Conflict Globe

A real-time 3D OSINT visualization platform for global conflict and geopolitical events

Demo · Quick Start · Architecture · Contributing

Overview

Conflict Globe is an open-source intelligence (OSINT) platform that aggregates and visualizes global conflict, maritime, air, cyber, and geopolitical events in real time on an interactive 3D globe. Built for analysts, researchers, and journalists who need a high-signal, low-latency view of world events.

Demo: ▶ Watch on YouTube

Discord: Join the community

Features

Real-Time Data Pipeline

• Live OSINT feed aggregation from multiple independent sources
• WebSocket (Socket.io) push updates — no client polling required
• Configurable auto-refresh intervals per source

Visualization Layers

| Layer | Description | |---|---| | Points | Individual event markers with per-category color coding | | HexBins | Hexagonal spatial clustering for density analysis | | Heatmap | Continuous density surface from event distribution | | Rings | Animated pulse rings at active event locations | | Arcs | Directional connections between correlated events | | Paths | Movement and trajectory tracking | | Polygons | Regional boundary and aggregation overlays |

Globe Controls

• Dark / Light themes
• Atmospheric glow, cloud layer, and bump-mapped terrain
• Lat/long graticule grid overlay
• Auto-rotation with drag-to-pause
• Client-side point clustering for smooth performance at scale

Interaction & Filtering

• Click any marker for a full event detail panel
• Hover tooltips for at-a-glance previews
• Timeline slider for temporal filtering
• Category filter toggles
• Full-text search across all loaded events
• Export to JSON, GeoJSON, or CSV

Event Categories

Conflict · Maritime · Air · Cyber · Land · Space · Radio · Weather · Earthquakes · Social Media

Quick Start

Docker (Recommended)

Requires Docker and Docker Compose.

git clone https://github.com/r13xr13/conflict-globe.gl.git
cd conflict-globe.gl

docker compose up -d

open http://localhost:8080

Local Development

Requires Node.js ≥ 18.

git clone https://github.com/r13xr13/conflict-globe.gl.git
cd conflict-globe.gl

# Install dependencies
cd client-3d && npm install
cd ../server && npm install

# Terminal 1 — Backend
cd server && npm run dev

# Terminal 2 — Frontend
cd client-3d && npm run dev

Configuration

Create a .env file in the server/ directory. All API keys are optional — many data feeds work without authentication.

# API Keys (optional)
NEWS_API_KEY=your_key_here
GDELT_KEY=your_key_here

# Server
PORT=8080
NODE_ENV=development

Data Sources

| Source | Domain | |---|---| | GDELT Project | Global events & media | | UCDP Armed Conflict | Conflict datasets | | MarineTraffic | Maritime vessel tracking | | ADS-B Exchange | Live aircraft positions | | Satellite tracking feeds | Space domain awareness | | RSS news aggregation | Open-source media feeds |

Architecture

conflict-globe.gl/
├── client-3d/          # React + Vite frontend (TypeScript)
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── App.tsx     # Root globe component & state
│   └── package.json
├── server/             # Express + TypeScript backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── index.ts    # Entry point & Socket.io setup
│   │   ├── routes/     # REST API endpoints
│   │   └── services/   # Per-source OSINT data fetchers
│   └── package.json
├── globe.gl/           # Vendored custom globe.gl build
├── Dockerfile
└── docker-compose.yml

Data flow: OSINT sources → Express REST & Socket.io → React client → globe.gl WebGL renderer

Tech Stack

| Layer | Technologies | |---|---| | Frontend | React, Vite, react-globe.gl, Three.js, TypeScript | | Backend | Node.js, Express, TypeScript, Socket.io | | Data | Axios, RSS parsers, REST OSINT APIs | | Infrastructure | Docker, Docker Compose |

Performance

• Client-side point clustering keeps render time stable at large event volumes
• Configurable max point count (50–500) to match hardware capability
• Auto-refresh throttling prevents API rate-limit exhaustion
• Memoized data processing avoids redundant React renders
• Code-split lazy loading reduces initial bundle size

Keyboard Shortcuts

| Key | Action | |---|---| | R | Force data refresh | | F | Toggle sidebar | | H | Toggle dark / light theme |

Deployment

Railway (Cloud — Recommended)

1. Connect your GitHub repo to Railway
2. Railway auto-detects the Dockerfile — no extra config needed
3. Add environment variables in the Railway dashboard
4. Every push to main triggers an automatic redeploy

PORT=8080
NODE_ENV=production

Self-Hosted

docker compose up -d

Contributing

Contributions are welcome — please read CONTRIBUTING.md first.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature
3. Commit your changes
4. Open a pull request against main

License

Distributed under the MIT License.

Acknowledgements

• globe.gl — WebGL globe rendering by Vasco Asturiano
• three-globe — Three.js globe plugin
• GDELT Project — Primary open-source event data provider