Chapter 4 — Groups¶
Groups let one message reach several people at once, with per-member delivery visibility. Stolo groups are fan-out groups: your device sends an individually encrypted copy to each member, so group messages get the same end-to-end encryption guarantees as direct messages.
4.1 Creating a group¶
From Messages → New message → New group:
- Enter a group name (e.g. "Site Alpha Crew").
- Select members from the list of discovered peers. Each row shows the peer's online status and vendor badge.
- Tap Create Group.
The creator becomes the group owner. Members hold the role member.
Validation: a name and at least one member are required.
Group invitations are authorized cryptographically — a device will reject a forged invitation that claims a different owner or that doesn't actually list the recipient as a member.
4.2 The group chat¶
The group header shows the group name and live coverage: "N members · M reachable now", with a coverage meter (green when everyone is reachable, amber when only some are, searching when none are).
Two header actions:
- Members — lists all members with their role (OWNER highlighted). The owner additionally sees a Remove action on each member.
- Leave group — confirms with "You won't receive any more messages from this group." before leaving.
4.3 Group delivery visibility¶
Under each outgoing group message a compact indicator shows "Delivered to X of Y" (amber until everyone has it, then green). Tapping it opens the live Delivery sheet, listing each member with their individual status:
| Status shown | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Delivered · direct | Delivered over a direct link. |
| Delivered · via relay | Delivered through the mesh. |
| Waiting · held on mesh | Not yet delivered; the message is held and will deliver when a path returns. |
| Not delivered | Delivery to this member failed. |
| Unreachable | The member could not be reached within the delivery window (12 minutes per attempt). |
If members are out of range, a reassurance card summarizes it: "N members are out of range right now. Your message is held safely and delivers the moment a path returns."
When an unreachable member's device comes back on the air, pending group messages are automatically retried toward them.
4.4 Differences from 1:1 conversations¶
| Feature | 1:1 | Groups |
|---|---|---|
| Text messages | ✔ | ✔ |
| Delivery modes (Standard/Priority/Critical) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Per-recipient delivery status | Delivery track | Per-member delivery sheet |
| Reactions | ✔ | — |
| Photo / file attachments | ✔ | — |
| Voice notes | ✔ | — |
4.5 Group management notes for administrators¶
- Ownership — the owner manages membership (remove members); ownership does not transfer automatically.
- Leaving — a member's leave is constrained to the sender: a device will not accept a forged "leave" that tries to evict someone else.
- History — leaving a group marks it inactive locally; its history remains on the device until the conversation is deleted.