Make senderPeerID non optional

bitchat/Models/BitchatMessage.swift

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ final class BitchatMessage: Codable {
     let originalSender: String?
     let isPrivate: Bool
     let recipientNickname: String?
-    let senderPeerID: PeerID?
+    let senderPeerID: PeerID
     let mentions: [String]?  // Array of mentioned nicknames
     var deliveryStatus: DeliveryStatus? // Delivery tracking
 
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ final class BitchatMessage: Codable {
         originalSender: String? = nil,
         isPrivate: Bool = false,
         recipientNickname: String? = nil,
-        senderPeerID: PeerID? = nil,
+        senderPeerID: PeerID = .empty,
         mentions: [String]? = nil,
         deliveryStatus: DeliveryStatus? = nil
     ) {
@@ -67,6 +67,52 @@ final class BitchatMessage: Codable {
         self.mentions = mentions
         self.deliveryStatus = deliveryStatus ?? (isPrivate ? .sending : nil)
     }
+
+    required convenience init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
+        let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
+        let id = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .id)
+        let sender = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .sender)
+        let content = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .content)
+        let timestamp = try container.decode(Date.self, forKey: .timestamp)
+        let isRelay = try container.decode(Bool.self, forKey: .isRelay)
+        let originalSender = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .originalSender)
+        let isPrivate = try container.decode(Bool.self, forKey: .isPrivate)
+        let recipientNickname = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .recipientNickname)
+        let senderPeerID = try container.decodeIfPresent(PeerID.self, forKey: .senderPeerID) ?? .empty
+        let mentions = try container.decodeIfPresent([String].self, forKey: .mentions)
+        let deliveryStatus = try container.decodeIfPresent(DeliveryStatus.self, forKey: .deliveryStatus)
+
+        self.init(
+            id: id,
+            sender: sender,
+            content: content,
+            timestamp: timestamp,
+            isRelay: isRelay,
+            originalSender: originalSender,
+            isPrivate: isPrivate,
+            recipientNickname: recipientNickname,
+            senderPeerID: senderPeerID,
+            mentions: mentions,
+            deliveryStatus: deliveryStatus
+        )
+    }
+
+    func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
+        var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
+        try container.encode(id, forKey: .id)
+        try container.encode(sender, forKey: .sender)
+        try container.encode(content, forKey: .content)
+        try container.encode(timestamp, forKey: .timestamp)
+        try container.encode(isRelay, forKey: .isRelay)
+        try container.encodeIfPresent(originalSender, forKey: .originalSender)
+        try container.encode(isPrivate, forKey: .isPrivate)
+        try container.encodeIfPresent(recipientNickname, forKey: .recipientNickname)
+        if !senderPeerID.isEmpty {
+            try container.encode(senderPeerID, forKey: .senderPeerID)
+        }
+        try container.encodeIfPresent(mentions, forKey: .mentions)
+        try container.encodeIfPresent(deliveryStatus, forKey: .deliveryStatus)
+    }
 }
 
 // MARK: - Equatable Conformance
@@ -113,7 +159,7 @@ extension BitchatMessage {
         if isPrivate { flags |= 0x02 }
         if originalSender != nil { flags |= 0x04 }
         if recipientNickname != nil { flags |= 0x08 }
-        if senderPeerID != nil { flags |= 0x10 }
+        if !senderPeerID.isEmpty { flags |= 0x10 }
         if mentions != nil && !mentions!.isEmpty { flags |= 0x20 }
 
         data.append(flags)
@@ -163,7 +209,7 @@ extension BitchatMessage {
             data.append(recipData.prefix(255))
         }
 
-        if let peerData = senderPeerID?.id.data(using: .utf8) {
+        if !senderPeerID.isEmpty, let peerData = senderPeerID.id.data(using: .utf8) {
             data.append(UInt8(min(peerData.count, 255)))
             data.append(peerData.prefix(255))
         }
@@ -276,11 +322,11 @@ extension BitchatMessage {
             }
         }
 
