A simple encrypted channel for file transfer. A great way to send a file to a stranger who is near you but shares nothing with you, e.g. at a conference.
/* A modern version should, of course, work in a browser, so that there'd be no Python packages to install. But the browser security model does not allow listening, so a signaling server would be needed to create a WebRTC connection. It could run on one of the devices involved, but still can't be a pure web app. */
> A modern version should, of course, work in a browser, so that there'd be no Python packages to install
Now, only uv needs to be installed (two self-contained binaries). Then you can do `uvx magic-wormhole --help` and it will quickly create a transient environment with the required packages. You don't even need to install Python (uv will do a transient install of Python as well).
There are Rust and Haskell implementations too (not quite as feature-full as the Python code yet, though) as well.
In principal WebRTC communication could be added to magic-wormhole, but that work has not been done yet. There is WebSocket support in the relay (including "cross-protocol" so one client can be WebSocket and the other TCP). This is only deployed on the Winden.app servers (tcp://relay.mw.leastauthority.com:4001 and wss://relay.mw.leastauthority.com for the relay).
You'd need to use the Winden.app relay server if you want https://winden.app users to reach your Python CLI (e.g. via "wormhole --relay-url wss://mailbox.mw.leastauthority.com/v1 send" for example)
They don't have to be near you, they can be over the internet. Relatedly, the Magic Wormhole CLI also depends on a signaling server (referred to in the documentation as the "mailbox"), so I don't think it's doing anything you couldn't do with WebRTC.
"Near you" physically only matters in coordination, not the network. I can beside someone and it will still go towers and space before we establish a connection.
/* A modern version should, of course, work in a browser, so that there'd be no Python packages to install. But the browser security model does not allow listening, so a signaling server would be needed to create a WebRTC connection. It could run on one of the devices involved, but still can't be a pure web app. */