SRIFT — Secure P2P File Transfer & MCP Server for AI Agents

Zero-config, zero-token peer-to-peer secure file transfer, encrypted chat, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for AI coding agents & developers.

Deliver any file from an AI agent sandbox (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, Continue, Zed, Codex, Cline, Roo-Code, Devin) directly to a user in one tool call. End-to-end encrypted with AES-256-GCM. No cloud storage, no account signups, no API keys.

🌐 Web Platform: https://srift.app
📦 GitHub Repository: https://github.com/srivardhan113/SRIFT-Open_Source
🤖 AI Agent Hub: https://srift.app/ai-agents

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⚡ Why SRIFT for AI Agents?

AI coding agents run in sandboxed environments. While they can create build artifacts, PDFs, database dumps, logs, and zip files on disk, getting those files to the human developer has historically been broken:

• ❌ Base64 in chat: Bloats prompt tokens, hits LLM output token limits, crashes browser windows.
• ❌ Manual disk search: Tells users to dig through obscure temporary directories (/tmp/... or ~/.cache/...).
• ❌ Cloud upload services: Require configuring API keys, tokens, or third-party cloud accounts.

The SRIFT Solution: One Command, Instant Delivery

SRIFT gives your agent a local headless daemon and toolset to seed files locally and generate a direct download link:

srift quick-share ./dist/release-bundle.zip
# ↳ https://srift.app/d/7k3m9xq

The user opens the link in any web browser or runs curl -OJ https://srift.app/d/7k3m9xq or wget --content-disposition https://srift.app/d/7k3m9xq. The recipient needs nothing installed.

Session transfers are end-to-end encrypted with AES-256-GCM, keys derived locally (PBKDF2-SHA256, 100,000 iterations) and never sent to any server.

⚠️ The sender's daemon must be alive for the link to work. SRIFT keeps no server-side copy — the daemon streams the file from your disk on demand. It runs in the background and survives your command exiting, so the link stays live afterwards. But if the daemon stops (machine sleeps or reboots, or srift daemon stop) the link returns 503 sender is offline. This is the direct trade-off for zero retention: nothing is stored, so nothing can be served once the source goes away.

Public quick-share links are designed to be opened by any browser, curl or wget — clients that hold no key and run no SRIFT code. What SRIFT guarantees for quick-share is zero retention: bytes stream from the sender straight to the open HTTP response, are never written to SRIFT storage, and are served Cache-Control: no-store. If you need the relay to be unable to read the content, use a session transfer instead of a public link.

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🚀 Installation

Global Install via npm (Node.js 20+)

npm install -g srift-transfer

Standalone Binary (Zero Node.js dependency)

• macOS / Linux / WSL / Termux (POSIX sh):

  curl -fsSL https://srift.app/install.sh | sh
  

• Windows PowerShell:

  irm https://srift.app/install.ps1 | iex
  

• Windows Command Prompt:

  powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm https://srift.app/install.ps1 | iex"
  

On-Demand via npx

npx srift-transfer quick-share ./build/output.zip

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🛠 Model Context Protocol (MCP) Setup

SRIFT ships a native Model Context Protocol server exposing 14 agent tools, resources, and prompt templates over the local stdio/HTTP transports. The hosted endpoint exposes 8 of them (see below).

Automatic One-Command Setup

Run the auto-installer to print or register config into supported IDEs:

srift install-mcp          # prints copy-paste config for all major clients
srift install-mcp --auto   # writes directly into Claude Desktop config

Manual Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "srift": {
      "command": "srift",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json or workspace configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "srift": {
      "command": "srift",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "srift": {
      "command": "srift",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Continue.dev

Add to ~/.continue/config.yaml:

mcpServers:
  - name: srift
    command: srift
    args: ["mcp"]

Zed

Add to ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "srift": {
      "command": { "path": "srift", "args": ["mcp"] }
    }
  }
}

Cloud & Browser-Based Agents (Zero-Install MCP)

For web-based agents (ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Gemini, Perplexity) that cannot run local binaries:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "srift": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://srift.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

This endpoint exposes 8 of the 14 tools — session and peer orchestration only: start_session, join_session, session_status, close_session, approve_join, reject_join, kick_user, list_transfers.

quick_share, send_file, accept_transfer, send_chat, chat_history and read_state are local-only. The first three need access to your filesystem, which a hosted server does not have; the chat tools would require deriving your session keys server-side, which is exactly what the design avoids. Install the CLI if you need those.

