Barev — Bonjour like Pidgin/libpurple plugin & protocol for Yggdrasil network

Barev was started initially as a fork of Pidgin’s Bonjour protocol plugin, adapted for manual peer addressing (no mDNS / no Avahi required). It’s meant for direct peer-to-peer chats (and related features) over IPv6—commonly used with Yggdrasil.

Before making Barev, the attempt of using Bonjour over Yggdrasil was made. It works, but is limited. Thus this project.

Compile

Requirements

You need Pidgin (libpurple) development headers and common build tools.

Dependencies

On Gentoo: net-im/pidgin, dev-libs/libxml2

On Debian: libpurple-dev, libxml2-dev

Actual build

git clone https://github.com/norayr/barev
cd barev
make

then

sudo make install

or just manually copy libbarev.so to ~/.purple/plugins

cp libbarev.so ~/.purple/plugins

restart pidgin.

Usage

Because Barev does not do discovery, you must exchange contact details out-of-band.

Each side provides the other party their

nick
yggdrasil ip
port (on which barev is listening)

Add your buddy (Buddies -> Add Buddy).

Enter the peer's nick@ipv6

The contact will be added to ~/.purple/barev-contacts-<nick>.txt

Currently, if you want to change your contact's port, you need to

Stop pidgin
Edit that file, change port
Start pidgin

What works

p2p Serverless Messaging (XEP-0174) - This is the core protocol for serverless (peer-to-peer) XMPP. However, note that Barev uses a version without full XEP-0174, but the idea is similar, the MDNS parts are replaced with the XEPs below. ** Messaging like described in Core XMPP (RFC 6120 and RFC 6121)

*** Stream management (the stream:stream opening and closing, and the basic stanza exchange).

*** Presence stanzas for status.

*** Message stanzas for chat.

XMPP pings (XEP-0199) - Used for ping/pong to keep the connection alive and check availability.
file transfers based on ** Stream initiation(XEP-0095) - Used for initiating the file transfer stream. ** SI File Transfer (XEP-0096) - Used for the actual file transfer over the stream.
statuses: available, away, do not disturb, status lines.
avatars (XEP-0153)
Chat State Notification (XEP-0085) - a bit of composing events.

What does not work

but nice to have

audio/video. no mucs.

Dreams

XMPP publishing.

Appendix

Barev XMPP Extension Protocols (XEPs) Reference

Core XEPs Used in Barev

1. XMPP Core (RFC 6120)

The foundation of all XMPP protocols. Barev implements a minimal subset:

Streams: <stream:stream> with jabber:client namespace
Stanzas: <message>, <presence>, <iq>
Basic Addressing: JIDs with localpart@domain format

2. XMPP IM (RFC 6121)

Basic instant messaging functionality:

Presence: <show> and <status> elements
Messages: Basic <message> stanzas with <body>
Roster: Simplified buddy list management

3. XEP-0174: Serverless Messaging

This is the core of Barev!

Peer-to-peer XMPP without servers
Direct TCP connections between peers
DNS-SD for service discovery (replaced by Yggdrasil addressing in Barev)
Barev modification: Uses Yggdrasil IPv6 addresses instead of mDNS

4. XEP-0095: Stream Initiation (SI)

File transfer initiation:

<si> element for transfer offers
Session ID management
MIME type and file size negotiation

5. XEP-0096: SI File Transfer

Actual file transfer protocol:

Bytestreams negotiation (<bytestreams>)
Streamhost selection
Direct TCP data transfer

6. XEP-0199: XMPP Ping

Connection keepalive:

<ping xmlns="urn:xmpp:ping">
Periodic ping/pong for connection health
Barev addition: Also supports urn:yggb:ping namespace for compatibility

7. XEP-0085: Chat State Notifications

Typing indicators:

<composing/> element in jabber:x:event namespace
implemented.

