quite.spaceThe first thing that happens on launch, and the only thing that cannot be recovered from anywhere.
What happens on first launch
The app asks for a passphrase and a name. Nothing else: no email, no phone, no confirmation. There is no registration — there is a key created on this device.
passphrase → encrypts the storage on disk
name → how others see you; can be changed at any time
identity → the key; created here and never sent anywhereThe passphrase is not sent anywhere and is not checked by a server. It decrypts the data on this disk. Get it wrong — the data will not open, and there is no one to ask for a reset.
After that you can create your own space or join by link — joining.
Identity and device are different things
Identity is you. Device is what you are using right now. One identity can have several.
The me screen (the little person in the top right corner) shows:
- fingerprint — a short string by which others recognize you;
- verification code — a phrase you can read out loud so the other person can be sure they are talking to that exact device;
- device id (under “Technical details”) — you give it to a space owner so they can invite this specific device.
Changing your name is there too, the Change name button. A name is a statement about yourself, not a verified fact; the protocol does not certify it, and the interface does not pretend it does.
The backup — the only thing that cannot be recovered any other way
The me screen, the block at the bottom.
The backup contains everything: identity, spaces, epoch keys, history. The file gets its own passphrase — it does not have to match the one that opens the app.
me → passphrase for the backup file → Save a backupRestoring is deliberately a separate action and is done from the command line: a running node holds its own folder and cannot restore into itself.
terminal restore --in FILE --data NEW-DIRLose all your devices and the backup — the identity cannot be brought back. No one can reset it: there is no one in the system who could. Make a backup on your first day.
Where the data lives
In the node’s data folder (~/.quiet-places by default, set with the
--data flag). The folder is locked to a single process: two nodes on the
same folder will not start, and that is correct — otherwise they would
overwrite each other’s keys.
Inside is encrypted storage. The passphrase opens it at startup.
The “Protocol view” screen
Settings → Appearance → Protocol view. Turns on the technical layer: event identifiers, signatures, delivery states — the things you usually do not need but that are always available.
This is part of the approach: the app does not hide what it is actually doing. If something behaves in a puzzling way, protocol view usually explains what happened.