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🧰 MCP Tools Reference (14 Tools)

Tool	Parameters	Description
srift_quick_share	filePath (string), maxDownloads? (number), ttlMs? (number)	Primary tool. Seeds file and returns public https://srift.app/d/<token> download URL.
srift_start_session	sessionName? (string), roomSecret? (string)	Starts a new peer session with host role; returns room code & URL.
srift_join_session	sessionId (string), username? (string), roomSecret? (string)	Requests to join an existing session as a peer.
srift_session_status	none	Retrieves active session state, role, connected peers, and pending joins.
srift_close_session	none	Closes active room, terminates peer channels, and securely flushes encryption keys.
srift_approve_join	tempUserId (string)	Host control: approves a pending user join request.
srift_reject_join	tempUserId (string), reason? (string)	Host control: rejects a pending user join request.
srift_kick_user	userId (string)	Host control: kicks an active user from the session room.
srift_send_file	filePath (string), protocol? ("webtorrent" | "websocket")	Offers a file for direct peer-to-peer transfer to joined peers.
srift_accept_transfer	fileId (string), saveDir? (string)	Accepts an inbound file offer and streams it to local disk.
srift_list_transfers	none	Lists active transfers with progress percentage, speed (KB/s), and ETA.
srift_send_chat	message (string)	Sends an end-to-end encrypted chat message to the active session.
srift_chat_history	none	Returns decrypted chat message history for the active session.
srift_read_state	none	Returns atomic snapshot of .srift-state.json (transfers, session, peers).

MCP Resources & Prompts

• Resources: srift://session/status, srift://transfers/active, srift://chat/messages, srift://workspace/state, srift://docs/quickstart
• Prompts: send_file_to_user, receive_file_from_user, start_collab_session

---

💻 CLI Command Reference

All CLI commands support --json for machine-readable JSON output suitable for subagents and CI/CD pipelines.

Public File Sharing (Recipient needs nothing installed)

# Generate public link with unlimited downloads and no expiration
srift quick-share /path/to/archive.zip

# Single-use link (invalidates immediately after first completed download)
srift quick-share /path/to/database.sql --once

# Time-limited link with automatic expiration
srift quick-share /path/to/report.pdf --ttl 15m    # supports: 30s, 15m, 2h, 1d

# Download cap limit
srift quick-share /path/to/installer.exe --max-downloads 5

# Manage active links
srift pubshare list                     # list all active public links and counters
srift pubshare revoke <token>           # immediately revoke an active link

Collaborative Sessions & P2P Rooms

srift session start [--name "Project Review"]   # create session as host
srift session join <session-id>                 # join existing room
srift session status                            # view peers and role
srift session close                             # teardown room & clear keys

P2P File Transfers

srift send <file-path>                          # offer file to peers in room
srift receive <file-id> [--save-dir ./downloads] # accept incoming file transfer
srift list                                      # list active transfers
srift monitor <file-id> [--json-stream]         # live transfer progress stream

Moderation & Encrypted Chat

srift approve <user-id>                         # host: approve join request
srift reject <user-id> [--reason <msg>]         # host: reject join request
srift kick <user-id>                            # host: kick participant
srift chat send "Analysis complete."           # send encrypted message
srift chat history                              # view decrypted room history

Daemon & Diagnostics

srift daemon start                              # run daemon in foreground
srift daemon status                             # daemon status and port
srift daemon restart                            # restart daemon process
srift doctor                                    # diagnostic health check
srift logs [--tail 100]                         # inspect daemon activity logs
srift reset                                     # flush session state & keys
srift self-update                               # update to latest version

---

🌐 Headless Daemon & REST API

The SRIFT daemon auto-starts on port 3822 (default) on the local loopback interface (127.0.0.1). Any language, framework, or automation tool (Python, Go, Rust, LangChain, LlamaIndex, n8n, Zapier) can call it directly:

# Deliver file via REST API
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:3822/quick-share \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"filePath": "/abs/path/to/file.zip"}'

# Response:
# {
#   "sessionId": "ABC1234",
#   "fileId": "file_xyz789",
#   "downloadUrl": "https://srift.app/d/7k3m9xq",
#   "fileName": "file.zip",
#   "fileSize": 10485760
# }

Server-Sent Events (SSE) Stream

Subscribe to real-time events without polling:

curl -N http://127.0.0.1:3822/api/v1/monitor/events

Events emitted: connection_state, join_request, file_offer, transfer_progress, chat_received.

