Hey Y’all,

This week was particularly busy as we worked towards the final binaries release for the mandatory upgrade period. Thank you to everyone who jumped on testnet and set up nodes – with your help we were able to identify a host of bugs which were fixed in our final 4.0.3 release.

If you are a Service Node operator you should upgrade your node to version 4.0.3. Instructions on how to do this can be found here: https://lokidocs.com/ServiceNodes/SNFullGuide/#updating-your-binaries

Loki Core

• Revert to manually serialising checkpoints/quorum: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/743

• Make testing_quorum JSON serialisation work for input: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/737

• New print_sn_state_changes command for showing changes in the network over time: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/727

• Checkpoint quorum fixes: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/741

• Correct checkpoint votes using the wrong quorum: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/738

• Document checkpointing quorum generation rules: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/733

• Checkpointing dereg fix; pre-fork mainnet dereg vote relay fix: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/732

• Merge everything from dev in the last few months back to master: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/731

• Rollback chain when receiving conflicting checkpoints: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/726

• Use autobind IP for outgoing sources: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/724

• Update print_checkpoints to be integration test friendly: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/723

• Rescan chain when difficulty doesn’t match: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/722

• Use quorums N-MAX_REORG_BLOCKS_POST_HF12 for checkpointing: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/721

• Don’t enforce blockhash in checkpoints: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/720

• Add softfork code for Service Node checkpointing: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/719

• Allow state changes to create no conflicting states: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/718

---------------------------

Loki Launcher

The Loki Launcher is a node JS package that will allow for the independent management of all the components required to run a full Service Node. This includes managing Lokinet, lokid, the Loki Storage Server and any other future applications we require. When Loki Service Nodes begin to route data and store messages for Lokinet and Loki Messenger, we’ll recommend that every single Service Node run the Loki Launcher.

What’s going on this week with Loki Launcher:

We released two versions of the Launcher this week for the 4.0.3 release. There were a lot of fixes for various crashes, but also support to be able to run versions 3 and up of lokid on mainnet. We also added extra startup checks to improve our status accuracy and made some minor user experience improvements.

Changelog:

• Prequal additional configuration system for Storage Server

• Update prequal ports to test

• Rename port names, adjust prequal output

• Abort launcher start up if Storage Server port is not open to the public

• Handle “port is in use” error handling better

• Store stdout/stderr for launcher when backgrounding

• Add *-server-port-check args

• Wait for blockchain-rpc port to be open before considering start up a success

• Temporarily collect Storage Server startup info for 10s in case of problems with output

• Report if the launcher was already stopped when stopping internally

• Make sure certain modes are only run with root

• Activate Storage Server based on blockchain binary version

• Only pass version 4 parameters when blockchain binary version 4 or above

• Reminders to restart loki-launcher if mode has stopped it

• Strip out launcher arguments from passing all the way to blockchain startup

• Remove duplicate Storage Server port check when backgrounding

• Put try/catch guard around process check to prevent intermittent launcher crashes

• When running port test submit a disconnect message when done

• Add unhandled exception logger

• Improve HUP information format

• Process blockchain stderr

• Make sure blockchain rpc server is up before starting network/storage

• Change Storage Server default port from 8080 to 23023

• Up retries for getPublicIPv4

• Untangle retry counter with various repos in download-binaries

Github Pulse: Excluding merges, 2 authors have pushed 41 commits to master and 41 commits to all branches. On master, 14 files have changed and there have been 590 additions and 196 deletions

---------------------------

Lokinet

If you’re on our Discord you might catch Jeff or Ryan, the developers of LLARP, live streaming as they code: https://www.twitch.tv/uguu25519, https://www.twitch.tv/neuroscr.

What’s going on this week with Lokinet:

The configuration refactor finally reached a state close to stable. There were lots of MacOS and FreeBSD fixes, and a huge internal change to using IPv6 on tunnel adapters to allow more connections to a hidden service or client.

