OmniTalk WIP AIO AppleTalk Router, MacIP Gateway and AFP Server

[superpete]

I'm happy to announce an initial release of a project I've been working on for sometime.

Introducing OmniTalk. OmniTalk is a cross-platform all-in-one AppleTalk Router (EtherTalk, LToUDP and TashTalk), MacIP Gateway and AFP 2.0 Server.
v0.1 is available on the github releases. https://github.com/ObsoleteMadness/OmniTalk/releases/tag/v0.1.0.

It runs entirely in "usermode" and uses PCAP for sourcing/pushing out packets over Ethernet/Wifi.

The readme on the project documents the different configuration options.

If you're running under Windows you will need npcap installed to use LocalTalk.

I've largely been running and testing this under windows.

I've successfully tested with System 6 on vMac and a Mac Classic via TashTalk, System 7.1 and System 7.5 via Snow, vMac (LToUDP) and Cockatrice III (EtherTalk), MacOS 9.2.2 on a real iMac via Ethernet/EtherTalk.
* Windows - System 6 System 7.1, System 7.5. vMac, snow, Cockatrice III,

Untested:
* Linux and MacOS ports


I'll be upfront and say this project was "vibe-coded" and was used to evaluate different models and agents abilities.

If anyone tests this please let me know your thoughts and feedback!

Edit - add some screenshots
The default welcome volume mounted on a Mac Classic via USB attached TashTalk.


Same Mac pinging Google's DNS via MacTCP over the MacIP router via TashTalk:

 

[Durosity]

This is a very cool project and I look forward to trying it out!

That said, I’d suggest you have a look into the name, there’s a company called the Omnigroup that make mac and iOS software like Omnigraffle (which is actually a very cool package) and they may take exception to a package that uses that name.

 

[superpete]

Good point. I guess I'll wait and see if they take issue. I doubt anyone is going to this this is one of their products.

 

[cheesestraws]

I also have an existing project called omnitalk.

 

[superpete]

Ahh well I'm open to suggestions for a different name

 

[Durosity]

I also have an existing project called omnitalk.

I’d forgotten about that! I do have the memory of a goldfish though.

Ahh well I'm open to suggestions for a different name

It’d seem Omni is a rather popular name!

What about RussetTalk? BallyfattenTalk? ErisTalk?

 

[beachycove]

Pantalk might work, except that it has a lavatorial ring to it!

 

[gsteemso]

One easy possibility could be “EveryTalk”? Luckily, English has looted unsecured vocabulary from so many root languages over the centuries that we have a LOT of synonyms for “all”!

 

[mg.man]

UbiquiTalk?

 

[mg.man]

.. or UbiTalk for short?

 

[aladds]

I feel like a certain router manufacturer might take issue with Ubiqui....things

 

[superpete]

Well given its under my silly Obsolete Madness org, I was thinking ObsoleteTalk. But it is a bit boring..
HydraTalk was the other name I was leaning towards. Anyone using that?

 

[rieSha.]

It seems to use tashrouter, which is under GPL-3, so your project is also licensed under GPL-3, right?

 

[superpete]

It seems to use tashrouter, which is under GPL-3, so your project is also licensed under GPL-3, right?

Yes it's GPL3 licensed.

It doesn't use it per se. It's ported from the python code and then modified from there. I'd still consider that derivative of the original though.

 

[mikes-macs]

Does the name of this even need to be followed with "Talk"? Doesn't Talk represent a protocol? This is far more than a protocol. It's more like a comprehensive suite of several protocols in one, also able to run on more than just one platform. I can see why you went with Omni and because Omni has been taken by several other would-be products, I would suggest losing "Talk". Something like PeteSuite.

 

[superpete]

Does the name of this even need to be followed with "Talk"? Doesn't Talk represent a protocol? This is far more than a protocol. It's more like a comprehensive suite of several protocols in one, also able to run on more than just one platform. I can see why you went with Omni and because Omni has been taken by several other would-be products, I would suggest losing "Talk". Something like PeteSuite.

AppleTalk is really a collection of protocols (DDP, AARP, etc). The "Talk" suffix was a nod to the "Talk" naming convention that Apple used to use for their networking stack: "LocalTalk", "EtherTalk", "TokenTalk", "FDDITalk". Eventually, it was used on non-network related things like HyperTalk, MacinTalk/Plain, PowerTalk...

It also helped link it back to the Mac without being explicitly named something like "AppleTalk Suite". I guess similar in vein to netatalk, tashtalk, etc.

The suite idea is good, I suppose the nomenclature of the time for suites was to suffix things with "Works".

OmniWorks is a nice name, but that definitely does sound like something OmniGroup would make!

I like ClassicWorks, but TalkWorks, LocalWorks or AfpWorks would also do.

I guess given it implements basically an entire network stack, MacStack, ClassicStack etc could also be used.

 

[mikes-macs]

Now that I have put my half-witted input in on the name, I should download this and give it a try…

 

[finkmac]

I actually think “OmniSlop” is the most appropriate name for this project, specifically because it’s AI-generated.


If you look at what this system is doing—combining an AppleTalk router, MacIP gateway, AFP server, and potentially more—it’s not something that emerged from a single, clean architectural vision. It’s the result of aggregating patterns, protocols, and implementations from many different sources and eras, then synthesizing them into a single tool. That’s exactly how modern generative AI systems operate: they don’t invent from first principles, they compose from a large body of existing material.


In that context, the name breaks down in a meaningful way:

• “Omni” reflects the breadth of functionality—multiple services, multiple layers of the stack, all unified.
• “Slop” is an increasingly common shorthand for AI-generated output: something derived from a mixture of sources, not handcrafted line-by-line in the traditional sense.

Rather than being dismissive, the name is accurate and transparent about the methodology behind the project. It signals that this is a system built through synthesis—potentially fast-moving, highly capable, but also shaped by the quirks and inconsistencies of its inputs.


Compared to something like OmniTalk, which sounds polished and product-like, “OmniSlop” communicates something more honest: this is an ambitious, all-in-one tool produced through modern generative techniques, not a conventional, tightly scoped software product.


In a space like retro networking—where you’re already bridging decades-old protocols like AppleTalk and layering things like MacIP—that kind of transparency is actually valuable. It sets expectations correctly and acknowledges the unconventional way the project came together.


So taken seriously, “OmniSlop” isn’t a joke—it’s a precise description of both the scope and the process behind the project.

 

[robin-fo]

because it’s AI-generated.

Not everything AI generated is slop!

If you look at what this system is doing—combining an AppleTalk router, MacIP gateway, AFP server, and potentially more—it’s not something that emerged from a single, clean architectural vision.

A networking stack is always an implementation of existing principles and in most cases consists of multiple technologies of different eras. The same is true for for long standing projects like Netatalk, Linux etc.. Do you blame them also?

We have seen unprofessional use of AI in this forum before and there is a lot of rubbish on social media. But this project is looking decent to me. You should appreciate it!

 

[robin-fo]

For everyone who has not tried this yet, it is working (more or less). I've tried AFP over LToUDP on macOS. LToUDP needs a little fix though to allow the use of e.g. Mini vMac on the same machine.