-        var senderPeerID: PeerID?
+        var senderPeerID: PeerID = .empty
         if hasSenderPeerID && offset < dataCopy.count {
             let length = Int(dataCopy[offset]); offset += 1
             if offset + length <= dataCopy.count {
-                senderPeerID = PeerID(data: dataCopy[offset..<offset+length])
+                senderPeerID = PeerID(data: dataCopy[offset..<offset+length]) ?? .empty
                 offset += length
             }
         }
@@ -323,16 +369,20 @@ extension BitchatMessage {
 // MARK: - Helpers
 
 extension BitchatMessage {
-    
+
     private static let timestampFormatter: DateFormatter = {
         let formatter = DateFormatter()
         formatter.dateFormat = "HH:mm:ss"
         return formatter
     }()
-    
+
     var formattedTimestamp: String {
         Self.timestampFormatter.string(from: timestamp)
     }
+
+    var hasSenderPeerID: Bool {
+        !senderPeerID.isEmpty
+    }
 }
 
 extension Array where Element == BitchatMessage {

bitchat/Models/PeerID.swift

@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ struct PeerID: Equatable, Hashable {
         self.prefix = prefix
         self.bare = String(bare)
     }
+
+    /// Represents the absence of a known peer identifier.
+    static let empty = PeerID(str: "")
 }
 
 // MARK: - Convenience Inits

bitchat/Services/PrivateChatManager.swift

@@ -95,10 +95,11 @@ final class PrivateChatManager: ObservableObject {
     // MARK: - Private Methods
 
     private func sendReadReceipt(for message: BitchatMessage) {
-        guard !sentReadReceipts.contains(message.id),
-              let senderPeerID = message.senderPeerID else {
+        guard !sentReadReceipts.contains(message.id), message.hasSenderPeerID else {
             return
         }
+
+        let senderPeerID = message.senderPeerID
 
         sentReadReceipts.insert(message.id)
 

bitchat/ViewModels/ChatViewModel.swift

@@ -154,7 +154,8 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
 
     @MainActor
     private func normalizedSenderKey(for message: BitchatMessage) -> String {
-        if let spid = message.senderPeerID {
+        if message.hasSenderPeerID {
+            let spid = message.senderPeerID
             if spid.isGeoChat || spid.isGeoDM {
                 let full = (nostrKeyMapping[spid] ?? spid.bare).lowercased()
                 return "nostr:" + full
@@ -1998,8 +1999,11 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
         if let gh = currentGeohash {
             if var arr = geoTimelines[gh] {
                 arr.removeAll { msg in
-                    if let spid = msg.senderPeerID, spid.isGeoDM || spid.isGeoChat {
-                        if let full = nostrKeyMapping[spid]?.lowercased() { return full == hex }
+                    if msg.hasSenderPeerID {
+                        let spid = msg.senderPeerID
+                        if spid.isGeoDM || spid.isGeoChat {
+                            if let full = nostrKeyMapping[spid]?.lowercased() { return full == hex }
+                        }
                     }
                     return false
                 }
@@ -2009,8 +2013,11 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
             switch activeChannel {
             case .location:
                 messages.removeAll { msg in
-                    if let spid = msg.senderPeerID , spid.isGeoDM || spid.isGeoChat {
-                        if let full = nostrKeyMapping[spid]?.lowercased() { return full == hex }
+                    if msg.hasSenderPeerID {
+                        let spid = msg.senderPeerID
+                        if spid.isGeoDM || spid.isGeoChat {
+                            if let full = nostrKeyMapping[spid]?.lowercased() { return full == hex }
+                        }
                     }
                     return false
                 }
@@ -3058,9 +3065,9 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
 
         // Store the Nostr pubkey if provided (for messages from unknown senders)
         if let nostrPubkey = notification.userInfo?["nostrPubkey"] as? String,
-           let senderPeerID = message.senderPeerID {
+           message.hasSenderPeerID {
             // Store mapping for read receipts
-            nostrKeyMapping[senderPeerID] = nostrPubkey
+            nostrKeyMapping[message.senderPeerID] = nostrPubkey
         }
 
         // Process the Nostr message through the same flow as Bluetooth messages
@@ -3199,7 +3206,7 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
                 originalSender: nil,
                 isPrivate: false,
                 recipientNickname: nil,
-                senderPeerID: nil,
+                senderPeerID: .empty,
                 mentions: nil
             )
 
