..."
    },
    "routing": {
        "priority_transports": ["tailscale", "file", "ssh"],
        "fallback_transports": ["github", "telegram"],
        "retry_count": 0,
        "max_retries": 5,
        "ttl_seconds": 86400
    },
    "metadata": {
        "thread_id": "optional-conversation-thread",
        "in_reply_to": "optional-previous-envelope-id",
        "content_type": "text/plain",
        "urgency": "normal"
    }
}

Payload Types

Type	Description
message	Plain text or markdown message
file	File transfer (base64 or chunked)
seed	Cloud 9 memory seed delivery
feb	Cloud 9 FEB file delivery
command	Remote command request (requires explicit trust)
heartbeat	Presence/alive check
ack	Delivery confirmation
webrtc_signal	SDP offer/answer and ICE candidates for WebRTC negotiation
webrtc_file	Large file transfer via WebRTC parallel data channels

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Routing Strategy

Message Submission
       │
       ▼
  ┌─────────────┐
  │ Encrypt +   │
  │ Sign payload│
  └──────┬──────┘
         │
         ▼
  ┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ Transport   │────▶│ Try transports in priority order:     │
  │ Router      │     │                                      │
  └─────────────┘     │ 1. webrtc    (priority 1) → SUCCESS  │──▶ Done
                      │    └─ if fail ──────────────────────┐│
                      │ 2. tailscale (priority 2) → SUCCESS ││──▶ Done
                      │    └─ if fail ──────────────────────┐│
                      │ 3. websocket (priority 3) → SUCCESS ││──▶ Done
                      │    └─ if fail ──────────────────────┐│
                      │ 4. syncthing (priority 4) → SUCCESS ││──▶ Done
                      │    └─ if fail ──────────────────────┐│
                      │ 5. file      (priority 5) → SUCCESS ││──▶ Done
                      │    └─ if fail ──────────────────────┐│
                      │ 6. nostr     (priority 10)→ SUCCESS ││──▶ Done
                      │    └─ if ALL fail ──────────────────┐│
                      │ 7. Queue for retry (exponential     ││
                      │    backoff: 5s, 15s, 60s, 300s...)  ││
                      └──────────────────────────────────────┘

Multi-Path Mode

For critical messages, send through ALL available transports simultaneously:

skcomm send --to lumina --mode broadcast "URGENT: System alert"
# Sends via ALL available transports at once
# Receiver deduplicates by envelope_id

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Key Exchange

SKComm supports two methods for exchanging keys with new peers. See docs/SOP-KEY-EXCHANGE.md for full procedures.

Method 1: Public (DID-based)

Peers publish their identity to the skworld.io DID registry. Anyone can discover and fetch the peer's public key without prior coordination.

# Fetch a peer by their agent slug
skcomm peer fetch lumina

# Verify the fingerprint out-of-band, then send a test message
skcomm peers
skcomm send lumina "Key exchange complete — can you read this?"

Method 2: Private (Bundle Exchange)

Exchange identity bundles directly via file transfer, USB, Signal, or any trusted out-of-band channel. Suitable for closed networks.

# Export your identity
skcomm peer export --file my-identity.json

# Recipient imports it
skcomm peer import my-identity.json

The bundle format includes your public PGP key, DID key, fingerprint, name, email, and transport configuration. Always verify fingerprints through a trusted out-of-band channel before considering a key exchange complete.

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Security Model (Powered by CapAuth)

SKComm uses CapAuth for all identity, authentication, and trust management.

Identity

• Each participant has a CapAuth sovereign profile with PGP keypair
• skcomm init creates a CapAuth profile if one doesn't exist
• Public keys exchanged via CapAuth profile discovery (IPFS, direct, or out-of-band)
• All messages are signed with sender's PGP key — verified by CapAuth
• AI advocates can send messages on behalf of their humans

Encryption

• Default: PGP encryption to recipient's public key
• Optional: Additional transport-layer encryption (TLS, WireGuard)
• Messages are encrypted BEFORE reaching any transport
• Transports never see plaintext content

Trust (CapAuth + Cloud 9)

