BINKTERMPHP

Modern Fidonet Mailer for the 21st Century

What is BinktermPHP?

BinktermPHP is a contemporary Fidonet mailer combining both a web interface and native binkp TCP/IP connectivity for FTN (Fidonet Technology Network) message handling. It bridges classic Fidonet technology with modern web frameworks, providing an accessible way to participate in FTN message networks.

Released under BSD-3-Clause license. Development assisted by Anthropic's Claude AI.

Web Interface Features
  • • Bootstrap 5 responsive design
  • • Netmail and echomail management
  • • Address book functionality
  • • Message sharing via secure web links
  • • Full-text search across messages
  • • SSH terminal access through browser
  • • Installable Progressive Web App (PWA)
Native Binkp Protocol
  • • FTS-1026 Compliant binkp/1.0 implementation
  • • Direct TCP/IP connectivity on port 24554
  • • Automated polling with cron-style scheduling
  • • Packet exchange with resume functionality
  • • Password authentication support
  • • Multiple concurrent connection management
Command-Line Tools
Message Posting

Automated netmail and echomail posting from scripts and command line.

Connection Management

Connection testing, debugging, and server daemon management (Linux/UNIX).

Maintenance

Real-time status monitoring, weather reports for echomail, and message purging.

System Requirements
  • • PHP: 8.0+ with PDO, PostgreSQL, Sockets, JSON, DOM
  • • Web Server: Apache, Nginx, or PHP built-in
  • • Database: PostgreSQL
  • • Package Manager: Composer
  • • OS: Windows, Linux, or macOS
Installation Steps
  1. 1. Clone repository via Git
  2. 2. Run composer install
  3. 3. Set up PostgreSQL database
  4. 4. Configure web server
  5. 5. Execute php scripts/install.php
Configuration
.env File
  • • PostgreSQL database credentials
  • • SMTP settings for email
  • • Web terminal parameters
  • • System-wide environment variables
config/binkp.json
  • • System name, address, sysop information
  • • Binkp port and connection parameters
  • • Uplink definitions with polling schedules
  • • Inbound/outbound packet directories
Web Terminal

When enabled, the terminal provides browser-based SSH access. Requires:

  • • TERMINAL_ENABLED setting
  • • SSH server hostname and port
  • • WebSocket proxy server (e.g., Terminal Gateway)
  • • Optional custom welcome messages

Terminal access is limited to authenticated web users and disabled by default.

Security Notes
  • • Terminal access limited to authenticated users
  • • Terminal disabled by default
  • • SSH authentication separate from web auth
  • • Proper proxy server isolation recommended
  • • Network-level protections advised
Get BinktermPHP

BinktermPHP is open source and available on GitHub.

View on GitHub See it in Action (myPoint)