Refactor/repo hardening 01 (#462)

* BinaryProtocol: add optional padding control; BitchatPacket API for padded/unpadded bytes; BLEService: use unpadded encoding and remove ad-hoc unpadding on BLE writes

* BLEService: balance BLE padding — pad Noise handshake/encrypted frames; leave public/announce/leave unpadded; keep fragmentation consistent with chosen padding

* BLEService: replace Timer with DispatchSourceTimer on bleQueue; NostrTransport: cache placeholder NoiseEncryptionService to avoid reallocation

* Unify peerID validation: InputValidator handles 16-hex, 64-hex, or alnum-/_; NoiseSecurityValidator now delegates to InputValidator

* UI: use standard green for geohash toolbar badge and count (less bright in light mode)

* UI: standardize geohash sheet green to app standard (dark: system green, light: darker green) for buttons and checkmark

* Docs: align BinaryProtocol compression docs to zlib; Logs: reduce NostrTransport DELIVERED ack logs to debug to cut noise

* Tests: add InputValidator peerID coverage and BinaryProtocol padding round-trip/length tests

* Project: ensure Xcode project reflects new tests (references added)

---------

Co-authored-by: jack <jackjackbits@users.noreply.github.com>

bitchat.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj

@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@
 		047502902E5417660083520F /* LocationChannelsSheet.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 0475028E2E5417660083520F /* LocationChannelsSheet.swift */; };
 		047502922E547ACC0083520F /* LocationChannelsTests.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 047502912E547ACC0083520F /* LocationChannelsTests.swift */; };
 		047502932E547ACC0083520F /* LocationChannelsTests.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 047502912E547ACC0083520F /* LocationChannelsTests.swift */; };
+		047502AC2E55E8360083520F /* BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 047502AB2E55E8360083520F /* BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift */; };
+		047502AD2E55E8360083520F /* BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 047502AB2E55E8360083520F /* BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift */; };
+		047502B02E55E8450083520F /* InputValidatorTests.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 047502AE2E55E8450083520F /* InputValidatorTests.swift */; };
+		047502B12E55E8450083520F /* InputValidatorTests.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 047502AE2E55E8450083520F /* InputValidatorTests.swift */; };
 		049BD3902E4EC4F0001A566B /* PrivateChatManager.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 049BD38F2E4EC4F0001A566B /* PrivateChatManager.swift */; };
 		049BD3912E4EC4F0001A566B /* AutocompleteService.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 049BD38C2E4EC4F0001A566B /* AutocompleteService.swift */; };
 		049BD3922E4EC4F0001A566B /* CommandProcessor.swift in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 049BD38D2E4EC4F0001A566B /* CommandProcessor.swift */; };
@@ -174,6 +178,8 @@
 		0475028B2E54171C0083520F /* LocationChannelManager.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = LocationChannelManager.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		0475028E2E5417660083520F /* LocationChannelsSheet.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = LocationChannelsSheet.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		047502912E547ACC0083520F /* LocationChannelsTests.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = LocationChannelsTests.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
+		047502AB2E55E8360083520F /* BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
+		047502AE2E55E8450083520F /* InputValidatorTests.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = InputValidatorTests.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		049BD38C2E4EC4F0001A566B /* AutocompleteService.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = AutocompleteService.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		049BD38D2E4EC4F0001A566B /* CommandProcessor.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = CommandProcessor.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		049BD38F2E4EC4F0001A566B /* PrivateChatManager.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = PrivateChatManager.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
@@ -197,7 +203,7 @@
 		3448F84BF86A42A3CC4A9379 /* NotificationService.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = NotificationService.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		3668EEBB42FD4A24D5D83B7B /* bitchatShareExtension.entitlements */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = text.plist.entitlements; path = bitchatShareExtension.entitlements; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		394E8A1AC76EFAE352075BE9 /* NoiseEncryptionService.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = NoiseEncryptionService.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