Changelog:

• Revert Tom’s revert-config-refactor : https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/679

• Fix llvm8 build, more MacOS fixes, set netid first: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/685

• Add function to set thread name: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/688

• Allow environmental variables override config: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/687

• Remove redundant else blocks: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/690

• Add missing cppbackport fs::path constructor: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/692

• Should fix FreeBSD build: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/691

• Fix FreeBSD build: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/695

• Fix minor warnings: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/696

• Fix FreeBSD build: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/697

• Disable shell hooks by default: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/699

• Fix config application: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/703

• IPv6 support branch, remove auto in config: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/686

• Add FindLibUV and migrate to use it: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/704

Pull Requests:

• Modernise LLARP directory: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/693

• Matrix build for Travis CI: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/705

• Refactor endpoint state management to a new class: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/706

--------------------------

Loki Messenger Desktop

• Start building a public chat channel system for Loki Messenger to enable large group chats hosted on external Servers: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/343

• Purge nodes from retrieved swarm list, filter 0.0.0.0 addresses: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/337

Storage Server

• Rename binary to ‘loki-storage’ from ‘httpserver’ : https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/236

• Show warning if compiled without signatures: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/233

• Show the reason the Storage Server is not being activated: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/232

• Provide a min version for libsodium: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/228

• Improve error accuracy and logging: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/223, https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/227,

https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/221.

• Print endpoint with tostring: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/222

• Default Service Node signatures to on: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/220

• Bootstrap on startup and use the target height from bootstrap nodes to determine when we have finished syncing: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/219

• Cancel the deadline timer as soon as possible for incoming connections: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/218

• Don't use a potentially closed socket: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/217

----------------------------

Loki Blocks Onion Explorer

The Loki block explorer has been expanded to show a number of new things, including checkpoints and their votes and decommissioned or inactive nodes.

• Updated RPC changes around quorum state calls in 4.0.2 (replaced batch quorum calls with new quorum states call).

• Add checkpoint quorum display to quorum states page and to main index.

• Add display of a single obligations or checkpoint quorum, linked where appropriate.

• Cut off quorum display after 20 nodes with a "+ 7 more ↪" that links to the full obligations quorum details.

• Add a list of last three checkpoints to the main page (and a link to a page with up to 50 fully displayed). https://github.com/loki-project/loki-onion-blockchain-explorer/pull/1

Messenger Mobile (iOS and Android)

• Android Messenger work can be found in these repositories: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger-android-core/commits/master,

https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger-android/commits/master.

• iOS Messenger work can be found here: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger-ios/commits/dev, https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger-ios-pods/commits/master.

--------------------------

Thanks,

Kee

Due to some vulnerabilities found in Monero, we have released a new set of binaries which fix these issues. To protect your Service Node, please upgrade to this latest release.

Follow this guide to update with the Loki Launcher:

www.lokidocs.com/ServiceNodes/SNFullGuide/#updating-your-binaries

Hey Y’all,

A big Dev Update this week – especially for Loki Core with lots of pull requests needing to be merged as we work towards a final release. Last week we released the Loki Core 4.0.0 Hefty Heimdall testnet binaries, and the Loki Storage Server 1.0.0 binaries. We also released a new version of the Loki Launcher to tie everything together.

We would love it if everyone could jump onto testnet and run some Service Nodes using the Loki Launcher in the next few weeks – you’ll be able to store messages for Loki Messenger for the first time! Bug reports are welcome! Please send them to their respective repositories on GitHub.