@@ -3437,7 +3444,8 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
             for message in messagesToAck {
                 // Only send read ACKs for messages from the peer (not our own)
                 // Check both the ephemeral peer ID and stable Noise key as sender
-                if (message.senderPeerID == peerID || message.senderPeerID == noiseKeyHex) && !message.isRelay {
+                let matchesNoiseKey = noiseKeyHex.map { message.senderPeerID == $0 } ?? false
+                if (message.senderPeerID == peerID || matchesNoiseKey) && !message.isRelay {
                     // Skip if we already sent an ACK for this message
                     if !sentReadReceipts.contains(message.id) {
                         // Use stable Noise key hex if available; else fall back to peerID
@@ -3709,7 +3717,8 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
     func formatMessageAsText(_ message: BitchatMessage, colorScheme: ColorScheme) -> AttributedString {
         // Determine if this message was sent by self (mesh, geo, or DM)
         let isSelf: Bool = {
-            if let spid = message.senderPeerID {
+            if message.hasSenderPeerID {
+                let spid = message.senderPeerID
                 // In geohash channels, compare against our per-geohash nostr short ID
                 if case .location(let ch) = activeChannel, spid.isGeoChat {
                     let myGeo: NostrIdentity? = {
@@ -3755,7 +3764,8 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
             let fontWeight: Font.Weight = isSelf ? .bold : .medium
             senderStyle.font = .bitchatSystem(size: 14, weight: fontWeight, design: .monospaced)
             // Make sender clickable: encode senderPeerID into a custom URL
-            if let spid = message.senderPeerID, let url = URL(string: "bitchat://user/\(spid.toPercentEncoded())") {
+            if message.hasSenderPeerID,
+               let url = URL(string: "bitchat://user/\(message.senderPeerID.toPercentEncoded())") {
                 senderStyle.link = url
             }
 
@@ -4053,7 +4063,8 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
     @MainActor
     func formatMessageHeader(_ message: BitchatMessage, colorScheme: ColorScheme) -> AttributedString {
         let isSelf: Bool = {
-            if let spid = message.senderPeerID {
+            if message.hasSenderPeerID {
+                let spid = message.senderPeerID
                 if case .location(let ch) = activeChannel, spid.id.hasPrefix("nostr:") {
                     if let myGeo = try? idBridge.deriveIdentity(forGeohash: ch.geohash) {
                         return spid == "nostr:\(myGeo.publicKeyHex.prefix(TransportConfig.nostrShortKeyDisplayLength))"
@@ -4081,8 +4092,8 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
         var senderStyle = AttributeContainer()
         senderStyle.foregroundColor = baseColor
         senderStyle.font = .bitchatSystem(size: 14, weight: isSelf ? .bold : .medium, design: .monospaced)
-        if let spid = message.senderPeerID,
-           let url = URL(string: "bitchat://user/\(spid.id.addingPercentEncoding(withAllowedCharacters: .urlPathAllowed) ?? spid.id)") {
+        if message.hasSenderPeerID,
+           let url = URL(string: "bitchat://user/\(message.senderPeerID.id.addingPercentEncoding(withAllowedCharacters: .urlPathAllowed) ?? message.senderPeerID.id)") {
             senderStyle.link = url
         }
 