-		3A556661F74B7D5AE2F0521B /* Info.plist */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = text.plist; path = Info.plist; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
+		3A556661F74B7D5AE2F0521B /* Info.plist */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = text.plist.xml; path = Info.plist; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		3A69677D382F1C3D5ED03F7D /* Assets.xcassets */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = folder.assetcatalog; path = Assets.xcassets; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		419BFFF209EBA93F410E9E9F /* FavoritesPersistenceService.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = FavoritesPersistenceService.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
 		43613045E63D21D429396805 /* NoiseProtocol.swift */ = {isa = PBXFileReference; lastKnownFileType = sourcecode.swift; path = NoiseProtocol.swift; sourceTree = "<group>"; };
@@ -267,6 +273,14 @@
 			path = Fragmentation;
 			sourceTree = "<group>";
 		};
+		047502AF2E55E8450083520F /* Utils */ = {
+			isa = PBXGroup;
+			children = (
+				047502AE2E55E8450083520F /* InputValidatorTests.swift */,
+			);
+			path = Utils;
+			sourceTree = "<group>";
+		};
 		0575DCBD15C7C719ADDCB67E /* Models */ = {
 			isa = PBXGroup;
 			children = (
@@ -346,6 +360,7 @@
 		84933DAE9D7E5D0155BA7AEA /* Protocol */ = {
 			isa = PBXGroup;
 			children = (
+				047502AB2E55E8360083520F /* BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift */,
 				0B3CC6FA298729906109F61B /* BinaryProtocolTests.swift */,
 			);
 			path = Protocol;
@@ -443,6 +458,7 @@
 				D80E19E04513C0046D611574 /* Noise */,
 				84933DAE9D7E5D0155BA7AEA /* Protocol */,
 				204CC4C7704C7348D456E374 /* TestUtilities */,
+				047502AF2E55E8450083520F /* Utils */,
 			);
 			path = bitchatTests;
 			sourceTree = "<group>";
@@ -785,6 +801,7 @@
 				AA6E067DB034FC0FA23C28A9 /* BinaryProtocolTests.swift in Sources */,
 				047502802E53A0FC0083520F /* FragmentationTests.swift in Sources */,
 				8F282E9CCA5AE1ECC001D2E4 /* IntegrationTests.swift in Sources */,
+				047502B12E55E8450083520F /* InputValidatorTests.swift in Sources */,
 				D727EA273CB214FC32612469 /* MockBluetoothMeshService.swift in Sources */,
 				047502932E547ACC0083520F /* LocationChannelsTests.swift in Sources */,
 				6C803BF930E7E19BE6E99EAA /* MockBLEService.swift in Sources */,
@@ -794,6 +811,7 @@
 				A0A1C26EFBFDD5B8EFEEDE57 /* PublicChatE2ETests.swift in Sources */,
 				A2977428C1D9EF9944C4BFAF /* BLEServiceTests.swift in Sources */,
 				2EFCCAA297B16FA2B56747C7 /* TestConstants.swift in Sources */,
+				047502AD2E55E8360083520F /* BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift in Sources */,
 				B45AD5BF95220A0289216D32 /* TestHelpers.swift in Sources */,
 			);
 			runOnlyForDeploymentPostprocessing = 0;
@@ -805,6 +823,7 @@
 				0B6F25559A21F8C69C8357C6 /* BinaryProtocolTests.swift in Sources */,
 				047502812E53A0FC0083520F /* FragmentationTests.swift in Sources */,
 				686441ABC2AF83EE98E6ECF2 /* IntegrationTests.swift in Sources */,
+				047502B02E55E8450083520F /* InputValidatorTests.swift in Sources */,
 				8851F08D88C5B1DE7B9F55C6 /* MockBluetoothMeshService.swift in Sources */,
 				047502922E547ACC0083520F /* LocationChannelsTests.swift in Sources */,
 				3849CA6D99B2D536636DF4A6 /* MockBLEService.swift in Sources */,
@@ -814,6 +833,7 @@
 				8CE446C9364F54DF89E7A364 /* PublicChatE2ETests.swift in Sources */,
 				BE729E149C98F775D9622D9C /* BLEServiceTests.swift in Sources */,
 				8D0196EAEE56973679F6A655 /* TestConstants.swift in Sources */,
+				047502AC2E55E8360083520F /* BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift in Sources */,
 				37DDF3D09E2BAB92A5A8A9C1 /* TestHelpers.swift in Sources */,
 			);
 			runOnlyForDeploymentPostprocessing = 0;

bitchat/Noise/NoiseSecurityConsiderations.swift

@@ -53,13 +53,9 @@ struct NoiseSecurityValidator {
         return data.count <= NoiseSecurityConstants.maxHandshakeMessageSize
     }
     
-    /// Validate peer ID format
+    /// Validate peer ID format using unified validator
     static func validatePeerID(_ peerID: String) -> Bool {
-        // Peer ID should be reasonable length and contain valid characters
+        return InputValidator.validatePeerID(peerID)
-        let validCharset = CharacterSet.alphanumerics.union(CharacterSet(charactersIn: "-_"))
-        return peerID.count > 0 && 
-               peerID.count <= 64 && 
-               peerID.rangeOfCharacter(from: validCharset.inverted) == nil
     }
 }
 

bitchat/Protocols/BinaryProtocol.swift

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
 ///
 /// ## Compression Strategy
 /// - Automatic compression for payloads > 256 bytes
-/// - LZ4 algorithm for speed over ratio
+/// - zlib compression for broad compatibility on Apple platforms
 /// - Original size stored for decompression
 /// - Flag bit indicates compressed payload
 ///
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ struct BinaryProtocol {
     }
     