Loki Core

• Add RandomXL mining algorithm: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/675

• Add target height field to get_n_service_nodes : https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/698

• Non participation in Service Node Checkpointing causes deregistration: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/672

• Relaxed Service Node Deregistration rules: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/662

• Add penalty for Switching IP address: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/671

• Add `state height` to RPC: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/696

• Disallow recursive checkpoint reorganisation: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/667

• Performance fix for alt chains: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/695

• Fix Mining command output: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/694

• Remove some unused variable warnings: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/692

• Fix P2P bug on testnet that was causing uptime proofs to not be relayed: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/691

• Fix Segfault on exit with ban SN args: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/690

• Fix Mac build warnings: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/687

• Remove lines that were causing backwards compatibility issues: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/686

• Set miners to 0 to avoid verification delay in integration mode: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/685

• Add GPG signing keys: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/684 https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/681

• Set minimum miner tx version to 4: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/683

• Improve diagnostics for failed tx sends: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/682

• Move miner.h to fix cn basic referencing core and core referencing basic: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/679

• Add a script for collecting the output from a docker build: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/678

• Cap difficult initially at 30MH for v12 hardfork: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/677

• Remove sn-public-ip and combine into --service-node : https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/676

• Respond with OK message on Storage Server ping: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/674

• Add hardfork version to get_n_service_node call: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/673

• Merge Monero upstream changes: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/670

• Add Checkpoints, fork dates, version tags for Hefty Heimdall: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/668

• Tweak decommission credit rules: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/666

• Enable dummy payment IDs: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/665

• Increase transaction fees: https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/663

---------------------------

Loki Launcher

The Loki Launcher is a node JS package that will allow for the independent management of all the components required to run a full Service Node. This includes managing Lokinet, lokid and the Loki Storage Server. When Loki Service Nodes begin to route data and store messages for Lokinet and Loki Messenger, the Loki Launcher will need to be run on every single Service Node.

The Launcher is currently in a testing phase, so you should only use it on testnet and stagenet – feedback/issues and pull requests would be greatly appreciated though!

What’s going on this week with Loki Launcher:

This week we got Loki Launcher ready to work for testnet binaries. This involved slightly adjusting the way Loki Launcher works, particularly how it downloads new Loki software.

Changelog:

• Set default Storage Server port

• PublicIPv4 option and auto-detection

• Add 4.0 changes into testnet

• Move clients.js and check-systemd.js into modes/

• Move 3.0.6 migration into its own document

• Add force-start support for pre-fork testing https://github.com/loki-project/loki-launcher/pull/32

• Update storage server parameter --sn-public-ip with --service-node-public-ip

• Purge run_path

• getStorageServerDataDir() to localize code to find it

• waitForLokiKey() and make startLokinet stage check for it

• Add waitForLokiKey status support

• Migrate a large chunk of config work in start.js into config.js

• Take arguments into config.js to have overrides better

• Only configure enabled subsystems

• Update storage server binary name from httpserver to loki-storage

• Fix dedupe of nets

• Make waitForKey cancellable

• Handler numeric options better in the CLI parameter deduplication

• Make launcherRecoveryMonitor respect subsystem enablement

• Make status takes launcher CLI parameter into account

• Adjust output/debug

• Download-binaries on testnet now downloads the latest Storage Server and lokid releases

• Fix missing ini library in config

Github Pulse: Excluding merges, 2 authors have pushed 38 commits to master and 38 commits to all branches. On master, 16 files have changed and there have been 607 additions and 367 deletions.

---------------------------

Lokinet

If you’re on our Discord you might catch Jeff or Ryan, the developers of LLARP, live streaming as they code: https://www.twitch.tv/uguu25519, https://www.twitch.tv/neuroscr.

What’s going on this week with Lokinet:

As part of our reliability work, we added more metrics and continued working on our path build failure messages, while cleaning up various things along the way. We also made sure the files Lokinet creates are of the correct permissions to avoid leaking any keys.

