openclaw-dchat

OpenClaw channel plugin for D-Chat / nMobile — decentralized end-to-end encrypted messaging over the NKN relay network.

Features

• Direct messages (DM) with NKN addresses
• Topic-based group chat (NKN pub/sub)
• Private group messaging
• Media support — images, voice messages, and file transfers
  • Images and files sent/received over IPFS with AES-128-GCM encryption
  • Voice messages via inline AAC (D-Chat Desktop & nMobile compatible)
  • Graceful fallback to URL text when IPFS upload fails
• Delivery receipts
• Multi-account support
• DM policy enforcement (pairing, allowlist, open, disabled)
• Full nMobile wire format compatibility

Installation

openclaw plugins install @zbruceli/openclaw-dchat
openclaw gateway restart

Configuration

Add the D-Chat channel after installing:

# Interactive wizard
openclaw channels add

# Non-interactive
openclaw channels add --channel dchat --access-token <64-char-hex-seed>

You'll need:

1. NKN wallet seed — a 64-character hex string. Generate one in D-Chat Desktop (Settings > 1-click bot generation), or use nkn-sdk, or reuse an existing seed.
2. DM policy — controls who can send direct messages:
   • pairing (default) — new senders must be approved via pairing code
   • allowlist — only explicitly allowed NKN addresses
   • open — accept DMs from anyone
   • disabled — no DMs

Config file

channels:
  dchat:
    enabled: true
    seed: "your-64-char-hex-wallet-seed"
    dmPolicy: pairing
    allowFrom:
      - "nkn-address-hex"

Pairing

With the default dmPolicy: pairing, new senders receive a pairing code that must be approved:

openclaw pairing list dchat
openclaw pairing approve dchat <CODE>

Channel Management

openclaw channels status          # check status
openclaw channels remove --channel dchat  # remove channel
openclaw plugins uninstall openclaw-dchat # uninstall plugin

Debugging

openclaw logs | grep -i dchat

Development

npm install    # install dependencies
npm test       # run tests
npm run test:watch  # watch mode

Local Development

Use the link workflow to avoid the publish/reinstall cycle:

openclaw plugins install -l /path/to/openclaw-dchat
openclaw gateway restart  # after code changes, just restart

Clean Reinstall

openclaw plugins uninstall openclaw-dchat
openclaw channels remove --channel dchat
openclaw plugins install @zbruceli/openclaw-dchat
openclaw gateway restart

How It Works

The plugin connects to the NKN relay network as a MultiClient node, enabling peer-to-peer messaging without centralized servers. Messages use the same wire format as D-Chat Desktop and nMobile for full interop. Media (images, files) is encrypted with AES-128-GCM and transferred via IPFS; voice messages use inline AAC encoding.

License

MIT