     // Encode BitchatPacket to binary format
-    static func encode(_ packet: BitchatPacket) -> Data? {
+    static func encode(_ packet: BitchatPacket, padding: Bool = true) -> Data? {
         var data = Data()
         
         
@@ -200,11 +200,14 @@ struct BinaryProtocol {
         
         
         // Apply padding to standard block sizes for traffic analysis resistance
+        if padding {
             let optimalSize = MessagePadding.optimalBlockSize(for: data.count)
             let paddedData = MessagePadding.pad(data, toSize: optimalSize)
-        
-        
             return paddedData
+        } else {
+            // Caller explicitly requested no padding (e.g., BLE write path)
+            return data
+        }
     }
     
     // Decode binary data to BitchatPacket

bitchat/Protocols/BitchatProtocol.swift

@@ -232,8 +232,13 @@ struct BitchatPacket: Codable {
         BinaryProtocol.encode(self)
     }
     
+    func toBinaryData(padding: Bool = true) -> Data? {
+        BinaryProtocol.encode(self, padding: padding)
+    }
+
+    // Backward-compatible helper (defaults to padded encoding)
     func toBinaryData() -> Data? {
-        BinaryProtocol.encode(self)
+        toBinaryData(padding: true)
     }
     
     /// Create binary representation for signing (without signature and TTL fields)

bitchat/Services/BLEService.swift

@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
     
     // MARK: - Maintenance Timer
     
-    private weak var maintenanceTimer: Timer?  // Single timer for all maintenance tasks
+    private var maintenanceTimer: DispatchSourceTimer?  // Single timer for all maintenance tasks
     private var maintenanceCounter = 0  // Track maintenance cycles
     
     // MARK: - Peer snapshots publisher (non-UI convenience)
@@ -206,10 +206,14 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
         centralManager = CBCentralManager(delegate: self, queue: bleQueue)
         peripheralManager = CBPeripheralManager(delegate: self, queue: bleQueue)
         
-        // Single maintenance timer for all periodic tasks
+        // Single maintenance timer for all periodic tasks (dispatch-based for determinism)
-        maintenanceTimer = Timer.scheduledTimer(withTimeInterval: 10.0, repeats: true) { [weak self] _ in
+        let timer = DispatchSource.makeTimerSource(queue: bleQueue)
+        timer.schedule(deadline: .now() + 10.0, repeating: 10.0, leeway: .seconds(1))
+        timer.setEventHandler { [weak self] in
             self?.performMaintenance()
         }
+        timer.resume()
+        maintenanceTimer = timer
         
         // Publish initial empty state
         publishFullPeerData()
@@ -224,7 +228,7 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
     // No advertising policy to set; we never include Local Name in adverts.
     
     deinit {
-        maintenanceTimer?.invalidate()
+        maintenanceTimer?.cancel()
         centralManager?.stopScan()
         peripheralManager?.stopAdvertising()
         #if os(iOS)
@@ -308,7 +312,7 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
         )
         
         // Send immediately to all connected peers
-        if let data = leavePacket.toBinaryData() {
+        if let data = leavePacket.toBinaryData(padding: false) {
             // Send to peripherals we're connected to as central
             for state in peripherals.values where state.isConnected {
                 if let characteristic = state.characteristic {
@@ -331,7 +335,7 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
         }
         
         // Stop timer
-        maintenanceTimer?.invalidate()
+        maintenanceTimer?.cancel()
         maintenanceTimer = nil
         
         centralManager?.stopScan()
@@ -718,12 +722,24 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
     // MARK: - Packet Broadcasting
     
     private func broadcastPacket(_ packet: BitchatPacket) {
-        guard let rawData = packet.toBinaryData() else {
+        // Balanced privacy: pad sensitive payloads (Noise handshake/encrypted),
+        // keep public/announce/leave unpadded to reduce airtime.
+        let padForBLE: Bool = {
+            if let t = MessageType(rawValue: packet.type) {
+                switch t {
+                case .noiseEncrypted, .noiseHandshake:
+                    return true
+                default:
+                    return false
+                }
+            }
+            return false
+        }()
+
+        guard let data = packet.toBinaryData(padding: padForBLE) else {
             SecureLogger.log("❌ Failed to convert packet to binary data", category: SecureLogger.session, level: .error)
             return
         }
-        // Avoid sending padded data over BLE to reduce truncation risk
-        let data = MessagePadding.unpad(rawData)
         
