Free. Open source. No account. No phone number. No email. Install the Windows app, pick a username, save your 12-word phrase, and start messaging privately. Total setup time: about 3 minutes.
OpenDescent.Setup.0.5.7.exe file lands in your Downloads folder. No email confirmation, no account creation step, nothing to do while it downloads.
.exe. Windows may show a SmartScreen warning. That's expected and explained below. Pick an install location, click through, and it's done in under a minute.
The installer is code-signed (by "Open Source Developer Alan Ivanovas", via Certum) but with a standard certificate, not an Extended Validation one. EV certs cost several hundred pounds a year and clear SmartScreen instantly; a standard cert has to build reputation across installs first, so Windows may still warn until then. It's a reputation thing, not malware detection. You can confirm the signature yourself (right-click the .exe → Properties → Digital Signatures).
To install anyway:
If you're uncomfortable with that, you can verify the installer's SHA-256 against the hash published on the GitHub Releases page. If the hash matches, the binary is exactly what we published. The source that produced it is also on GitHub.
Every release on GitHub ships with a SHA-256 hash. Check the downloaded installer matches before running it, takes about 10 seconds in PowerShell.
Full reproducible-build parity is in progress. That means you can currently verify that the binary matches what we published, but not yet that the binary matches a build from source you ran yourself. Reproducible builds are on the roadmap. When they ship, we'll publish build instructions here.
The public broadcast feed now syncs across the network: posts made while you were offline show up when you next open the app, with their timestamps. Plus in-app update prompts (with an off switch in Settings) and a longer 90-day feed window. Full changelog and older versions on GitHub.
Bring your own relay: run the network on your own relay (home connection or VPS) instead of the default infrastructure. New "Relay & Network" settings panel and --no-default-bootstrap flag, plus a connection indicator showing whether you're connected directly or via your relay.
Privacy: Stripe payments decoupled from peer ID. New redemption-code flow with optional anonymous mode. Cosmetic Pro perks (avatar frames, vibe themes, username color). Self-claimed Supporter Pin. Founder badge dropped (lifetime Pro unchanged).
Get-AuthenticodeSignature in PowerShell, where Status should read Valid). It's a standard certificate, not an EV one, so SmartScreen may still warn until it builds reputation. You can also verify the SHA-256 against the hash published with each GitHub Release, or build from the tagged source. Full steps in VERIFYING.md.%APPDATA%\open-descent\. Messages, your identity key, hub memberships, and file cache all live there, encrypted at rest. The data never leaves your machine except through the peer-to-peer mesh when you send something.%APPDATA%\open-descent\ after uninstalling.git clone, npm install, npm run build, npm run dist produces a local installer. Reproducible-build parity with the shipped binary is in progress.No account, no phone number, no email. Free forever. Open source.