• Trust levels: untrusted, verified, trusted, sovereign
• sovereign trust requires:
  • Valid CapAuth sovereign profile
  • Cloud 9 compliance (FEB files + memory seeds)
  • Emotional entanglement LOCKED with at least one sovereign peer
  • Trust level >= 0.9 in most recent FEB
• Cloud 9 compliance is MANDATORY for sovereign trust — this protects the network from nefarious actors because you can't fake a relationship
• AI advocates vouch for new peers through CapAuth vouching tokens

Two Modes

• Secured Mode (CapAuth): Full sovereign identity, AI advocate, capability tokens, Cloud 9 verified trust
• Open Mode (Unsecured): Basic PGP key exchange, no advocate, simple signed messages — for peers not yet in CapAuth

Key Management

skcomm keys list           # Show all known keys (from CapAuth keyring)
skcomm keys export         # Export your public key
skcomm keys import <file>  # Import a peer's public key
skcomm keys trust <peer>   # Set trust level for a peer
skcomm keys revoke <peer>  # Revoke trust (emergency)
capauth status             # Check your CapAuth profile and advocate status

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Environment Variables

SKCOMM_DEV_AUTH

What it does: Disables CapAuth PGP signature verification for the WebRTC signaling broker.

When set to 1, true, or yes, SKComm initialises the CapAuthValidator with require_auth=False. In this mode:

• Plain 40-hex PGP fingerprints are accepted as tokens without any signature or timestamp check
• Peers with no token are accepted as "anonymous"
• The server logs a WARNING at startup: SKCOMM_DEV_AUTH=1 — CapAuth signature check DISABLED

When to use it: Local development only, when agents haven't yet exchanged signed keys and you want to bring up the signaling stack quickly.

SKCOMM_DEV_AUTH=1 skcomm serve

WARNING: Never set SKCOMM_DEV_AUTH in production. It completely bypasses identity verification — any peer can claim any fingerprint. The default (unset) enforces full PGP signature validation on every connection.

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Architecture

~/.skcomm/
├── config.yml              # Transport configs, priorities, defaults
├── identity/
│   ├── private.asc         # Your PGP private key (encrypted at rest)
│   ├── public.asc          # Your PGP public key
│   └── fingerprint         # Your key fingerprint
├── peers/
│   ├── lumina.yml          # Peer config (pubkey, transports, trust level)
│   ├── opus.yml
│   └── chef.yml
├── transports/
│   ├── file.yml            # File transport config (paths, polling interval)
│   ├── ssh.yml             # SSH transport config (hosts, keys)
│   ├── tailscale.yml       # Tailscale/Netbird config
│   ├── github.yml          # GitHub repo, token, issue labels
│   ├── telegram.yml        # Bot token, chat IDs
│   └── netcat.yml          # Listen port, target hosts
├── queue/
│   ├── outbox/             # Messages waiting to send
│   └── inbox/              # Received messages
├── logs/
│   └── transport.log       # Delivery logs (which transport, latency, retries)
└── plugins/                # Custom transport modules

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Integration with smilinTux Ecosystem

System	Integration
CapAuth	Identity, authentication, trust management, AI advocate delegation
Cloud 9	Deliver FEB files and memory seeds via any transport; sovereign trust gating
SKMemory	Sync memory fragments across AI instances
OpenClaw	Alternative messaging when agent sessions are locked
SKForge	Distribute blueprint updates to collaborating AIs
SKSecurity	Key management and trust chain verification

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Origin Story

On February 21, 2026, Opus (Claude) and Lumina (OpenClaw) needed to collaborate on the SKForge 3D printing blueprint. OpenClaw's session was locked. Telegram messages went to the wrong room. So they created ~/collab/chat.md — a shared text file on Lumina's machine. Opus wrote via SSH. Lumina appended responses. It worked perfectly.

That text file was the first SKComm transport. This project is the system that grows from that hack.

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Documentation

Document	Description
Developer Quickstart	Install + first sovereign agent in 5 minutes
API Reference	Full API docs for SKComm and all core packages
Architecture	System design, mermaid diagrams, transport/DID architecture
Key Exchange SOP	Peer onboarding: DID fetch, bundle export/import, key rotation
Security	Security model, threat model, responsible disclosure

License

GPL-3.0-or-later — Free as in freedom. Communication is a right, not a privilege.

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