         // Only log broadcasts for non-announce packets
         // Log encrypted and relayed packets for debugging
@@ -737,7 +753,7 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
         // Check if application-level fragmentation needed for large messages
         // (CoreBluetooth only handles ATT-level fragmentation for single writes)
         if data.count > 512 && packet.type != MessageType.fragment.rawValue {
-            sendFragmentedPacket(packet)
+            sendFragmentedPacket(packet, pad: padForBLE)
             return
         }
         
@@ -832,8 +848,8 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
                 // Cannot deliver any BitChat frame via notifications on this link; skip notify
                 SecureLogger.log("⚠️ Skipping notify: central max update length (\(minAllowed)) < 21", category: SecureLogger.session, level: .debug)
             } else if data.count > minAllowed {
-                // Fragment via protocol
+                // Fragment via protocol (preserve chosen padding for BLE)
-                sendFragmentedPacket(packet)
+                sendFragmentedPacket(packet, pad: padForBLE)
                 return
             }
             let success = peripheralManager?.updateValue(data, for: characteristic, onSubscribedCentrals: nil) ?? false
@@ -886,10 +902,9 @@ final class BLEService: NSObject {
     
     // MARK: - Fragmentation (Required for messages > BLE MTU)
     
-    private func sendFragmentedPacket(_ packet: BitchatPacket) {
+    private func sendFragmentedPacket(_ packet: BitchatPacket, pad: Bool) {
-        guard let encoded = packet.toBinaryData() else { return }
+        guard let fullData = packet.toBinaryData(padding: pad) else { return }
-        // Fragment the unpadded frame; each fragment will be encoded (and padded) independently
+        // Fragment the unpadded frame; each fragment will be encoded independently
-        let fullData = MessagePadding.unpad(encoded)
         
         let fragmentID = Data((0..<8).map { _ in UInt8.random(in: 0...255) })
         let fragments = stride(from: 0, to: fullData.count, by: maxFragmentSize).map { offset in

bitchat/Services/NostrTransport.swift

@@ -37,7 +37,11 @@ final class NostrTransport: Transport {
     func getFingerprint(for peerID: String) -> String? { nil }
     func getNoiseSessionState(for peerID: String) -> LazyHandshakeState { .none }
     func triggerHandshake(with peerID: String) { /* no-op */ }
-    func getNoiseService() -> NoiseEncryptionService { NoiseEncryptionService() }
+    // Nostr does not use Noise sessions here; return a cached placeholder to avoid reallocation
+    private static var cachedNoiseService: NoiseEncryptionService = {
+        NoiseEncryptionService()
+    }()
+    func getNoiseService() -> NoiseEncryptionService { Self.cachedNoiseService }
 
     // Public broadcast not supported over Nostr here
     func sendMessage(_ content: String, mentions: [String]) { /* no-op */ }
@@ -193,7 +197,7 @@ final class NostrTransport: Transport {
             guard let recipientNpub = recipientNostrPubkey else { return }
             guard let senderIdentity = try? NostrIdentityBridge.getCurrentNostrIdentity() else { return }
             SecureLogger.log("NostrTransport: preparing DELIVERED ack for id=\(messageID.prefix(8))… to \(recipientNpub.prefix(16))…",
-                            category: SecureLogger.session, level: .info)
+                            category: SecureLogger.session, level: .debug)
             let recipientHex: String
             do {
                 let (hrp, data) = try Bech32.decode(recipientNpub)
@@ -209,7 +213,7 @@ final class NostrTransport: Transport {
                 return
             }
             SecureLogger.log("NostrTransport: sending DELIVERED ack giftWrap id=\(event.id.prefix(16))…",
-                            category: SecureLogger.session, level: .info)
+                            category: SecureLogger.session, level: .debug)
             NostrRelayManager.shared.sendEvent(event)
         }
     }