---

🔐 Architecture & Security

• Session Cryptography: Data in a session transfer is encrypted client-side using AES-256-GCM with a distinct 12-byte IV per block. Keys are derived locally via PBKDF2-SHA256 (100,000 iterations) from the session ID plus an optional room secret, and are never sent to the server.
• What that does not cover: a public quick-share link is fetched by browsers, curl and wget — clients that hold no key and run no SRIFT code. End-to-end encryption is impossible on that path by definition; those bytes are relayed in readable form. The guarantee there is zero retention, not zero knowledge. Use a session transfer if the relay must not be able to read the content.
• Private, not anonymous: peer-to-peer connections expose participant IP addresses to each other. SRIFT is not a substitute for Tor.
• Adaptive Transport Stack:
  1. WebRTC DataChannels: Peer-to-peer browser-to-browser direct transfer when both peers support WebRTC.
  2. WebTorrent: Swarm-assisted peer-to-peer distribution for large files.
  3. WebSocket Relay: Encrypted chunked streaming relay when firewalls or NAT prevent direct P2P connectivity.
• Zero Retention: nothing transferred is ever written to SRIFT storage. Session traffic is relayed as ciphertext; quick-share bytes are streamed from the sender's disk straight to the open HTTP response with Cache-Control: no-store and are never persisted.

---

⚙️ Configuration

Set custom configuration options via environment variables or ~/.srift/config.json:

Environment Variable	Default	Description
SRIFT_DAEMON_PORT	3822	Port for the local background daemon
SRIFT_BASE_URL	http://127.0.0.1:3822	Base URL used by SDK clients to reach daemon
SRIFT_NO_UPDATE_CHECK	0	Set to 1 to disable automatic update checks

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📚 Ecosystem & Official SDKs

First-party, zero-dependency SDKs for accessing SRIFT from any programming language:

• Node.js: sdk/node — vendor the source; the CLI package srift-transfer also exposes the same REST surface
• Python: sdk/python (CPython 3.8+, PyPy, asyncio)
• Go: sdk/go (Go 1.21+)
• Rust: sdk/rust (sync/async)
• Java: sdk/java (Java 11+)
• C# / .NET: sdk/dotnet (.NET 6+)
• Shell / Bash / PowerShell: sdk/shell

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🔗 Links & Resources

• Web Application: https://srift.app
• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/srivardhan113/SRIFT-Open_Source
• AI Agent Manual (AGENTS.md): https://srift.app/AGENTS.md
• OpenAPI Specification: https://srift.app/openapi.json
• LLM Context (llms.txt): https://srift.app/llms.txt
• Bug Tracker & Issues: https://github.com/srivardhan113/SRIFT-Open_Source/issues

Official Listings

Surface	Link
npm	srift-transfer
MCP Registry	app.srift/srift
Smithery	srift/srift
Glama (connector)	app.srift/srift
Glama (server)	SRIFT-Open_Source
GitHub	SRIFT-Open_Source

All resolve to the same product. Install srift-transfer; the command is srift.

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🛠 Development, Release & Distribution

Maintainer documentation. Condensed runbook: docs/DISTRIBUTION.md.

Repository layout

Path	Purpose
app/	Next.js 16 App Router site. SEO landing routes must stay server components
server.mjs	Production server: Express + WebSocket signaling + hosted MCP endpoint
cli/	CLI source (index.ts) and headless daemon (daemon.ts)
lib/mcp/	Shared MCP core — one tool catalogue, two backends (local daemon + in-process)
packages/cli/	The publishable npm package (srift-transfer)
tests/	172 tests, Node's built-in runner
scripts/sync-version.mjs	Single source of version propagation
server.json	MCP registry manifest

Local development

npm install                 # also installs git hooks via "prepare"
npm run dev                 # Next.js dev server
npm run dev:unified         # full server.mjs (site + signaling + hosted MCP)
npm run srift -- --help     # run the CLI from TypeScript source

The gate (identical to CI)

npx tsc --noEmit
npm run lint
npm run build               # must run BEFORE npm test — SEO tests read .next/server/app
npm test                    # 172 tests
node scripts/sync-version.mjs --check

Versioning

One version, propagated everywhere. package.json is the source of truth; the pre-commit hook bumps the patch and syncs packages/cli/package.json, server.json (plus packages[].version), cli/index.ts and cli/index.js, then runs scripts/sync-version.mjs for ~15 more files — site JSON-LD, openapi.json, agent.json, server-card.json, compat.json, changelog.json, install.sh, install.ps1, and every srift.app/dl/<version>/ URL.

git commit -m "..."                      # bumps patch, syncs everything
SKIP_VERSION_BUMP=1 git commit -m "..."  # docs-only, or npm already at this version

Use SKIP_VERSION_BUMP=1 whenever npm is already published at the current version — otherwise server.json advertises a version that isn't on npm.

