Deploy NovaZel
with Docker

What is NovaZel?

NovaZel is a protocol that runs on top of the internet you already have. Instead of trusting raw IP addresses (which can be spoofed, hijacked, or change unexpectedly), every device, server, and AI agent gets a NZID — a cryptographic identity derived from a public key:

When Alice connects to Bob, both sides prove their identity using Ed25519 signatures before a single byte of data is exchanged. There are no IP-based certificates that can be faked — the identity IS the key.

Core Concepts

How It Works

Quick Start

Single service

# 1. Start the Atlas name resolver
docker run -d --name atlas -p 8080:8080 rocheston/novazel \
  atlas --listen 0.0.0.0:8080

# 2. Create identities (stored in a named volume)
docker run --rm -v nova-ids:/root/.nova rocheston/novazel \
  nova id create alice --dev-insecure
docker run --rm -v nova-ids:/root/.nova rocheston/novazel \
  nova id create bob --dev-insecure

# 3. Start Bob's node (registers bob.novazel with Atlas)
docker run -d --name bob-node \
  -p 4433:4433/udp -p 7777:7777 \
  -v nova-ids:/root/.nova \
  --link atlas rocheston/novazel \
  node --identity bob \
       --listen-quic 0.0.0.0:4433 \
       --atlas http://atlas:8080 \
       --register bob.novazel \
       --local-api 0.0.0.0:7777

# 4. Send a message from Alice to Bob
docker run --rm -v nova-ids:/root/.nova --link atlas rocheston/novazel \
  nova send bob.novazel "hello from docker" \
    --from alice --atlas http://atlas:8080

# 5. Use zurl (like curl, for novazel://)
docker run --rm -v nova-ids:/root/.nova --link atlas rocheston/novazel \
  zurl novazel://bob.novazel "hello" --from alice --atlas http://atlas:8080

Full Stack with Docker Compose

# Download the compose file
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocheston/novazel/main/docker-compose.yml

# Start everything
docker compose up -d

# Watch logs
docker compose logs -f

# Check Atlas is resolving names
curl http://localhost:8080/resolve/bob.novazel

# Check node status
curl http://localhost:7777/local/v1/status

# Stop
docker compose down

Services & Ports

Command Reference

All commands run as: docker run rocheston/novazel <command>

Identity Management

# Create a new identity
nova id create <name> --dev-insecure

# Show an identity
nova id show <name>

# List all identities
nova id list

# Verify an identity
nova id verify <name>

Atlas — Name Resolution

# Register a name with Atlas
nova atlas register <name.novazel> \
  --identity <id-name> \
  --atlas http://atlas:8080 \
  --locator quic:0.0.0.0:4433

# Resolve a name
nova atlas resolve bob.novazel --atlas http://atlas:8080

Send Messages

# Send a message to a named identity
nova send bob.novazel "your message here" \
  --from alice \
  --atlas http://atlas:8080

# Send and wait for reply
nova send bob.novazel "ping" --from alice --atlas http://atlas:8080

NovaWeb

# Start a NovaWeb server
novaweb \
  --identity web1 \
  --name mysite.novazel \
  --atlas http://atlas:8080 \
  --listen-novazel 0.0.0.0:7443 \
  --serve /data/sites

# Fetch a page over NovaZel
nova web get novazel://mysite.novazel/index.html \
  --from alice --atlas http://atlas:8080

zurl — curl for NovaZel

# Send a message (no path = message mode)
zurl novazel://bob.novazel "hello world" --from alice

# Fetch a web page (with path = web fetch mode)
zurl novazel://site.novazel/index.html --from alice

# Verbose output (like curl -v)
zurl -v novazel://bob.novazel "test" --from alice

# Save output to file
zurl novazel://site.novazel/index.html --from alice -o page.html

# Silent mode (body only)
zurl -s novazel://bob.novazel "query" --from alice

# Custom Atlas endpoint
zurl novazel://bob.novazel "hello" --from alice --atlas http://atlas:8080

Node Operations

# Check node status
nova node status --url http://localhost:7777

# List active flows
nova node status --url http://localhost:7777

Zelen Encryption

# Seal a file (encrypt)
nova zelen seal --file secret.txt --output secret.zelen --identity alice

# Unseal a file (decrypt)
nova zelen unseal --file secret.zelen --output secret.txt --identity alice

# Inspect a zelen file
nova inspect secret.zelen

Demo — End-to-End Test

# Run the full automated demo (starts all services, tests everything)
docker run --rm rocheston/novazel demo

# Keep services running after demo
docker run --rm rocheston/novazel demo --no-cleanup

Environment Variables

Volumes

# Persist identities across container restarts
docker run -v nova-identities:/root/.nova rocheston/novazel ...

# Mount your website directory
docker run -v /my/website:/data/sites rocheston/novazel web \
  --identity web1 --name mysite.novazel --atlas http://atlas:8080 \
  --listen-novazel 0.0.0.0:7443 --serve /data/sites

Included Binaries

Architecture