Talos Server

The Talos relay synchronizes encrypted sessions, devices, messages, and attachments. It supports embedded PGlite with local file storage, or operator-configured PostgreSQL, Redis, and S3-compatible storage.

Installation

npm install -g talosapp @ahmadposten/talos-server
talos server

The @ahmadposten/talos-server package includes the local relay and web app. The talosapp package supplies the talos command.

Local development

Build the CLI and start an isolated relay from the monorepo root:

pnpm --filter talosapp build
TALOS_HOME_DIR="$PWD/.talos-local" node packages/talos-cli/bin/talos.mjs server --no-persist

The CLI persists a master secret with the relay data. Keep that secret with your backups; replacing it can make server-encrypted data and existing authentication tokens unusable.

pnpm --filter @ahmadposten/talos-server build needs Bun on PATH to bundle the Node.js runtime. pnpm --filter @ahmadposten/talos-server bundle:webapp adds the Expo web export to this package. pnpm verify:packaged checks the actual installed tarballs, database, and bundled web page.

Configuration

| Setting | Purpose | | --- | --- | | TALOS_MASTER_SECRET | Persistent master secret for server authentication and encryption | | HOST / PORT | Listener address and port; local default is port 3005 | | DATA_DIR / PGLITE_DIR | Embedded database and file storage directories | | DATABASE_URL | External PostgreSQL connection | | REDIS_URL | Optional shared event transport | | S3_HOST, S3_ACCESS_KEY, S3_SECRET_KEY, S3_BUCKET, S3_PUBLIC_URL | Optional object storage | | TALOS_WEBAPP_URL | Web origin used for OAuth redirects | | TALOS_STATIC_DIR | Optional web export directory to serve |

The old master-secret environment name remains a compatibility fallback. Always use the Talos name for a new deployment. Never generate a new secret on each restart of an existing data directory.

Distribution and integration tests

The repository's Dockerfile builds a standalone relay image; Dockerfile.server builds the service used with external storage. See production deployment templates and the Talos release requirements for operator configuration. The npm distribution is @ahmadposten/talos-server.

The minikube integration harness uses the separate talos-integration namespace and a locally built image. Its destructive stress scenarios are for that test environment. Production deployment templates live at the repository root under deploy/server.

MIT license.