localbolt.site - use it now, no install needed.

Encrypted peer-to-peer file transfer. Files go directly between devices, never stored on any server.

• End-to-end encrypted with NaCl/Curve25519 (same crypto as Signal and WireGuard)
• Direct transfer - files never touch a server
• No accounts - no sign-up, no cloud, no trace
• No file size limits - limited only by your device storage
• Cross-platform - works in any modern browser
• Dual signaling - discovers devices on your LAN and across the internet
• Works offline - self-host on your local network with no internet required

git clone https://github.com/the9ines/localbolt.git
cd localbolt
./start.sh

That's it. The script installs any missing dependencies (Rust, Node.js), builds the signaling server, and starts everything.

Open http://localhost:8080 on two devices. Devices discover each other automatically. Select one and start transferring.

Windows:

start.bat

If Rust or Node.js aren't installed, the script will tell you where to get them.

1. Open LocalBolt on two devices, same network or different networks
2. Select the other device from the device list (it appears automatically)
3. Transfer files by drag-and-drop, encrypted, peer-to-peer, no size limits

The signaling server only helps devices find each other. Once connected, all data flows directly between devices over an encrypted WebRTC channel. The signaling server never sees your files.

LocalBolt connects to both a local signaling server (your LAN) and the cloud signaling server (localbolt.site) simultaneously. This means:

• Same network: Devices on your LAN discover each other instantly
• Different networks: Devices across the internet discover each other via the cloud server
• Offline mode: If there's no internet, LAN discovery still works
• Graceful degradation: If either server is unavailable, the other keeps working

┌─────────┐     WebSocket      ┌──────────────────┐     WebSocket      ┌─────────┐
│ Device A │◄──────────────────►│  Signal Server   │◄──────────────────►│ Device B │
│ (browser)│   (discovery +     │  (Rust, port     │   (discovery +     │ (browser)│
│          │    connection       │   3001)          │    connection      │          │
│          │    setup only)      └──────────────────┘    setup only)     │          │
│          │                                                            │          │
│          │◄══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════►│          │
│          │              WebRTC Data Channel (direct)                  │          │
│          │           NaCl encrypted file transfer                     │          │
└─────────┘                                                            └─────────┘

If you prefer to run the components separately:

Signaling server:

cd signal
cargo run --release

Web app:

cd web
npm install
npm run dev

LocalBolt is part of the Bolt Protocol ecosystem. See PRD.md and ROADMAP.md in this repo for product requirements and roadmap.

This is an open-source project. Free to use, self-host, and modify.

• localbolt.site — use it in the browser, no install
• LocalBolt App — native desktop app with embedded signal server

MIT — built by the9ines