Ken Johnson
5d92eb52d9
Adds cometbinkpfpc.pas: a drop-in wrapper that exports the exact public surface of cometbinkp.pas (TCometBinkpResult, TBinkpSendEntry, TBinkpPostAuthCallback, BinkpRunOutbound, BinkpRunInbound) but routes everything through the standalone fpc-binkp library underneath. Single-line uses-clause swap in three consumers: - src/cometdaemon.pas - src/comet.pas - src/webui/cometwebapi.pas (uses ..., cometbinkp -> uses ..., cometbinkpfpc) The native cometbinkp.pas is untouched and still in CORE_UNITS; swap back by reverting the three uses-clause lines if needed. Adapters in cometbinkpfpc.pas: - TCometBPProvider: bridges TCometFileProvider + the TBinkpSendEntry array onto fpc-binkp's IBPFileProvider. NextOutbound walks the SendEntries; AcknowledgeSent calls CometFileSent so .FLO line tracking + csaDelete / csaTruncate post-actions still apply. OpenForReceive / GetPartialSize / FinalizeReceive / CleanupReceive forward to TCometFileProvider's existing methods so all NR-resume and rename-on-finalize behaviour stays identical. - TCometBPTransport: IBPTransport over a TCometSocket that drains a banner-detect PeekBuf BEFORE consulting the socket. Required because cometdaemon's CometRecvBanner consumes the BinkP $80 command-flag byte during protocol detection and hands it back to the BinkP entry point. Without this replay, fpc-binkp's frame parser starts mid-frame and trips an EAccessViolation. - TCometBPPolicy: the session-scoped bag that wires the fpc-binkp callbacks to Comet's existing config lookups -- CometCfgGetPassword/FindPassword for OnLookupPassword, CometCfgGetDESKey for OnLookupDesKey, CometCfgGetPublicKey for OnLookupPubKey -- and forwards the daemon's TBinkpPostAuthCallback through to fpc-binkp's TBPOnPostAuth (also pushing the chosen InboundDir into the provider so receives route to secure / unsecure correctly). Makefile: adds fpc-binkp/src + fpc-msgbase/src + fpc-log/src to UNITPATH (LIBFLAGS) and includes cometbinkpfpc in the CORE_UNITS build list. Local validation: - Comet daemon listens on test port 24580 with the new backend. example_outbound from fpc-binkp dials the daemon, completes CRAM-MD5 auth, activates CRYPT, EXTCMD GZ, MBT, secure-routes the file based on auth state. - 32 KB AAAA file delivered as 306 wire bytes (99.1% compression via GZ), SHA-verified byte-identical on the daemon's secure inbound dir. - 1 KB AAAA file delivered as 266 wire bytes. - Wrong-password attempt cleanly rejected with M_ERR "Bad password", session ends bpErrAuthFailed. Comet build is green on x86_64-linux with debug build. Ready to deploy and test on bbsnode2 (FreeBSD x64) and sea-vps11 (Linux x64). Note: ED25519 BinkP authentication is a Comet-specific extension (introduced by Ken Johnson for Comet), not an Argus or stock-binkd standard. Argus 4.010 and stock binkd silently ignore EDCHAL and fall through to CRAM-MD5. fpc-binkp implements both sides -- consumers using Comet or another fpc-binkp embedder can use ED25519 end-to-end.
Comet Mailer
A modern FidoNet TCP mailer daemon for the 2020s.
Comet provides direct TCP file transfer with a purpose-built protocol while maintaining full BinkP/1.1 (FTS-1026) compatibility. Both protocols are auto-detected on the same port.
Features
- Direct TCP file transfer with SHA-256 verification
- Bidirectional transfer with sliding window flow control
- ED25519 public-key authentication (no shared secrets needed)
- CRAM-MD5 password authentication (passwords never sent in clear)
- X25519 + ChaCha20 encryption (when using ED25519 auth)
- Full BinkP/1.1 compatibility (FTS-1026) with auto-detection
- Inline file requests (Hydra-style, within active sessions)
- FTS-5 nodelist integration (automatic IP/port lookup)
- BSO outbound scanning with point directory support
- Optional zlib compression (per-block, automatic)
- Multi-session daemon with per-node BSY locking
- Config hot-reload (edit config while Comet is running)
- Embeddable in BBS software via log/event callbacks and stream API
- Cross-platform: Linux, FreeBSD, DOS, Windows, OS/2
Quick Start
comet keygen # generate ED25519 keypair
comet showkey # print public key from config
comet # run as daemon (listen + poll)
comet call 1:213/723 # single outbound call
comet -c /path/to/comet.cfg # use alternate config file
comet -d call 1:213/723 # debug/trace mode
See COMET.SAM for an annotated sample configuration.
Platforms
| Platform | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Linux x86-64 | Production | Primary platform |
| FreeBSD x86-64 | Production | Cross-compiled from Linux |
| DOS (FreeDOS) | Production | Requires CWSDPMI + Watt-32 packet driver |
| Windows 64-bit | In progress | WinSock2, needs type compatibility fixes |
| OS/2 | Experimental | FPC OS/2 Sockets unit, untested |
Building
Requires Free Pascal Compiler (FPC) 3.2.x.
make # Linux (default)
make freebsd # FreeBSD cross-compile
make dos # DOS cross-compile
make win64 # Windows 64-bit cross-compile
Documentation
COMET.DOC— Full operator manualCOMET.SAM— Annotated sample configurationFSP-COMET.001— Wire protocol specification
Tested Against
- binkd (reference BinkP implementation)
- Radius/Argus 4.010 (CRAM-MD5 + CRYPT)
- BinkIT/sbbs 2.42 (CRAM-MD5)
Contact
- FidoNet: 1:218/720
- Email: ken@rail-city.net
License
GPL-2.0