LXMF-rs — Reticulum and LXMF in Rust

LXMF-rs is a Rust implementation of the Reticulum networking stack and the LXMF messaging stack. The workspace provides reusable libraries, a typed SDK, host daemons and command-line tools, plus embedded and FFI surfaces.

Our position on independent Reticulum implementations

Reticulum is a public-domain protocol whose authoritative specification is its Python reference implementation.

We respect Mark Qvist's original work and intellectual property rights. However, we reject the assertion that AI-assisted analysis or reimplementation automatically constitutes copyright infringement.

No individual can claim exclusive control over the independent implementation of a public-domain protocol. Compatibility should be established through reproducible interoperability tests and technical evidence, not personal endorsement.

This project will continue its development, committed to software quality, security, interoperability, and the freedom to innovate.

Read our full statement on independent implementations and AI-assisted development.

Measured performance

Dataset: main-2026-11-01 at c59f35f62fb3196eeb391c943b840f0ad53ca2f3; Python Reticulum ea98db4f53dc and LXMF 727830cefda8.

Matched workload	Rust p50	Python p50	Rust/Python
LXMF message decode + verify	33.00 us	89.44 us	2.71x
LXMF message encode + sign	13.83 us	37.22 us	2.69x
LXMF large message decode + verify	36.59 us	94.59 us	2.59x
LXMF large message encode + sign	21.18 us	45.26 us	2.14x

These are matched-workload comparisons, not a claim of whole-system superiority. See methodology, complete results, variability, and limitations.

Current status

The v0.16.1 release train aligns 22 public packages, including the shared event-broker library, delivery-proof fixes, MeshChat host/origin validation and propagation quota improvements. Its release workflow covers Linux, macOS, Windows, OCI images and crates.io. See the release record for publication status, downloads and exact-build validation. Production resource and retention acceptance remain open. Rust 1.88 or newer is required; use an exact release tag to reproduce published artifacts.

Current main/source builds require Rust 1.89 for the patched bundled SQLite dependency; the tagged release requirements above remain historical. See the security migration note.

The canonical release reference remains Python Reticulum 1.5.2 at ea98db4f53dcf0defc0e71a16e60d28b1229c4e6, with Python LXMF 0.9.6 at 727830cefda83d9c6e3982b48675425f3f988f9c. The separate Reticulum 1.5.5 feature update has a scoped delta ledger; it does not establish full forward behavioral parity.

Area	Current position
Python callable inventory	1,857 applicable entries complete, 0 partial, 0 unmapped, and 1 provenance-backed not-applicable entry
Reticulum software parity	1,655 mapped callables complete against the pinned baseline; forward behavioral coverage remains separate
LXMF software parity	202 mapped callables and all seven tracked software scenarios complete
Rust/Python interoperability	Direct, link, channel, paper, propagation, and daemon scenarios exercised against pinned references
Independent interoperability	Versioned rns-rs and supported-subset Reticulum-Go reports are attached to v0.14.0; known peer divergences remain explicit
Real-world interoperability	Bounded field evidence exists for REM on physical RNode/LoRa, two-phone TCP, Sideband phone HIL, Columba bidirectional direct LXMF, and live RCH paths; see real-world interoperability evidence
Remaining operational matrix	Permanent HIL, the full declared hardware/platform matrix, public-network rows, long soak, and current-release client reruns remain separate from the completed software-parity result

Read the current roadmap for the authoritative project posture, the v0.16.1 release notes, the v0.14.0 migration guide, and the Reticulum and LXMF parity matrices for row-level detail.

Start here

Goal	Documentation
Install, build, or run the tools	Getting started
Integrate the Rust SDK	SDK guide and quickstart
Find the three main applications and their binaries	Application and binary table
Understand the crates and dependency boundaries	Workspace and package guide
Deploy a daemon	lxmd systemd guide or reticulumd operations
Try the development MeshChat Rust POC	MeshChat API runbook and pinned application contract
Review compatibility claims	Compatibility contract and current roadmap
Contribute	Contributor guide and checked examples
Browse all maintained documentation	Documentation map

Quick start

Bootstrap a source checkout and run the local daemon:

make bootstrap
cargo run -p reticulumd --bin reticulumd

In another terminal, inspect the available tools:

cargo run -p lxmf-cli --bin lxmf -- --help
cargo run -p rns-tools --bin rnstatus-rs -- --help

Library consumers can start with the umbrella crates:

[dependencies]
lxmf = "0.16.1"
reticulum-rs = "0.16.1"

See Getting started for release downloads, checksum verification, component crates, and additional run commands.

Main packages

Package group	Purpose	Links
lxmf, lxmf-sdk, lxmf-wire	LXMF wire types and high-level client APIs	crates.io, docs.rs, SDK guide
reticulum-rs, reticulum-rs-core, reticulum-rs-transport, reticulum-rs-rpc	Reticulum primitives, transport, interfaces, resources, and RPC	crates.io, docs.rs, API overview
Main applications	lxmf-cli for LXMF client and daemon workflows; reticulumd for the Reticulum daemon and interchange service; rns-tools for Reticulum utilities	Application and binary table, CLI reference, examples
meshchat-api	Opt-in local MeshChat HTTP/WebSocket adapter for the development POC	Runbook
Embedded crates	Constrained-device, managed-runtime, mini-node, and C ABI integration	Package guide, FFI guide

Embedded portability varies by crate. reticulum-rs-core builds for bare-metal no_std targets with --no-default-features --features alloc, verified in CI against thumbv7em-none-eabi (#676); the embedding application supplies its own RNG and clock. lxmf-wire still requires the Rust standard library, even with --no-default-features --features alloc; its std and alloc feature names do not guarantee bare-metal support. Full no_std + alloc support for that path is deferred pending maintainer capacity or contributor help (#646). See the capability audit for crate-specific limits.

The complete workspace inventory and dependency-boundary rules live in the workspace and package guide. The root Cargo.toml remains the source of truth for active members.

Validation

Use focused checks while developing and broaden them as the change requires:

cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --all-features --no-deps -- -D warnings
cargo test --workspace --tests
tools/scripts/check-boundaries.sh

Release-facing changes should also pass:

cargo run -p xtask -- architecture-checks
cargo xtask release-check

See the release-readiness runbook for the full gate and evidence boundaries.

Evidence and project policy

• Current roadmap and parity posture
• Reticulum parity matrix
• LXMF parity matrix
• Independent implementation evidence
• Performance methodology and results
• v0.14.0 performance dashboard (superseded: measured before Rust and Python did matched work, so it overstates Rust)
• Support and LTS policy
• Security policy

License

LXMF-rs is distributed under the Eclipse Public License 2.0. The same file contains an explicit GPL version 2 or later secondary-license notice; availability under that secondary license follows the conditions in the EPL and that notice. Cargo records the existing arrangement as EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0-or-later; the license text and notice govern its terms. Vendored components retain their own licenses and attribution, including zeromq's MIT notice.