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Packaging darkirc in the Android app

DarkIRC (bin/darkirc in the DarkFi repo) is AGPL-3.0. Shipping its binary in the APK obligates you to comply with the license (source/corresponding offer, etc.). Coordinate with your legal review before distributing.

What was implemented

  • Foreground service (DarkircDaemonService) starts the packaged executable and shows a low-priority notification (Android foreground rules).
  • DarkircEmbeddedRunner runs libdarkirc_embedded.so from jniLibs (Android 10+ cannot exec() from filesDir). Assets remain as a fallback copy source at build time via syncEmbeddedDaemonJniLibs.
  • Generated config uses clearnet tcp+tls lilith seeds (DarkfiChatDefaults), loopback IRC tcp://127.0.0.1:6667, and sandboxed datastore paths — aligned with upstream defaults but without relying on ~/.config on device.
  • Preferences: DarkfiChatPreferences.runEmbeddedDarkirc (default true). User toggle: Chat → settings → Run embedded DarkIRC node.
  • Bootstrap: DarkircDaemonBootstrap.maybeStart runs from NighthawkWalletApplication when the pref is on and a binary exists for the device ABI.

Where binaries live (artifact layout)

Production builds expect artifacts/darkirc/<abi>/darkirc_exec at the repository root.

The darkfi-android-sdk module runs syncDarkircArtifacts, wired through the Variant API (addGeneratedSourceDirectory) into generated-darkirc-bundle-assets/darkirc/, then merges them into the library AAR/APK alongside darkirc/README.txt from src/main/assets.

Git tracks artifacts/darkirc/README.md and .gitkeep ABI dirs; darkirc_exec files are gitignored — CI should build or download them before assemble.

Binaries are not committed by default; omitting them keeps CI green but chat’s embedded daemon will not start until you supply artifacts.

Building the binary

Prerequisites: Rust, cargo-ndk, Android NDK, and a clone of darkfi (same tree you use for make darkirc on desktop).

From the wallet repo root:

export DARKFI_SRC="$HOME/src/darkfi"   # your path
export ANDROID_NDK_HOME="$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/ndk/$(ls "$HOME/Library/Android/sdk/ndk" | head -1)"
./scripts/build-darkirc-android.sh

The script compiles upstream RLN zkas proofs (src/event_graph/proof/*.zk → *.zk.bin) with host zkas before cross-compiling. Vendored trees sometimes ship .zk.bin files that are still source text; without this step darkirc exits with ZkasDecoderError("Magic bytes are incorrect") when starting the IRC server.

The script places darkirc_exec under each ABI folder you build for. Gradle syncEmbeddedDaemonJniLibs renames them to libdarkirc_embedded.so in jniLibs. Then rebuild the app.

Verification

  1. Install APK on device/emulator whose ABI you built.
  2. Open the app — you should see the foreground notification when embedded DarkIRC is enabled.
  3. Chat settings: IRC 127.0.0.1, port 6667, Retry — connection should succeed after P2P/DAG sync (first launch may take minutes).

Limitations / follow-ups

  • Battery & data: a full darkirc node is heavy; users can disable the toggle.
  • DAG sync / seeds: if lilith endpoints are unreachable, the daemon logs errors; see DarkFi network troubleshooting.
  • Tor profile inside darkirc: the generated config uses clearnet tcp+tls seeds for simpler bootstrap. To mirror upstream active_profiles = ["tor"], extend the generator to set [net] tor_socks5_proxy to the app’s loopback SOCKS and switch profiles (ensure embedded Tor is up before darkirc connects — ordering is a follow-up).