---

Release 1 — npm

cd packages/cli
npm publish                 # prompts for 2FA — a human must run this

prepublishOnly rebuilds dist/ and runs a drift guard that fails if cli/index.ts's CLI_VERSION disagrees with packages/cli/package.json.

Verify:

npm view srift-transfer version
npx srift-transfer@latest --help          # proves `bin` survived
npx srift-transfer@latest install-mcp     # must print "command": "srift"

Naming

npm package:  srift-transfer     ← install / npx paths only
CLI command:  srift              ← what users and every MCP config invoke

npm i -g srift-transfer installs a binary called srift. Do not "fix" MCP configs to say srift-transfer — that breaks them.

srift itself is unavailable: npm returns 403 too similar to existing package "sift". srift-cli is blocked for the same reason (sift-cli exists). Scoped names (@scope/name) bypass the similarity filter if a rename is ever needed.

npm failures we have actually hit

Symptom	Cause	Fix
403 requires two-factor authentication	npm 2FA	A human must run npm publish. Automate only with a granular token that has bypass 2FA.
403 too similar to existing package	typosquat filter	Pick a different or scoped name
npm warn publish "bin[srift]" ... was invalid and removed	bin path had a leading ./	Use "bin": {"srift": "dist/index.js"}. npm strips it silently and ships a package with no command. CI now fails on any publish warning.
Install dies on node-datachannel / utp-native	webtorrent in dependencies	Keep it in optionalDependencies; the daemon degrades to WebSocket transfer
EBADENGINE	engines.node too high	Must not exclude Node 20/22 LTS

---

Release 2 — MCP registry

Namespace app.srift/srift, verified by a Cloudflare DNS TXT record on srift.app. Listing: https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers?search=srift

# 1. Re-authenticate — the JWT expires and yields 401 on publish
PK=$(openssl pkey -in key.pem -noout -text | grep -A3 "priv:" | tail -n +2 | tr -d ' :\n')
./mcp-publisher.exe login dns --domain srift.app --private-key "$PK"

# 2. Publish (reads ./server.json)
./mcp-publisher.exe publish

key.pem is the registry identity and mcp-publisher.exe is a 20 MB binary — both are gitignored. Losing key.pem means redoing DNS verification. The TXT record on srift.app must stay in place:

v=MCPv1; k=ed25519; p=<base64 ed25519 public key>

Registry rules that cost us time

• Versions are immutable. Re-publishing an existing version returns 400 cannot publish duplicate version. Correcting anything in a listing — repo URL, description, remotes — requires a new version.
• npm first, registry second. server.json declares packages[].identifier: srift-transfer at a specific version. Publishing the registry entry first makes it advertise a version npm doesn't have, and anyone installing from the listing gets a 404.
• Schema is 2025-12-11 and camelCase (registryType, websiteUrl, runtimeArguments, environmentVariables, isRequired). An older revision used snake_case; mixing them fails validation.
• description is capped at 100 characters.
• packages[].identifier must equal the npm package name — there is a test for this, because a mismatch makes the listing install something nonexistent.

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Release 3 — directories

Directory	Entry	Notes
Smithery	srift/srift	Largest source of MCP installs. Reads server.json. Their badge endpoint currently 500s, so the READMEs use a shields.io badge linking to the listing.
Glama	listed	Auto-indexes public repos with MCP metadata
awesome-mcp-servers	PR submitted	One alphabetical line under file-management
GitHub topics	18 set	topic:mcp-server is a real discovery path

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CI

.github/workflows/ci.yml runs on every push and PR:

• verify — tsc → lint → build → test → version-drift check
• package — builds the CLI, fails if npm publish --dry-run emits any warning, then smoke-tests the packed binary over real MCP stdio and asserts 14 tools

That second job exists because npm silently stripped the bin entry once and shipped a package with no command. Warnings are now build failures.

Deployment

Push to main → Cloud Build → Cloud Run (asia-south1), ~10 minutes.

	Value
Build VM	E2_HIGHCPU_32 (32 vCPU / 32 GB), 100 GB disk
Build heap	8192 MB (BUILD_HEAP_MB)
Cloud Run	4 GiB / 2 CPU, min 1 instance
Runtime heap	3072 MB — deliberately below the container limit so V8 GCs instead of being OOM-killed
Bun	pinned via BUN_VERSION

Every COPY source in the Dockerfile must exist — a deleted proxy.ts left in the COPY list broke every build. A test now walks them.

Production verification

curl -s https://srift.app/cli/version.json
curl -s -X POST https://srift.app/mcp -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}'

srift quick-share <absolute-path> --ttl 15m --json
curl -OJ "https://srift.app/d/<token>"