Getting Started

Welcome to TAD! This guide will help you get up and running in minutes.

What is TAD?

TAD (Tactical Autonomous Zone Communications) is a peer-to-peer, decentralized chat system designed for offline-first communication. It works on local networks without internet access and provides end-to-end encrypted private channels.

Perfect For

• 🎉 Free Parties - Coordinate without cell service
• 🏕️ TAZ (Temporary Autonomous Zones) - Community self-organization
• 📢 Protests & Demonstrations - Resilient communication
• 🌄 Remote Locations - Chat on local networks
• 🔒 Private Groups - End-to-end encrypted conversations

Quick Install

Automatic Installation (Recommended)

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/fabriziosalmi/tad.git
cd tad

# Run installer
./install.sh

# Start TAD
./tad

The installer will:

• ✅ Check Python version (3.8+)
• ✅ Create virtual environment
• ✅ Install dependencies
• ✅ Run test suite
• ✅ Optionally install systemd service

Manual Installation

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/fabriziosalmi/tad.git
cd tad

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run TAD
python -m tad.main

First Run

When you start TAD for the first time:

1. Identity Generation - Cryptographic keys are created automatically
2. Database Creation - SQLite database initialized
3. Discovery Starts - mDNS service begins broadcasting
4. TUI Opens - Terminal interface appears

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 TAD v1.0                     │
├──────────┬────────────────────────┬─────────────┤
│          │                        │             │
│ Channels │    Message History     │   Peers     │
│          │                        │             │
│ #general │ [System] Welcome!      │ 👤 (You)    │
│          │                        │             │
│          │                        │             │
│          │                        │             │
├──────────┴────────────────────────┴─────────────┤
│ > Type /help for commands                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Your First Message

1. Check peers:

   > /peers
   Connected peers: 2

2. Send a message:

   > Hello, world!

3. Create a channel:

   > /create #dev
   [SYSTEM] Created channel #dev

4. Switch channels:

   > /switch #dev
   [SYSTEM] Switched to #dev

Next Steps

• 📖 Read the User Guide for all commands
• 🔒 Learn about Private Channels
• 🚀 See Deployment for production setups
• 🏗️ Explore the Architecture

Requirements

• Python: 3.8 or higher
• OS: Linux, macOS, Windows (WSL recommended)
• Network: Wi-Fi or Ethernet (same local network)
• Dependencies: Listed in requirements.txt

Troubleshooting

Nodes Not Discovering

Problem: Started TAD but no peers appear.

Solutions:

1. Ensure devices on same network
2. Check firewall allows UDP 5353 (mDNS)
3. Verify Python 3.8+
4. Try ./install.sh for automatic setup

Import Errors

Problem: ModuleNotFoundError when running.

Solution:

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

# Reinstall dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

Permission Denied

Problem: Cannot run ./install.sh or ./tad.

Solution:

chmod +x install.sh
chmod +x tad

Getting Help

• 📘 User Guide - Complete command reference
• 🔧 Troubleshooting - Common issues
• 💬 GitHub Issues - Report bugs
• 📖 Architecture - Technical details

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Ready to dive deeper? Continue to Installation for detailed setup options.