@@ -4333,7 +4344,8 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
 
     @MainActor
     private func peerColor(for message: BitchatMessage, isDark: Bool) -> Color {
-        if let spid = message.senderPeerID {
+        if message.hasSenderPeerID {
+            let spid = message.senderPeerID
             if spid.isGeoChat || spid.isGeoDM {
                 let full = nostrKeyMapping[spid]?.lowercased() ?? spid.bare.lowercased()
                 return getNostrPaletteColor(for: full, isDark: isDark)
@@ -5977,16 +5989,20 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
     /// Check if a message should be blocked based on sender
     @MainActor
     private func isMessageBlocked(_ message: BitchatMessage) -> Bool {
-        if let peerID = message.senderPeerID ?? getPeerIDForNickname(message.sender) {
-            // Check mesh/known peers first
-            if isPeerBlocked(peerID) { return true }
-            // Check geohash (Nostr) blocks using mapping to full pubkey
-            if peerID.isGeoChat || peerID.isGeoDM {
-                if let full = nostrKeyMapping[peerID]?.lowercased() {
-                    if identityManager.isNostrBlocked(pubkeyHexLowercased: full) { return true }
-                }
+        var peerID = message.senderPeerID
+        if peerID.isEmpty, let resolved = getPeerIDForNickname(message.sender) {
+            peerID = resolved
+        }
+
+        guard !peerID.isEmpty else { return false }
+
+        // Check mesh/known peers first
+        if isPeerBlocked(peerID) { return true }
+        // Check geohash (Nostr) blocks using mapping to full pubkey
+        if peerID.isGeoChat || peerID.isGeoDM {
+            if let full = nostrKeyMapping[peerID]?.lowercased() {
+                if identityManager.isNostrBlocked(pubkeyHexLowercased: full) { return true }
             }
-            return false
         }
         return false
     }
@@ -6125,12 +6141,17 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
     @MainActor
     private func handlePrivateMessage(_ message: BitchatMessage) {
         SecureLogger.debug("📥 handlePrivateMessage called for message from \(message.sender)", category: .session)
-        let senderPeerID = message.senderPeerID ?? getPeerIDForNickname(message.sender)
-
-        guard let peerID = senderPeerID else { 
+        var resolvedSender = message.senderPeerID
+        if resolvedSender.isEmpty, let fallback = getPeerIDForNickname(message.sender) {
+            resolvedSender = fallback
+        }
+
+        guard !resolvedSender.isEmpty else {
             SecureLogger.warning("⚠️ Could not get peer ID for sender \(message.sender)", category: .session)
-            return 
+            return
         }
+
+        let peerID = resolvedSender
 
         // Check if this is a favorite/unfavorite notification
         if message.content.hasPrefix("[FAVORITED]") || message.content.hasPrefix("[UNFAVORITED]") {
@@ -6235,7 +6256,7 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
                     readerNickname: nickname
                 )
 
-                let recipientID = message.senderPeerID ?? peerID
+                let recipientID = message.hasSenderPeerID ? message.senderPeerID : peerID
 
                 Task { @MainActor in
                     var originalTransport: String? = nil
@@ -6267,7 +6288,7 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate {
         if isMessageBlocked(finalMessage) { return }
 
         // Classify origin: geochat if senderPeerID starts with 'nostr:', else mesh (or system)
-        let isGeo = finalMessage.senderPeerID?.isGeoChat == true
+        let isGeo = finalMessage.senderPeerID.isGeoChat
 
         // Apply per-sender and per-content rate limits (drop if exceeded)
         if finalMessage.sender != "system" {

bitchat/_PreviewHelpers/BitchatMessage+Preview.swift

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ extension BitchatMessage {
             originalSender: nil,
             isPrivate: false,
             recipientNickname: "Jane Doe",
-            senderPeerID: nil,
+            senderPeerID: .empty,
             mentions: nil,
             deliveryStatus: .sent
         )

bitchatTests/EndToEnd/PublicChatE2ETests.swift

@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ struct PublicChatE2ETests {
 
             if let message = BitchatMessage(packet.payload) {
                 // Don't relay own messages
-                guard message.senderPeerID?.id != node.peerID else { return }
+                guard message.senderPeerID != node.peerID else { return }
 
                 // Create relay message
                 let relayMessage = BitchatMessage(

bitchatTests/Mocks/MockBLEService.swift

@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ final class MockBLEService: NSObject {
                     let nextTTL = packet.ttl > 0 ? packet.ttl - 1 : 0
                     for neighbor in neighbors() {
                         // Avoid immediate echo loopback to sender if known
-                        if let sender = message.senderPeerID, sender == neighbor.peerID { continue }
+                        if message.hasSenderPeerID && message.senderPeerID == neighbor.peerID { continue }
                         var relay = packet
                         relay.ttl = nextTTL
                         neighbor.simulateIncomingPacket(relay)