Talon
c6c003b8a7
Proposal for replacing the C++ core, C++ server, and Swift macOS/iOS clients with a single .NET 10 / C# codebase. Covers the dependency map (8 vcpkg deps + 1 vendored -> 3 native libs), the real-time-audio design, per-client strategy, a test-porting plan for all 29 ctest cases, doc-sync work, an 11-phase migration, and a risk register. Two findings drive the shape of the plan: - SslStream has no RFC 5705 keying-material exporter, which the media AEAD key derivation depends on (docs/security.md 2). The API is an unapproved proposal and SChannel structurally cannot export secrets. Recommends BouncyCastle's managed TLS 1.3 stack, which does implement the exporter and keeps the wire format byte-compatible with the C++ implementation -- so the existing tree stays usable as a conformance oracle throughout the port. Protocol-v3 in-band media keys documented as the fallback. - The iOS ReplayKit broadcast upload extension stays in Swift: 50 MB jetsam cap plus an unsupported extension type in .NET for iOS, and it already doesn't link the core. Leaves one Swift file plus the shared App Group ring. Indexed in docs/README.md. Nothing here is implemented yet. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
VoiceCat
Self-hosted, native voice & text chat in the spirit of classic TeamSpeak / Mumble —
channel-based voice, channel + private text, one server you run yourself. Plain TCP
(control) and UDP (media), no WebRTC. Encrypted by default. A shared C++ core
(libvoicecat) drives native clients (Swift on macOS/iOS, C# on Windows) and the server.
Status: Design complete in
docs/. M1–M5 are implemented — real TLS control plane, encrypted UDP voice (Opus), multi-stream, TOFU identity pinning, channel tree, permissions, moderation, disconnect/keepalive/reaper. Windows WinForms C# client shipped (M4). macOS/iOS Swift client is next. SeePROGRESS.mdanddocs/roadmap.md.
Read the design first
The docs/ folder is the source of truth. Start at docs/README.md,
then architecture → protocol → voice → security → tech-stack → deployment →
roadmap.
Build
The default development preset is dev — it builds everything (server + tools + tests)
with real vcpkg deps. It works on Windows, Linux, and macOS (vcpkg triplet auto-resolved).
# one-time vcpkg setup (bundled as a submodule, pinned to vcpkg.json's builtin-baseline):
git submodule update --init vcpkg
./vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.sh # .bat on Windows
# configure + build + test:
cmake --preset dev
cmake --build --preset dev
ctest --preset dev # 21 behavior tests
To use an external vcpkg checkout instead, set VCPKG_ROOT=/path/to/vcpkg (or
$env:VCPKG_ROOT on PowerShell) — it always takes priority over the bundled submodule.
Artifacts land in build/dev/bin/ (voicecat-server, vccli, voicecat-admin).
The skeleton preset (no vcpkg deps, stubs only) is a fast smoke check that needs no
third-party libraries:
cmake --preset skeleton && cmake --build --preset skeleton && ctest --preset skeleton
See docs/building.md for the full preset matrix (including release,
server-release, windows-client, and Apple platform scaffolding).
Layout
docs/ design spec (read this)
core/ libvoicecat — the shared C++ core
include/ voicecat.h (the C ABI all clients call)
proto/ voicecat.proto (control-plane wire format, source of truth)
src/ net/ crypto/ codec/ protocol/ session/ audio/ (stubs today)
server/ voicecat-server (headless; links the core)
tools/vccli/ headless test client — drives the protocol from M1 on
clients/ apple/ (Swift, M4) windows/ (C#, M4) — placeholders for now
tests/ CTest targets
License
Permissive-only dependencies (no GPL/LGPL) so the project can be redistributed freely,
including closed-source. Project license: TBD (see docs/tech-stack.md §5).