Kairos

A simple toolkit for deploying Reticulum in your local communities

What this project is:

Kairos exists to make deploying Reticulum easy for anyone.

It is a small set of scripts that automate the boring parts of standing up a Reticulum node. Handles installing dependencies, writing a correct config, configuring optional interfaces, starting the service, so that the only hard part left is the part that actually matters: what you build on top of it.

What's in the toolkit

Script	Purpose
deploy.sh / launcher.py	Interactive menu. pick a path, it runs the right script
install_client.sh	Turns a Debian/Ubuntu machine into a Reticulum client node. Local mesh always on. VPS backbone and RNode radio are optional, config driven add-ons
install_server.sh	Stands up a Reticulum transport/backbone node. Good for relaying traffic for others, listens for incoming connections. Asks before touching your firewall
uninstall_client.sh	Cleanly removes what the installers added
add_interface.sh	Simply add a new interface to your reticulum config
kairos.conf	The single source of truth for any node configuration

How to Use

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/Time-Walked/Kairos
cd Kairos

2. Configure your node

Open kairos.conf in any text editor. Every setting is off/blank by default. nothing gets enabled without you explicitly turning it on.

nano /Kairos/installers/kairos.conf

• Local mesh only? Leave everything as-is.
• Want to connect to a VPS backbone? Set VPS_ENABLED=yes and fill in VPS_HOST, VPS_PORT, and VPS_NETWORK_NAME.
• Have an RNode radio? Set RNODE_ENABLED=yes and fill in RNODE_PORT (find it with ls /dev/ttyUSB* /dev/ttyACM*). The frequency/bandwidth/etc.
• Standing up a server/backbone node instead? Fill in SERVER_LISTEN_IP and SERVER_LISTEN_PORT under the server section.
• Need to add a new interface? Just run the "add an interface" tool from the launcher!

3. Run the launcher

./deploy.sh

You'll get a menu:

1  Client install
2  Server install
3  Add an interface
4. Exit

• Client install: turns this machine into a Reticulum node using whatever you set in kairos.conf. Installs rnsd and nomadnet, writes a Reticulum config, starts it as a systemd service that survives reboot and logout.
• Server install: turns this machine into a transport/backbone node others can connect to. Will ask for explicit confirmation before opening any firewall port.

You can also skip the menu and run either script directly:

./install_client.sh
./install_server.sh
./add_interface.sh

4. Check it's running

systemctl --user status rnsd.service

5. Uninstalling

./uninstall_client.sh

This stops and disables the service, removes installed packages, and cleans up your PATH changes. It will separately — and explicitly — ask before touching your Reticulum identity, since that step can't be undone.

Re-running / reconfiguring

Every install script here is safe to re-run. Change something in kairos.conf and run the install script again, your existing config gets backed up (timestamped, never overwritten blind) before the new one is written.

One thing worth knowing: if rnsd is already running when you change kairos.conf and re-run the install script, the new config is written to disk but the running service won't pick it up automatically. Restart it to apply changes:

systemctl --user restart rnsd.service

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Use Cases

Mutual Aid Networks

Deploy mesh for coordinating disaster response, resource distribution, and community care without dependency on infrastructure that fails during crises.

Community Organizing

Secure communications for organizing actions, coordinating logistics, maintaining operations under surveillance or in hostile environments.

Independent Press

Infrastructure to protect sources and maintain communications when corporate platforms face censorship or compromise.

Disaster Preparedness

Backup communications when cellular/internet fails. Pre-deployed, tested, ready when needed.

Privacy-Focused Communities

Communications outside surveillance capitalism while maintaining usability for non-technical members.

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Credits

KAIROS stands on the shoulders of:

Mark Qvist (@markqvist) - Creator of Reticulum, RNode, Nomadnet, LXMF. This project would not exist without Mark's foundational work on the protocol and ecosystem.

KAIROS is automation work, taking excellent FOSS tools and making them deployable by communities who need resilient communications.

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Build infrastructure that lasts. Share knowledge freely. Own your communications.