Transports¶

Mycel uses multiple transports to deliver messages. All transports feed into a unified routing system.

Nearby (Primary)¶

Google Nearby Connections API - The main transport for local mesh communication.

How It Works¶

Uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for discovery
Uses Wi-Fi Direct or BLE L2CAP for data transfer
Automatically switches between radio types for optimal speed

Characteristics¶

Property	Value
Range	~100m (varies by environment)
Speed	Up to 1 Mbps
Latency	Low (direct connection)
Internet required	No

Discovery¶

Mycel continuously:

Advertises - Announces presence to nearby devices
Discovers - Scans for other Mycel devices
Connects - Establishes connections when devices meet
Exchanges - Syncs messages bidirectionally

Nostr (Internet Relay)¶

Nostr protocol - Optional internet-based relay for faster delivery when available.

How It Works¶

Connects to public Nostr relays
Messages wrapped as Nostr events
Recipient's device polls relays for messages

Characteristics¶

Property	Value
Range	Global (internet)
Speed	Fast when online
Latency	Seconds
Internet required	Yes

When Used¶

Nostr is used when:

Internet is available
Direct Nearby path hasn't succeeded
Faster delivery is preferred

Privacy Consideration¶

Nostr relays can see encrypted message metadata (not content). Messages remain end-to-end encrypted.

Transport Selection¶

Mycel's routing layer decides which transport(s) to use:

flowchart TD
    A[New Message] --> B{Nearby peer connected?}
    B -->|Yes| C[Send via Nearby]
    B -->|No| D{Internet available?}
    D -->|Yes| E[Send via Nostr]
    D -->|No| F[Queue for later]
    C --> G[Wait for ACK]
    E --> G

Multi-Path Delivery¶

Messages can be sent via multiple transports simultaneously:

First successful delivery "wins"
Duplicates are automatically filtered
ACK from any path confirms delivery

Future Transports¶

Planned additions:

LoRa - Long-range radio (km range)
Amateur Radio - For licensed operators
Custom radios - Extensible transport layer

Comparison¶

Transport	Range	Speed	Offline	Privacy
Nearby	~100m	Fast	Yes	High
Nostr	Global	Fast	No	Medium
LoRa (future)	~10km	Slow	Yes	High