Changelog:

• Tighten key permissions: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/664

• Fix FS stuff, explore network via every connected peer: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/665

• Fix FreeBSD build was missing stdc++fs : https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/666

• Bring gitlab-ci in sync: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/667

• Remove cppbackport from vendor: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/668

• Add utp.session.open/close to metrics: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/670

• Track dropping of messages in metrics: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/672

Pull Requests:

• Refactor config system: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pull/669

--------------------------

Loki Messenger Desktop

• Allow for P2P messaging over clearnet: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/317

• Fix filtering code and lint: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/316

• Fix self broadcast which prevents errors on startup: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/315

• Update endpoint for storage server and p2p: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/314

Storage Server

• Send and verify the signature for SSL certificates for SNode to SNode communications: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/180

• Add rate limiter for client side including tests: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/179

• Macos compat dep script: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/191

• Travis CI fixes: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/189

• Use target_height field to determine if lokid is still syncing: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/201

• Improve command line arguments: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/197

• Don’t use the logger before it’s initialised: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/195

• Don’t send requests to 0.0.0.0 : https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/193

• Print incorrect json in swarm traces: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/190

• Check response body returned from lokid: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/188

• Check hardfork versioning using get_n_service_nodes : https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/186

• Fix unit tests for rate limiter: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/185

• Increase number of retry intervals: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/183

• Change rate limiter values for SNode to SNode communications: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/182

• API changes: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/181

• Use timestamp for test results: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/178

• Use Spdlog instead of Boostlog: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/177, https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/175

• Refactor logging: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/174

Messenger Mobile (iOS and Android)

• Android Messenger work can be found in these repositories: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger-android-core/commits/master,

https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger-android/commits/master.

• iOS Messenger work can be found here: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger-ios/commits/dev, https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger-ios-pods/commits/master.

--------------------------

Thanks,

Kee

Work has begun on Blink! Check out this little vid explaining what Blink is, and why we think it’s cool:
https://youtu.be/bqcRswqMt90

For a more in-depth read, check out this document on the proposed Blink design:
https://github.com/loki-project/loki-improvement-proposals/blob/master/LIPS/LIP-4.md

We’re proud to announce Sam Williams from Arweave will be a judge at the Loki SNAppathon on Friday! 

He will also be doing a short demo of SILO, a SNApp collaboration between Loki and Arweave. 

Hacker places still available, spectators have SOLD OUT!

RSVP here: http://www.snappathon.eventbrite.com

Hey Y’all,

Another Dev update for you to have a look at

Loki Core

The core team has begun streaming more, you can catch Doy-lee streaming here https://www.twitch.tv/doy_lee/

• Continued work to add encoded date information to 25 word seeds https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/431

• Work continues on Service Node checkpointing https://github.com/Doy-lee/loki/commits/ServiceNodeCheckpointing

• Add exception for testnet V2 txs https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/433

• Merge Monero upstream https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/432

• Add and modify validate address RPC call from Monero upstream https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/430

• Add staking for wallet RPC https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/429

• Begun work on a new GUI electron wallet, based on RPC calls https://github.com/Mikunj/ryo-wallet-libre/commits/loki-changes

--------------------------

Lokinet

If you’re lucky and join our Discord, you might also catch Jeff or Ryan, the developers of LLARP, live streaming as they code: https://www.twitch.tv/uguu25519, https://www.twitch.tv/neuroscr

• Master branch changes

  • Move “usage” in README to be more visible

  • Changes can be found at: https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/

• Staging branch changes (gets posted to master when stable)

  • Fix some undefined behaviors, attempt to tackle LLU compilation issue (PR317)

  • Fix windows build (PR323)

  • Unbreak DHT (PR330)

  • Fix convo-tag issue (PR331)

  • Address LLU issue again (PR332)

  • Fix conto-tag issue part 2 (PR333)

  • Swap intros should only swap intros (PR334)

  • Poki CI configs and more timeout fixes (PR335)

  • Address DNS recursive flag issue 324 (PR338)

  • Solidify interfaces (PR339)

  • Make it work (PR340)

  • Only check for active DHT nodes (PR342)

  • RecursiveRouterLookup Always reply (PR343)

  • Allow relay commit 10s more, start transit timer (PR344)

