Briar GTK

Warning: This is still in a very early state and should be considered a prototype.

A simple GTK app for Briar, built with Python and GNOME Builder. It uses python-briar-wrapper and the Briar REST API and therefore requires Java.

For regular updates, check out the Briar tag on Nico Alt's blog (RSS feed).

Installation

Alpha releases of Briar GTK can be installed using Flatpak. After installing Flatpak, you can install Briar GTK like this:

flatpak install --user https://flatpak.dorfbrunnen.eu/repo/appstream/app.briar.gtk.flatpakref

Developers

The easiest and most convenient way is to build briar-gtk using Builder. Because Flatpak support is quite new in Builder, it's recommend to install Builder via Flatpak:

flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Builder

To setup Flatpak on your system, check out the documentation at flatpak.org. In Builder, click "Clone Repository" at the bottom and enter the URL to this Git project.

To build it on the command-line without Builder, call this:

flatpak remote-add --user --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak-builder --install-deps-from=flathub --user --install --force-clean --ccache flatpak-builddir app.briar.gtk.json
flatpak run app.briar.gtk

Additionally, you are able to run Briar GTK without Flatpak. For this, you have to install Java, the Python dependencies and Briar headless. Once you've done this, change the path of the Briar headless jar in briar_gtk.define, build it with meson and start Briar GTK.

Don't forget to initialize the briar-wrapper submodule: git submodule update --init

Internationalization

Feel free to add translations to Briar GTK by opening a merge request with updates to the language file of your choice in briar_gtk/po. Make sure to add your name to the translator_credits list in briar-gtk/data/ui/about_dialog.ui.in.

To test Briar GTK in your language, add the following entry to the finish-args list in app.briar.gtk.json:

--env=LC_ALL=de_DE.utf8

Design Goals

• Intuitive UI, similar to Briar Android client
• Main platform is GNU/Linux, but should also support (at least) Windows and macOS
• Analogously, main platform is x86, but should also support (at least) arm
• Follows GNOME Human Interface Guidelines
• Adaptive to different screen sizes (desktop and mobile devices)
• Has phone constraints in mind
• Strictly separates API wrapper from GTK stuff, making former a solid base for other (commandline) clients

FAQ

How can I run this on the Librem 5?

Whether you own a Librem 5 or set up an emulator, you can install Briar GTK easily using Flatpak.

Before you start, you have to install some dependencies:

sudo apt install flatpak-builder elfutils

You can then simply follow the instructions from above. Note that you currently don't get beyond the setup screen because Briar Headless only works on x86 platforms so far.

For more questions, take a look at the FAQ of python-briar-wrapper.

License

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.