ONYX is a self-hosted, anonymous E2EE messenger. Flutter client, separate server component, no phone number or email required for an account. Solo project, beta is rough in places but moving forward.
v1.7-beta out. The thing I actually want to talk about is WardLink.
Even on a self-hosted setup, keeping your favorited chats in sync between your phone and your desktop usually still routes through the server, or you do it by hand. WardLink does it directly between your own devices over LAN instead. Pair two (or more) devices once via QR, and from then on, when they're on the same network, favorited chats sync passively (if you turn it on yourself, of course :D). No central point holding the sync state, no cloud account needed for it. Traffic is sealed with per-device keys.
I'll be upfront about the limits: It only runs while both devices share a network. This is for the "I have a phone and a laptop in the same house and want them in sync without my server being in the loop" case specifically.
Rest of the changelog:
- chat gallery view
- search across settings, plus chat search by name/keyword
- on-demand and scheduled backups
- adjustable scroll-to-bottom button
- markdown support in the changelog tab itself
- redesigned player, dialogs, and settings (also restructured)
- new storage engine under the hood
- folders stay unlocked for the session on desktop instead of re-locking constantly
- removed the message entrance animation: it was slowing chat opening down more than it helped
- fixed backend bugs affecting message sending, a settings UI arrow glitch, and the biometrics toggle showing up when biometrics aren't available or are disabled on the device
If you're upgrading from an earlier version: this release switches local storage to a new engine, and it migrates your data automatically on first launch. In my own testing it's roughly 80% faster after the migration is done.
Repo and full release notes: https://github.com/wardcore-dev/onyx/releases/tag/v1.7-beta
One-person project, and I lean on AI tooling for parts of the code. Architecture, crypto decisions, and review are mine. Still beta, so expect rough edges. An issue on the repo helps a lot right now if you hit something broken.