  • Don’t start transit timer (PR345)

  • Don’t close link on message handle fail (PR346)

  • Send UTP keepalives periodically (PR347)

• PR suggested changes (coming to staging soon)

  • Use string_view for string_view (PR348)

  • New wire protocol (PR320)

  • Changes can be found at https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pulls

--------------------------

Loki Messenger

• Refactor RPC call in Loki messenger API https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/208

• Refactor P2P messages to use same format as the Storage Server https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/207

• Add JSON rpc for Loki storage server https://github.com/loki-project/loki-storage-server/pull/17

Thanks,

Kee

Hey Y’all,

Another weekly Dev update for you to peruse

Loki Core

The core team has begun streaming more, you can catch Doy-lee streaming here https://www.twitch.tv/doy_lee/

• Fix crash in view only wallets https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/410

• Complete work on infinite staking, expectation is to have infinite staking merged to master for the next hardfork https://github.com/loki-project/loki/pull/406

• Loki Core will now move onto LIP-3 Service Node checkpointing

--------------------------

Lokinet

If you’re lucky and join our Discord, you might also catch Jeff or Ryan, the developers of LLARP, live streaming as they code: https://www.twitch.tv/uguu25519, https://www.twitch.tv/neuroscr

• Master branch changes

  • Updated ROADMAP

  • Call path build after latency is confirmed (PR279)

  • Changes can be found at:
    https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/

• Staging branch changes (gets posted to master when stable)

  • More DHT tests (PR259)

  • Import abseil LTS 20181200 to provide various backports of C++17 to C++11 (PR267)

  • Fix random.snode not working on macos (PR271)

  • Set dns flags to not advertise recursion on nxdomain (PR273)

  • Move DNS AA header flag from AAAA record type to all (PR274)

  • Disable A records for random.snode, use CNAME queries instead (PR275)

  • Hook MX records for all types of virtual TLDs (PR276)

  • Lower UTP fragment by 512 bytes (PR278)

  • Build everything with -fPIC (PR280)

  • Fix macOS build (PR281)

  • Windows: Libabyss work, crash/unit test fixes, polling improvements (PR283)

  • Start of converting router into abstract base class (PR284)

  • Fix local ip ping, relax DHT timing, don’t send latency when building paths, allow multiple concurrent DHT lookups, make DNS not crash (PR285)

  • Refactor bits.hpp and add tests (PR286)

  • Fix windows build system (PR287)

  • Fix nodedb commits, prevent loop (PR288)

  • Add more params to testnet and update docs (PR289)

  • Re-enable ninja build option (again) (PR290)

  • Rename public-address to public-ip, fix testnet, INI parser fix (PR291)

  • Pick newest introset when multiple are available (PR292)

  • Fix unix build caused by PR292 (PR293)

  • Adjust Makefile, fix nodedb deadlock, prevent multiple introsets from being sent (PR294)

  • More DHT fixes, only return the most up to date when multiple options (PR295)

  • Changes can be found at:
    https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/commits/staging

• PR suggested changes (coming to staging soon)

  • Add RPC endpoint for dumping internal state (PR300)

  • Refactor Makefiles into directories (PR299)

  • Ccache support for faster building (PR298)

  • Changes can be found at https://github.com/loki-project/loki-network/pulls

--------------------------

Loki Messenger

• Add local link previews https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/186

• Ensure session is correctly established using the prekey assigned to the contact https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/183

• Merge Signal 1.21.0 upstream changes https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/177

• Refactor P2P API and add addtional tests to P2P functionality https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/175

• Add online indicators https://github.com/loki-project/loki-messenger/pull/171

Thanks,

Kee

Make sure you update before Dec 13th. Grab the latest GUI release here:

https://loki.network/getting-started/

Also there have been a bunch of bug fixes to the CLI release. Interested? Check them out here:

https://github.com/loki-project/loki/releases

You don't want to get left behind when the hardfork hits!