Briar GTK

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

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

Installation

So far, there is no official installation method and you have to build it from source.

Developers

The easiest and most convenient way is to build briar-gtk using Builder. In Builder, click "Clone Repository" at the bottom and enter the URL to this Git project.

You can also call this:

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

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 add contacts?

Adding contacts isn't yet supported. Instead, you have to copy the database and keys from a Briar Android installation. The most convenient way to do so is by using adb. Note that your smartphone needs to be rooted for this.

You can either use the script at tools/copy-db-from-android.sh or do it manually:

1. Start briar-gtk and register a dummy account. This will create the needed directory structure at ~/.briar/. Close the program afterwards.
2. Enable adb on your smartphone and give it root permissions.
3. Connect via adb and gain root permissions using adb root.
4. Copy all important files using adb pull: /data/data/org.briarproject.briar.android/app_db/db.mv.db, /data/data/org.briarproject.briar.android/app_key/db.key, /data/data/org.briarproject.briar.android/app_key/db.key.bak
5. Replace the respecting files in ~/.briar/db and ~/.briar/key.

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.