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Diffstat (limited to 'README.md')
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@@ -1,61 +1,40 @@ Nickserver ================================== -Nickserver is the opposite of a key server. A key server allows you to lookup -keys, and the UIDs associated with a particular key. A nickserver allows you -to query a particular 'nick' (e.g. username@example.org) and get back relevant -public key information for that nick. +Nickserver is a server running the Nicknym protocol. This daemon can be run by service providers in order to support Nicknym. -Nickserver has the following properties: +Nicknym is a protocol to map user nicknames to public keys. With Nicknym, the user is able to think solely in terms of nickname, while still being able to communicate with a high degree of security (confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity). Essentially, Nicknym is a system for binding human-memorable nicknames to a cryptographic key via automatic discovery and automatic validation. -* Written in Ruby, licensed GPLv3 +For more information, see https://leap.se/nicknym + +About nickserver: + +* Written in Ruby 1.9, licensed GPLv3 * Lightweight and scalable (high concurrency, reasonable latency) * Uses asynchronous network IO for both server and client connections (via EventMachine) -* Attempts to reply to queries using four different methods: - * Cached key in CouchDB (coming soon) - * Webfinger (coming soon) - * DNS (maybe?) - * HKP keyserver pool (https://hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net) - -Why Nickserver? ----------------------------------- -Why bother writing Nickserver instead of just using the existing HKP keyservers? +API +================================== -* Keyservers are fundamentally different: Nickserver is a registry of 1:1 - mapping from nick (uid) to public key. Keyservers are directories of public - keys, which happen to have some uid information in the subkeys, but there is - no way to query for an exact uid. +You query the nickserver via HTTP. The API is very minimal: -* Support clients: the goal is to provide clients with a cloud-based method of - rapidly and easily converting nicks to keys. Client code can stay simple by - pushing more of the work to the server. + curl -X POST -d address=alice@domain.org https://nicknym.domain.org:6425 -* Enhancements over keyservers: the goal with Nickserver is to support future - enhancements like webfinger, DNS key lookup, mail-back verification, network - perspective, and fast distribution of short lived keys. +The response consists of a signed JSON document with fields for the available public keys corresponding to the address. -* Scalable: the goal is for a service that can handle many simultaneous - requests very quickly with low memory consumption. +For more details, see https://leap.se/nicknym -API +Requirements ================================== -You query the nickserver via HTTP. The API is very minimal at the moment: - - curl -X GET hostname:6425/key/<uid> - -Returns the OpenPGP public key for uid (ascii encoded). +Ruby 1.9 +CouchDB Installation ================================== You have three fine options for installing nickserver: -Install the gem: - - $ gem install nickserver - Install from source: $ git clone git://leap.se/nickserver @@ -68,6 +47,7 @@ Install for development: $ git clone git://leap.se/nickserver $ cd nickserver $ bundle + $ rake test Usage ================================== |