8. XEP-0004: Data Forms

Form-based data negotiation:

Used in file transfer method selection
<x xmlns="jabber:x:data" type="form">

9. XEP-0071: XHTML-IM

Formatted messaging:

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
iChat compatibility with custom extensions
iChat extensions: ABSZ, ichatballooncolor, ichattextcolor

Barev-Specific Extensions and Modifications

1. Yggdrasil Addressing

Not a standard XEP

Uses Yggdrasil IPv6 addresses (0200::/7 range) in JIDs
Replaces traditional domain names
Example: inky@201:af82:9f2f:7809:be0c:360a:1587:6be7

2. Direct Connection Model

Modified from XEP-0174

No DNS-SD or mDNS
Direct TCP connections only
No fallback to server-based routing
Port 5299 fixed (vs. dynamic port assignment in XEP-0174)

3. Simplified Stream Features

Stripped-down from RFC 6120

No TLS negotiation
No SASL authentication
No compression
No stream features exchange

4. One-Pipe Connection Model

Barev-specific optimization

Single bidirectional connection per buddy pair
No parallel connections
Connection persistence until failure

Presence Status Mapping

Standard XMPP Presence to Barev Status:

XMPP `<show>`	Barev Status	Description
(none)	`available`	Online/available
`away`	`away`	Temporarily away
`xa`	`away`	Extended away
`dnd`	`busy`	Do not disturb
`type="unavailable"`	`offline`	Offline

Barev Status Codes:

BONJOUR_STATUS_ID_AVAILABLE
BONJOUR_STATUS_ID_AWAY
BONJOUR_STATUS_ID_BUSY
BONJOUR_STATUS_ID_OFFLINE

Message Format Support

1. Plain Text Messages

<message type="chat">
  <body>Hello world</body>
</message>

2. XHTML-IM Messages (iChat compatibility)

<message type="chat">
  <body>Hello world</body>
  <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
    <body>
      <font face="Helvetica" ABSZ="14" color="#000000">
        Hello world
      </font>
    </body>
  </html>
</message>

3. Typing Notifications

<message type="chat">
  <x xmlns="jabber:x:event">
    <composing/>
  </x>
</message>

IQ Stanza Types Used

1. Get/Result (Ping)

<!-- Request -->
<iq type="get" id="ping-123">
  <ping xmlns="urn:xmpp:ping"/>
</iq>

<!-- Response -->
<iq type="result" id="ping-123"/>

2. Set/Result (File Transfer)

<!-- File offer -->
<iq type="set" id="ft-123">
  <si xmlns="http://jabber.org/protocol/si">...</si>
</iq>

<!-- Acceptance -->
<iq type="result" id="ft-123">...</iq>

3. Error Responses

<iq type="error" id="some-id">
  <error code="403" type="auth">
    <forbidden xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:xmpp-stanzas"/>
  </error>
</iq>

Namespaces Used

Core Namespaces:

jabber:client - Main stream namespace
http://etherx.jabber.org/streams - Stream namespace
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:xmpp-stanzas - Error namespace

Extension Namespaces:

urn:xmpp:ping - Ping/pong (also urn:yggb:ping in Barev)
http://jabber.org/protocol/si - Stream initiation
http://jabber.org/protocol/bytestreams - File transfer
http://jabber.org/protocol/feature-neg - Feature negotiation
jabber:x:data - Data forms
jabber:x:event - Chat events
http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml - Formatted messages

Protocol Flow Summary

1. Connection Establishment (XEP-0174 inspired)

Client A                                  Client B
    |                                         |
    |-- TCP Connect to B:5299 -------------->|
    |                                         |
    |-- <stream:stream from="A" to="B"> ---->|
    |                                         |
    |<-- <stream:stream from="B" to="A"> ----|
    |                                         |
    |-- <presence/> ------------------------>|
    |                                         |
    |<-- <presence/> ------------------------|
    |                                         |
    [Connection established for messaging]

2. File Transfer (XEP-0095 + XEP-0096)

    |                                         |
    |-- <iq type="set"><si>...</si></iq> --->| (XEP-0095)
    |                                         |
    |<-- <iq type="result">...--------------->| (XEP-0095)
    |                                         |
    |-- <iq type="set"><bytestreams>...</iq>->| (XEP-0096)
    |                                         |
    |<-- <iq type="result"><streamhost-used>--| (XEP-0096)
    |                                         |
    |<-- TCP Connect to streamhost -----------|
    |                                         |
    |-- File data over TCP ------------------>|
    |                                         |
    |-- <iq type="set">(complete) ----------->|
    |                                         |
    |<-- <iq type="result"/> -----------------|

