Peer-to-peer blockchain messenger with a Windows 95 desktop interface
Live Demo · Contributing · License
Every message is a cryptographically signed transaction, mined into blocks via Proof of Work, and delivered over a WebRTC mesh network. No servers store your messages — peers relay them directly.
More screenshots
 |
 |
 |
I had a Nuxt.js course at university. I'd been writing Next.js for about two years at that point, so the standard curriculum didn't feel like a challenge. Instead of doing the bare minimum, I decided to push the limits of what you can build entirely in the browser — no backend database, no message queue, no centralized anything.
The result is a full blockchain implementation running client-side: Proof of Work mining in a Web Worker, WebRTC mesh networking between peers, ECDSA/ECDH cryptography via the native Web Crypto API, and a complete Windows 95 desktop environment as the UI. The only server is a tiny WebSocket relay (~50 lines) that helps peers find each other — after that, everything is direct.
This is a sibling project to llmshowcase, where I explored running LLM inference directly in the browser. Same idea — take something that "should" need a server and prove it doesn't.
| Blockchain | PoW mining with dynamic difficulty, fork resolution, orphan pool, deduplication |
| P2P Networking | WebRTC data channels, WebSocket signaling for peer discovery |
| Cryptography | ECDSA identity, ECDH key exchange, AES-GCM encrypted DMs, on-chain name registry |
| Win95 Desktop | Draggable/resizable windows, taskbar, start menu, desktop icons |
| Apps | Chat, Block Explorer, Network monitor, Settings, About |
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Win95 UI Components │
│ (18 components: windows, taskbar, etc) │
├─────────┬──────────┬─────────┬──────────┤
│ Chat │ Explorer │ Network │ Settings │
├─────────┴──────────┴─────────┴──────────┤
│ Composables │
│ useNodeStateMachine (orchestrator) │
│ useWebRTC · useSignaling · useMining │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Pinia Stores │
│ blockchain · chat · identity · peers │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Core lib/ │
│ blockchain · crypto · sync · protocol │
│ fork-resolution · orphan-pool │
│ deduplication · name-registry │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Framework | Nuxt 4 + Vue 3 + TypeScript |
| State | Pinia with persisted state |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS 4 |
| Mining | Web Workers (off-thread PoW) |
| Networking | WebRTC mesh + WebSocket signaling |
| Cryptography | Web Crypto API (zero external deps) |
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run dev:allApp runs at http://localhost:3000, signaling server at ws://localhost:3001.
Open in two browser tabs to see P2P messaging in action.
Requirements: Node.js 22+ · Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari 15+
Can't connect to peers? Stale identity data can prevent WebRTC handshakes. Fix: Settings > Danger Zone > Reset Identity, then reload.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
npm run dev:all |
Dev server + signaling server |
npm run build |
Production build |
npm test |
Run 135 unit tests |
npm run lint |
Lint with @antfu/eslint-config |
app/
lib/ # Core: blockchain, crypto, sync, protocol, fork resolution
composables/ # Orchestration: WebRTC, signaling, mining, state machine
stores/ # State: blockchain, chat, identity, peers, window manager
components/
win95/ # 18 Windows 95 UI components
chat/ # Chat UI (messages, channels, peers)
explorer/ # Block explorer (blocks, transactions, mempool)
network/ # Network graph + mining status
apps/ # App content panels
workers/ # Mining web worker
server.js # WebSocket signaling server (~50 lines)
| Component | Platform |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Vercel (or any Nuxt-compatible host) |
| Signaling server | Railway via Dockerfile |
Set NUXT_PUBLIC_SIGNALING_URL to point the frontend at the deployed signaling server.
MIT License · Built with Nuxt, Vue, and way too much nostalgia for Windows 95