What is Teapot?

Teapot is a personal mesh built on iroh. Its first feature is an exit node: make an HTTP request on one device and let that request leave the internet through another device's connection.

app on A → local HTTP proxy → iroh connection → exit node on B → internet
                                     ↑
                        control plane approves devices

For example, your laptop can use an approved Android phone as an exit so the destination sees the phone's mobile IP. The agent provides a local HTTP proxy at 127.0.0.1:1080; a Python client can select an exit for individual requests.

The control plane handles device approval, exit permissions, presence, and a dashboard. It does not carry proxy traffic. Peers use a direct iroh path when possible, or an iroh relay when needed. HTTPS to your destination remains end-to-end; an exit still knows the destination host and handles the connection to it.

What it isn't

• Not an anonymity network: the exit is your device, and the destination sees its public IP.
• Not a whole-device VPN: the local HTTP proxy covers clients configured to use it. macOS has an optional --system-proxy for HTTP/HTTPS apps, but it hasn't been tried on a real Mac; Android does not route all its apps through Teapot.
• Not a promise of a different public IP: devices sharing the same uplink may share the same address.

Next: connect two devices or see the architecture.