Do I need an account to use Lightning Chat?

No. The app generates a cryptographic identity on your device or in your browser. You can copy its npub when you want another person to contact you privately.

Does web chat work without Bluetooth?

Yes. The Web lounge and encrypted direct messages use internet relays over secure WebSockets. Bluetooth is an additional nearby mesh transport in the Windows app.

Is Lightning Chat included in the Windows and Android downloads?

Yes. Lightning Chat is part of both native packages. They also support direct iroh messages between discovered peers; the Windows package adds the Bluetooth mesh transport.

Lightning P2P

Chat across the web or directly with nearby peers.

Account-free messaging

Chat across the web or directly with nearby peers.

Direct answer

Lightning Chat provides an account-free Web lounge, signed public rooms, encrypted direct messages, and native nearby peer chat in the Windows and Android apps.

Lightning Chat gives every browser and native app an on-device identity for public relay rooms and encrypted direct messages, without creating an account or handing a phone number to a central service.

The web room works through multiple public relays. Native Windows and Android builds add direct iroh messaging and nearby peer discovery, while the Windows build also supports the local Bluetooth mesh.

Open the Web lounge and start chatting immediately. Lightning Chat generates an identity in your browser, reconnects across several independent relays, and keeps the private key in local browser storage. Clearing site data removes that browser identity.

Public room messages are signed by their sender. Direct messages use encrypted Nostr gift wraps, and the native apps can also deliver messages directly over iroh to discovered peers without depending on the web room.

The native Windows and Android packages contain the same Lightning Chat interface. Windows additionally supports the encrypted Bluetooth multi-hop mesh, private nearby messages, groups, voice notes, small attachments, delivery receipts, identity QR verification, blocking, favorites, and emergency local wipe.

Download the recommended Velopack one-click installer, the classic NSIS setup installer, or the MSI installer. Android users can sideload LightningP2P-android-latest.apk and verify it with SHA256SUMS-android.txt. Signing status, SmartScreen notes, Android sideload notes, and SHA256 checksums are available on GitHub Releases. App version: v0.9.8.

Key facts

Product: Lightning P2P
Category: peer-to-peer file transfer and account-free chat app
Platform: Windows stable release, Android 10+ sideload release
Stable release: v0.4.6
Experimental release: v0.9.8 with Lightning Chat, BBR congestion control, Warp mode, and swarm receive
License: Apache-2.0
Account required: no
Cloud upload: no
Artificial file-size cap: no
Transfer model: direct-first P2P
Transport: iroh / QUIC
Verification: BLAKE3
Source code: GitHub
Cost: free

Important caveats

Sender must stay online until the receiver finishes.
Tickets are capability tokens and should be treated as secrets.
Relay fallback helps connectivity, but it is not cloud storage.
Browser chat uses internet relays; nearby Bluetooth mesh and media are native-only.
Public speed leadership claims require repeatable benchmark results.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account to use Lightning Chat?: No. The app generates a cryptographic identity on your device or in your browser. You can copy its npub when you want another person to contact you privately.
Does web chat work without Bluetooth?: Yes. The Web lounge and encrypted direct messages use internet relays over secure WebSockets. Bluetooth is an additional nearby mesh transport in the Windows app.
Is Lightning Chat included in the Windows and Android downloads?: Yes. Lightning Chat is part of both native packages. They also support direct iroh messages between discovered peers; the Windows package adds the Bluetooth mesh transport.