GoodComms v0.9.98 - First Public Release

[junkoe]

GoodComms v0.9.98 - First Public Release

GoodComms is a self-hosted communication platform for chat, voice, and screen sharing. Built entirely in Rust, it features native clients and a lightweight server designed to keep your data on hardware you control.

This is the first public release. It is pre-1.0 and rough around some edges, but the foundation is solid and the core experience delivers. Think of it as an early taste of where this project is headed.

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Why GoodComms?

Most communication platforms, even those that offer "self-hosting," still tie you to a centralized account system, ship as Electron web apps, or collect telemetry somewhere in the pipeline. GoodComms does not.

• No cloud accounts. You register on the server you connect to. That is the only place your account exists. No global GoodComms account, no OAuth, and no third-party identity provider.
• No telemetry. No analytics, no tracking, and no external calls. The only optional network dependency is GIF search, and only if the server owner explicitly enables it.
• Pure native clients. Windows and Linux binaries compiled from Rust. No browser engine, no Electron, and no runtime. A single executable you download and run. This is the same model as the old TeamSpeak days, before everything moved to the cloud.
• No IP logging. Server logs contain no IP addresses or account identifiers. Privacy by design, not just a marketing claim.
• Lightweight. The server authenticates sessions, stores messages in SQLite, and routes media packets. It never processes or decodes them. CPU and RAM requirements are minimal; bandwidth and storage (uploads, Drive, database) are the real scaling factors.

If you have a friend or a community member running a server, all your communication stays between you and them, not a corporation you have never met.

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What is in v0.9.98

GPU-Accelerated Screen Sharing (Windows)

The screen sharing pipeline on Windows is a core feature. Capture, encode, and relay happen entirely on the GPU:

• Capture: Windows Graphics Capture API to D3D11 textures, with no intermediate CPU copy.
• Encode: D3D11 Video Processor (color conversion) to MFT H.264 encoder.
• Hardware detection: Auto-selects NVIDIA NVENC, Intel QSV, or AMD. Software fallback only if no hardware is available.
• Viewer side: MFT decode to D3D11 video processing, then to DXGI swap chain. Zero CPU readback.

The client chat UI runs entirely on the CPU via tiny-skia, completely separate from the GPU pipeline. Neither system interferes with the other.

Linux screen sharing works via PipeWire and xdg-desktop-portal. It functions correctly for display capture, but encoding is software-based and system audio loopback is not supported.

Security Hardening

• Hardened media relay to prevent unauthorized stream disruptions.
• Username length validation (1-32 characters).
• File upload and avatar size limits.
• Self-service password change: requires current password and invalidates all other active sessions immediately.
• Internal security audit completed.

Channel Management

Channels can now be fully managed without recreating them:

• Edit: Change a channel's name, description, and text/voice flags from the Admin panel. Changes apply live to all connected clients.
• Reorder: Use buttons in the Admin panel to set channel order. Position is persisted server-side and reflected instantly in every client's sidebar.

Stability and Polish

• Voice audio now resumes immediately when a user leaves and rejoins a voice channel in the same session.
• 60 FPS streams from high-refresh-rate sources (144Hz+) are paced correctly for all viewers.
• Deafened state drops incoming audio packets immediately instead of processing them in the background.
• Drive folders now display their total contents size correctly.
• Drive files now display size in correct units (B, KB, MB) instead of always showing MB.
• App window no longer opens off-screen after a monitor is disconnected.
• Permission matrix now includes a legend explaining the indicator states.
• Direct messages persist correctly across sessions and appear instantly when sent.
• Reconnecting while in a DM no longer navigates away to the first channel.
• Server (direct-TLS and self-signed mode): fixed an issue where the process would exit immediately after binding to its ports.
• Voice and video now work correctly on non-default ports. The server advertises its configured ports at login rather than the client assuming fixed defaults.

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Getting Started

Server owners: the fastest path is Docker Compose behind a reverse proxy (Caddy handles TLS automatically).

• Getting Started Guide
• Deployment Scenarios (reverse proxy, self-signed, manual TLS)

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Known Limitations

• Single active server: The client connects to one server at a time. There is no disconnect button in this release. To connect to a different server, close the client and reopen it. Multi-server support is planned for a future release.
• Screen sharing (all platforms): Starting a second stream in the same app session may not be visible to viewers. If this happens, restart the client before streaming again. Linux does not support system audio loopback.
• Channel privacy: A channel's privacy status cannot be changed after creation. Delete and recreate if a change is needed.

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Binary Verification

Rust-compiled binaries can trigger antivirus false positives. VirusTotal scans and SHA-256 checksums are provided for all release binaries.

Note: The Windows installer has been submitted to Microsoft for manual review to clear a known false positive.

SHA-256 Checksums

gc-client  9898FDE3F44CA86C1CD14060B7B23784DE6DD34707A5ED403240A0AA276E93C3
gc-client.exe  2EFECCA013B5E73ED41227ADF559B503F788F636D1C0CCA281D29D15391415EF
gc-client_0.9.98_x64-setup.exe  2A91842CF2F754504CB0C7F8C780F82C175C47CBE0B4A755605FA30EC4CA400D
gc-server  1BD98AB9944AE5A453527EE24F79756CF834D93F05A92CEC1C2ED406B7AB27C0
gc-server.exe  214E59C3614886171862A87167A39D35FCC9F9AE6FD60A4A8343F5A7E732BECB

VirusTotal Scans

• Windows Client - https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/2efecca013b5e73ed41227adf559b503f788f636d1c0cca281d29d15391415ef
• Windows Installer - https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/2a91842cf2f754504cb0c7f8c780f82c175c47cbe0b4a755605fa30ec4ca400d
• Linux Client - https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/9898fde3f44ca86c1cd14060b7b23784de6dd34707a5ed403240a0aa276e93c3
• Windows Server - https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/214e59c3614886171862a87167a39d35fcc9f9ae6fd60a4a8343f5a7e732becb
• Linux Server - https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/1bd98ab9944ae5a453527ee24f79756cf834d93f05a92cec1c2ed406b7ab27c0

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Engineered for Privacy. Built with Rust.

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This discussion was created from the release GoodComms v0.9.98 - First Public Release.