Experimental · for LAN parties

A relay you bring to the party.

gawk-relay runs on one machine on the venue's network, so everyone there streams and watches over the LAN instead of the venue's internet line. You don't need it to broadcast or watch: the browser and the native apps work without it.

When it helps

Without itEvery stream goes up to the relay server and comes back down once per viewer, even between two people on the same switch. 30 guests, 6 streaming at 8 Mbps, each watching two: about 48 Mbps up and 480 Mbps down through the venue's line.
With itParty streams stay on the LAN. It works with or without an internet connection, and the host's network card is the limit, not the venue's line.

Two ways to run it

Standalone

Start it with no options. Its page opens at http://127.0.0.1:4480 on that machine and shows the join link and a QR code; guests on the network use those. Only people on the LAN can watch.

Paired with a gawk server

An operator of that deployment's admin portal creates the relay there and gets a one-time pairing string to paste into the relay's page. Then people outside can watch party streams (each crosses the venue's uplink once, only while someone outside watches, within a budget the operator sets), a home stream crosses the downlink once however many guests watch it, outsiders get one party-wall link, and guests who open the usual site at the venue are moved to the local relay by themselves.

Before the party

FirewallIt listens on UDP 4433. Allow it when Windows asks, and set the venue network to Private: a rule for private networks doesn't apply to a network Windows calls Public.
Browser promptChrome and Edge ask once whether a web page may reach devices on your local network. Allow it, or the stream won't connect.
CertificateSelf-signed, and the join link carries its fingerprint, so there is no warning to click through. A printed link or QR code keeps working for at least six days.
SafariUntested against the self-signed certificate. Use Chrome, Edge or the native apps.

Download

gawk-relay

Experimental

Latest release

Windows x86-64
Or as a container 
$ docker run --network host -v gawk-relay:/data ghcr.io/tuhis/gawk-relay

Host networking, so guests reach it on the machine's own LAN address. Keys, certificates and the pairing live in the volume.

The Windows and Linux binaries aren't signed, so the checksum is the only integrity check you get; each release also ships a SHA256SUMS file. The design, and what is still unmeasured, is in docs/76.