1.1 What Runner is

Runner is a secure messaging application for teams that work without internet, without servers and often over slow radio links: military units, emergency services, crisis teams and exercise staff. Every computer running Runner is a complete station. Stations find each other on the local network by themselves and talk directly to one another. There is no central server to install, maintain or lose.

Runner combines text chat, file transfer, shared files, tasks and map positions in one window, and protects all of it with end-to-end encryption and digital signatures.

1.2 Who this manual is for

• Operators use chapters 2 to 9: installing, the main window, messaging, files, tasks, the map and settings.
• Buyers, IT and security officers will find the technical and security properties in chapter 10, and the requirements below.

1.3 Key features

• Chat with everyone, with groups or with a single station; reactions, replies, pinning, mentions.
• Direct file transfer and network-wide file sharing in which every station helps to deliver (swarm).
• Tasks with priority, deadline and typed items; every recipient answers individually.
• Map with GPS, MGRS or latitude/longitude, and live positions of other stations.
• Works on a gigabit switch and on a narrow-band radio link; the bandwidth Runner uses can be limited.
• End-to-end encryption (AES-256-GCM), signatures (RSA-2048), forward secrecy, an encrypted database, a lock screen and an emergency wipe.

1.4 System requirements

2.1 Installing

Run RunnerSetup as an administrator and follow the steps. The installer places Runner in Program Files, creates the shortcuts (including one to this manual in the Start menu) and opens the two firewall ports. A minute after every start, Runner checks the firewall itself and reports any blocked port in the log, with what to do about it.

Runner keeps its data in the user’s application-data folder (%APPDATA%\Runner). Nothing is stored anywhere else and nothing leaves the local network.

2.2 Activating the licence

Drag the licence file onto the Runner main window. Runner checks it, keeps a copy and activates at once; no internet connection is needed. A licence covers the whole computer, not a single Windows user. Help > Licence shows the current licence and lets you switch to another one. The status bar shows the licensee, and the log shows how many stations the licence covers.

2.3 First start

1. Enter your display name at the top left. This is the name other stations see.
2. Choose an icon (vehicle, woods, building and so on) and your status (online, away, busy, offline).
3. Other stations on the same network appear in the Clients list within a few seconds.
4. If your organisation uses a network passphrase, enter it under Edit > Settings > Security first. Without the right passphrase you will not see the other stations.

3.1 Activity indicators

The small indicators above the message box light up while Runner is working:

3.2 Status bar

From left to right: the data port and network adapter, the number of stations online and groups, the best response time, the number of open tasks, the swarm speed while shared files are moving, and the build number and licensee.

4.1 Everyone, groups and single stations

• Everyone: type in the Everyone tab to reach every station that is online.
• One station: click a name in the Clients list to open a private conversation.
• Groups: on the Groups tab, click New group and add members. A station that is added has to accept. The buttons there (or a right-click on a group) show the members, and let you leave, rename or delete a group.

Every message shows a checkmark once it has been delivered. A message that arrives noticeably late (for example over a slow radio link) is placed at the moment it was sent and marked with a small clock; hover over it to see when it was sent and received. The threshold is set under Settings > Late messages.

4.2 Working with messages

Right-click a message to reply, copy, pin, react (Roger, Wilco, Negative, Solid Copy, Thanks), or edit or delete your own message. Mention someone with @name. Changes and deletions are applied on every station that has the message.

When a station drops off and returns, Runner offers it the messages it missed. After a short absence this happens automatically; after a longer one Runner asks first (Settings > General).

4.3 Quick commands

Type / in the message box to see all commands.

4.4 Finding and exporting

Edit > Find Messages (Ctrl+F) searches the whole history by text, sender, conversation, date, files only or pinned only. File > Export to Word saves a conversation as a document. Note: an export is not encrypted; Runner says so after exporting.

5.1 Sending a file directly

Click Send file… in a conversation and choose the file. A progress bar shows the bytes sent, and either side can cancel. Files that are already compressed (ZIP, JPG, PDF, video) are sent as they are; everything else is compressed first. The receiver finds the file in the received files folder (View > Open received files, F9).

5.2 Sharing a file on the network

Send > Share on the network offers a file to everyone, to groups or to chosen stations, up to 64 MB by default. Other stations see it under Send > Shared on the network, where they can download, stop, open, withdraw or remove it; a double-click opens or downloads a file.

Downloads use swarming: every station that already has the file, or part of it, helps to deliver it, including stations that joined later. This spreads the load and speeds up delivery on slow links. Interrupted downloads resume by themselves, and a dialog appears when a download is complete (F10 opens the folder). The status bar shows the download and upload speed and how many stations take part.

Only the station that offered a file can withdraw it; it then disappears from all stations. Received and downloaded files are ordinary files on the computer: once copied elsewhere, they are outside Runner’s protection.

6.1 Creating a task

Send > New task (or the Tasks button, then New task) opens the task form:

• Title, priority (Routine, Priority, Immediate, Flash), an optional deadline and a description.
• Extra items, each of a chosen type: text, number, choice list, yes/no, date and time, or location, picked on the map or taken from your own GPS position.
• To: everyone, or any combination of groups and single stations. Every station answers for itself.

Templates store the contents of a task for re-use (Save as template). Save draft keeps an unfinished task under Tasks > Drafts to finish and send later.

6.2 Receiving and answering a task

A task that arrives pops up at once in front of all other windows, with a sound and, when Runner is in the background, a Windows notification. Answer with one of the buttons: Received, Understood, Busy, Ready, Done or Cannot execute, optionally with a note. You can change your answer later as the work progresses. Double-click a location item to see it on the map.

6.3 The Tasks window

Send > Tasks, or the Tasks button next to the message box, lists tasks on three tabs:

• Received: your tasks and your own answer to each; the tab shows how many are still open.
• Sent: your tasks and every recipient’s latest answer, for example 2 Done, 1 Busy, 1 not delivered.
• Drafts: tasks you saved but have not sent.

A sent task cannot be changed; it can only be withdrawn. Use Copy to new to send a corrected version. Tasks wait for stations that are offline and are delivered as soon as they return.