What’s New

Knit

CommunicationAndroid

Offline, serverless, end-to-end-encrypted mesh messenger for Android.

Latest v2.2.1 · by KnitWebsitegetknit/knit

Changelog

v2.2.1

Knit 2.2.1

Changed
  • Remove Android's dependency metadata signing block from the release APK to enable F-Droid distribution

First release available on F-Droid.

This is a build-only change so that F-Droid can distribute Knit: the release APK no longer embeds Android's "dependency metadata" signing block, which F-Droid does not permit and which was not reproducible. There are no code or feature changes from 2.2.0, and the app behaves identically.

knit-2.2.1.apk — sha256:3d3aaa811aa46e483d514f01486c39aff4d48b4de21c6c19fa03fa854ca764a2

Signed with Knit's distribution key (certificate b18a283d11797c2a84a008c1fcb9e1b864e7b4c3b301408f7a4a80624b0e631c), the key pinned in F-Droid's AllowedAPKSigningKeys. CI verified this file is byte-identical, apart from the signature, to an independent unsigned rebuild produced inside F-Droid's own buildserver image — so F-Droid's rebuild-and-compare check resolves to exactly this APK.

mapping-2.2.1.txt is the R8 deobfuscation map for symbolicating crash reports from this build.

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v2.2.0

Knit 2.2.0

Added
  • Add Liberapay option alongside Ko-fi on the Support Knit screen
Changed
  • Build Knit reproducibly so F-Droid can verify byte-for-byte equivalence with the GitHub release

First release published on F-Droid.

Knit is now built reproducibly: F-Droid rebuilds this release from source and byte-compares it against the APK on our GitHub Releases page, then ships ours. The same signed APK works from F-Droid, from a direct download, and from Knit's own offline "share the app" feature — so a phone handed Knit over the mesh can still take updates normally.

Otherwise this release is all plumbing: the only visible change is a Liberapay option alongside Ko-fi on the Support Knit screen.

knit-2.2.0.apk — sha256:074baa953d4b20dd16ad7c3f934ee809472cf90629dae60a65bf0fd73d12dbc9

Signed with Knit's distribution key (certificate b18a283d11797c2a84a008c1fcb9e1b864e7b4c3b301408f7a4a80624b0e631c), the key pinned in F-Droid's AllowedAPKSigningKeys. CI verified this file is byte-identical, apart from the signature, to an independent unsigned rebuild produced inside F-Droid's own buildserver image — so F-Droid's rebuild-and-compare check resolves to exactly this APK.

mapping-2.2.0.txt is the R8 deobfuscation map for symbolicating crash reports from this build.

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v2.1.0

Knit 2.1.0 — first public release

Added
  • Dual-radio mesh relay using Wi-Fi Aware and Bluetooth LE simultaneously behind one MeshTransport seam without Google Mobile Services
  • Public "Nearby" broadcast room for public messaging
  • One-to-one direct messages with end-to-end encryption
  • Multi-member group chats with end-to-end encryption
  • End-to-end encryption using Tink HPKE with X25519, AES-256-GCM, and Ed25519 signatures
  • Trust-on-first-use (TOFU) key pinning with safety-number and QR code verification
  • Store-and-forward delay-tolerant message delivery with content-digest anti-entropy sync
  • Message reactions and @-mentions
  • Content-addressed image attachments
  • On-device content moderation using toxicity text detection and NSFW image classification
  • Offline app sharing with on-device split-APK merge and re-signing
  • Encrypted at-rest storage using SQLCipher
  • Support for devices with only Bluetooth LE or only Wi-Fi Aware

Knit is an offline, serverless, end-to-end-encrypted mesh messenger for Android. Phones talk directly over Wi-Fi Aware (NAN) and Bluetooth LE — both radios at once — and relay for each other hop by hop. No internet, no accounts, no servers, no Google Play Services.

This is the first public open-source release (GPL-3.0-or-later).

Highlights
  • Dual-radio mesh relay — Wi-Fi Aware + Bluetooth LE simultaneously behind one MeshTransport seam, no GMS
  • Public "Nearby" broadcast room, 1:1 DMs, and multi-member group chats
  • End-to-end encryption for DMs & groups (Tink HPKE/X25519 + AES-256-GCM + Ed25519), TOFU key pinning, safety-number / QR verification
  • Store-and-forward delay-tolerant delivery with content-digest anti-entropy sync
  • Reactions, @-mentions, and content-addressed image attachments
  • On-device content moderation (toxicity text + NSFW image), fully offline
  • Offline app sharing (on-device split-APK merge & re-sign)
  • Encrypted at rest (SQLCipher)
Requirements

Android 10 (API 29)+ with Wi-Fi Aware and/or Bluetooth LE. A device with only one radio still meshes over it.

See the README for build/run instructions and the full feature list.

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