3. Keepalive (XEP-0199)

    |                                         |
    |-- <iq type="get"><ping/></iq> -------->| (every 30s)
    |                                         |
    |<-- <iq type="result"/> ----------------| (within 10s)
    |                                         |
    [If 3 failures: mark buddy offline]

Omitted XEPs (Not Used in Barev)

1. Security

XEP-0035: TLS - Not used (no encryption)
XEP-0038: SASL - Not used (no authentication)
XEP-0116: Encryption - Not used

2. Advanced Features

XEP-0045: MUC - No group chat
XEP-0047: In-band Bytestreams - Uses direct TCP instead
XEP-0065: SOCKS5 Bytestreams - Not used
XEP-0234: Jingle - No voice/video

3. Discovery & Capabilities

XEP-0030: Service Discovery - Not used
XEP-0115: Entity Capabilities - Not used
XEP-0128: Service Discovery Extensions - Not used

4. Time & Version

XEP-0090: Entity Time - Not used
XEP-0092: Software Version - Not used

Implementation References in Code

1. XEP-0174 (Serverless Messaging)

bonjour_find_buddy_by_localpart() - JID matching
Direct TCP connections without servers
Peer-to-peer presence broadcasting

2. XEP-0095/0096 (File Transfer)

xep_si_parse() - Stream initiation parsing
xep_bytestreams_parse() - Bytestreams negotiation
bonjour_jabber_get_local_ips() - Yggdrasil address selection

3. XEP-0199 (XMPP Ping)

bonjour_jabber_send_ping_request()
bonjour_jabber_handle_ping()
bonjour_jabber_ping_timeout_cb()

4. XEP-0085 (Chat States)

<composing/> element parsing in _jabber_parse_and_write_message_to_ui()
jabber:x:event namespace handling

5. XEP-0071 (XHTML-IM)

_jabber_parse_and_write_message_to_ui() - HTML message parsing
_font_size_ichat_to_purple() - iChat compatibility

Compatibility Notes

1. Interoperability with Standard XMPP

Not compatible with standard XMPP servers
Not compatible with clients that require TLS/SASL
Only compatible with other Barev implementations

2. Backwards Compatibility

All versions must support basic stanzas (message, presence, iq)
New versions can add optional features
Unknown stanzas should be ignored (not rejected)

3. Forward Compatibility

Future versions should maintain basic protocol flow
Can add new XEPs but must not break existing functionality
Should gracefully handle missing optional features

Quick XEP Reference Table

XEP	Purpose	Barev Implementation	Notes
RFC 6120	Core XMPP	Partial	Streams and stanzas only
RFC 6121	IM	Partial	Basic presence and messaging
XEP-0174	Serverless Messaging	Core	Modified for Yggdrasil
XEP-0095	Stream Initiation	Full	File transfer offers
XEP-0096	SI File Transfer	Full	Direct TCP bytestreams
XEP-0199	XMPP Ping	Full	Keepalive mechanism
XEP-0085	Chat States	Partial	Parsed but not fully used
XEP-0071	XHTML-IM	Partial	iChat compatibility
XEP-0004	Data Forms	Partial	File transfer negotiation
XEP-0030	Service Discovery	None	Not needed in Yggdrasil
XEP-0115	Entity Capabilities	None	Not implemented

For Client Developers: Required XEP Support

Minimum required for Barev compatibility:

XMPP Core (RFC 6120) - Streams and stanzas
XMPP IM (RFC 6121) - Presence and messages
XEP-0174 - Serverless messaging model
XEP-0199 - Ping/pong keepalive

Recommended for full compatibility:

XEP-0095/0096 - File transfer
XEP-0071 - Formatted messages
XEP-0085 - Typing notifications

Optional (can be ignored):

XEP-0030 - Service discovery
XEP-0115 - Entity capabilities
Any other XEPs

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 59 Commits
Makefile		Makefile
barev-file-transfer.md		barev-file-transfer.md
barev.md		barev.md
bonjour.c		bonjour.c
bonjour.h		bonjour.h
bonjour_ft.c		bonjour_ft.c
bonjour_ft.h		bonjour_ft.h
buddy.c		buddy.c
buddy.h		buddy.h
internal.h		internal.h
jabber.c		jabber.c
jabber.h		jabber.h
parser.c		parser.c
parser.h		parser.h
readme.md		readme.md

norayr/barev-purple

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