ShellHop Relay Network

🐚 ShellHop is a lightweight, privacy-focused relay network built to help users reach TransIRC (and other compatible services) via community-hosted entry points. It’s ideal for users behind firewalls, censorship, or who want to avoid direct connections.

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🛠️ How ShellHop Works

ShellHop operates as a network of community-hosted relays that forward encrypted client traffic to TransIRC’s main infrastructure. Each relay is designed to be lightweight, easy to deploy, and respects user privacy by not logging activity.

The connection process is secure and multi-layered:

• Peer Map Distribution: The ShellHop client automatically receives an up-to-date list of available relay nodes (the peer map) from the relay it connects to. This peer map is securely obfuscated both on the wire and on disk, so your client can discover new relays automatically without needing to manually configure servers.
• Community Discovery: When you run the client, it uses this peer map to select a working relay at random, increasing your odds of connecting even if some relays are down or blocked.
• Secure Authentication: Each relay is authenticated to the gateway using an HMAC-based challenge-response, ensuring only trusted relays can forward your traffic.
• Privacy-Preserving Forwarding: Relays forward your encrypted traffic to the gateway, which then forwards it to the IRC network using the PROXY protocol to preserve your original IP address for accurate bans and access controls.

This approach means your client always has a fresh, private list of relays to choose from, and your connection is protected every step of the way.

• Client Connection: Users initiate a standard SSH connection from their local machine to a publicly available ShellHop relay. This connection is encrypted from the start.
• Relay Authentication: The relay then establishes a secondary, authenticated connection to the TransIRC gateway. This authentication uses HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code) with a shared secret key, ensuring only trusted relays can connect to the core network.
• Traffic Forwarding with IP Preservation: Once authenticated, the relay acts as a secure tunnel. It forwards the user's SSH traffic to TransIRC’s backend. Crucially, relays inject PROXY protocol headers. This allows the TransIRC server to see the user's original IP address, not the relay's, while keeping internal services hidden from direct internet exposure.
• User Authentication (NickServ): Upon reaching the TransIRC server, users authenticate via NickServ. This integrates seamlessly with TransIRC's existing user management, preserving their identity, settings, and access rights.
• Secure Terminal Environment: After successful authentication, users are dropped into a secure, terminal-based interface on the TransIRC server, providing a controlled environment for interaction.

🖥️ What TransIRC.chat Provides Through ShellHop

Once connected via ShellHop, users are placed in a tmux environment, offering a robust suite of terminal tools and direct access to TransIRC services:

• Preconfigured IRC Client: Jump straight into conversations with a dedicated IRC client, pre-loaded with your NickServ credentials.
• Integrated Issue Tracker: Easily submit bugs, suggestions, or ideas directly from your terminal, streamlining feedback.
• Direct Wiki Access: Browse and read project documentation and community guides without ever leaving the shell.
• Help and Support Tools: Access built-in guides and commands for quick support, connecting you to help whenever you need it.
• Live News Feed: Stay up-to-date with real-time server and community announcements streamed directly to your terminal.

🚀 Get Started

Ready to jump in and experience secure, alternative access to TransIRC? Choose one of the options below:

• 🪟 Download for Windows (x64)
• 🐧 Download for Linux
• 📄 View the Source Code

🔁 Host a Community Relay

Hosting a community relay helps users around the world connect to TransIRC — even in regions where access might be blocked or censored.

If you're a TransIRC member with a Windows or Linux machine, and can open a port and reach https://transirc.chat directly, you can contribute by running a relay node!

Your existing NickServ username and password serve as your relay credentials. Each relay is compiled per-user and includes a unique gateway key tied to your IRC username. This allows us to revoke relays when needed and ensures only trusted members can host.

Ready to help? Log in and build your personalized relay binary right in your browser.