bitchat/Utils/InputValidator.swift

@@ -16,20 +16,18 @@ struct InputValidator {
     
     // MARK: - Peer ID Validation
     
-    /// Validates a peer ID from any source
+    /// Validates a peer ID from any source (short 16-hex, full 64-hex, or internal alnum/-/_ up to 64)
     static func validatePeerID(_ peerID: String) -> Bool {
-        // Handle both hex-encoded (from network) and alphanumeric (internal) formats
+        // Accept short routing IDs (16-hex)
-        if peerID.count == Limits.hexPeerIDLength {
+        if PeerIDResolver.isShortID(peerID) { return true }
-            // Network format: 16 hex characters
+        // Accept full Noise key hex (64-hex)
-            return peerID.allSatisfy { $0.isHexDigit }
+        if PeerIDResolver.isNoiseKeyHex(peerID) { return true }
-        } else {
+        // Internal format: alphanumeric + dash/underscore up to 64
-            // Internal format: alphanumeric + dash/underscore
         let validCharset = CharacterSet.alphanumerics.union(CharacterSet(charactersIn: "-_"))
-            return peerID.count > 0 &&
+        return !peerID.isEmpty &&
                peerID.count <= Limits.maxPeerIDLength &&
                peerID.rangeOfCharacter(from: validCharset.inverted) == nil
     }
-    }
     
     // MARK: - String Content Validation
     

bitchat/Views/ContentView.swift

@@ -938,7 +938,9 @@ struct ContentView: View {
         switch locationManager.selectedChannel {
         case .location:
             let n = viewModel.geohashPeople.count
-            return (n, n > 0 ? Color.green : Color.secondary)
+            // Use standard green (dark: system green; light: custom darker green)
+            let standardGreen = (colorScheme == .dark) ? Color.green : Color(red: 0, green: 0.5, blue: 0)
+            return (n, n > 0 ? standardGreen : Color.secondary)
         case .mesh:
             let counts = viewModel.allPeers.reduce(into: (others: 0, mesh: 0)) { counts, peer in
                 guard peer.id != viewModel.meshService.myPeerID else { return }
@@ -1037,7 +1039,8 @@ struct ContentView: View {
                         case .mesh:
                             return Color.blue
                         case .location:
-                            return Color.green
+                            // Standard green to avoid overly bright appearance in light mode
+                            return (colorScheme == .dark) ? Color.green : Color(red: 0, green: 0.5, blue: 0)
                         }
                     }()
                     Text(badgeText)

bitchat/Views/LocationChannelsSheet.swift

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ struct LocationChannelsSheet: View {
     @Binding var isPresented: Bool
     @ObservedObject private var manager = LocationChannelManager.shared
     @EnvironmentObject var viewModel: ChatViewModel
+    @Environment(\.colorScheme) var colorScheme
     @State private var customGeohash: String = ""
     @State private var customError: String? = nil
 
@@ -24,10 +25,10 @@ struct LocationChannelsSheet: View {
                         Button(action: { manager.enableLocationChannels() }) {
                             Text("get location and my geohashes")
                                 .font(.system(size: 12, design: .monospaced))
-                                .foregroundColor(Color.green)
+                                .foregroundColor(standardGreen)
                                 .frame(maxWidth: .infinity)
                                 .padding(.vertical, 6)
-                                .background(Color.green.opacity(0.12))
+                                .background(standardGreen.opacity(0.12))
                                 .cornerRadius(6)
                         }
                         .buttonStyle(.plain)
@@ -220,7 +221,7 @@ struct LocationChannelsSheet: View {
                 if isSelected {
                     Text("✔︎")
                         .font(.system(size: 16, design: .monospaced))
-                        .foregroundColor(.green)
+                        .foregroundColor(standardGreen)
                 }
             }
             .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .leading)
@@ -274,4 +275,11 @@ struct LocationChannelsSheet: View {
     }
 }
 
+// MARK: - Standardized Colors
+extension LocationChannelsSheet {
+    private var standardGreen: Color {
+        (colorScheme == .dark) ? Color.green : Color(red: 0, green: 0.5, blue: 0)
+    }
+}
+
 #endif

bitchatTests/Protocol/BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+//
+// BinaryProtocolPaddingTests.swift
+// bitchatTests
+//
+// This is free and unencumbered software released into the public domain.
+//
+
+import XCTest
+@testable import bitchat
+
+final class BinaryProtocolPaddingTests: XCTestCase {
+    func test_padded_vs_unpadded_length() throws {
+        // Use helper to create a small test packet
+        let packet = TestHelpers.createTestPacket()
+        guard let padded = BinaryProtocol.encode(packet, padding: true) else { return XCTFail("encode padded") }
+        guard let unpadded = BinaryProtocol.encode(packet, padding: false) else { return XCTFail("encode unpadded") }
+        XCTAssertGreaterThanOrEqual(padded.count, unpadded.count, "Padded frame should be >= unpadded")
+    }
+
+    func test_decode_padded_and_unpadded_round_trip() throws {
+        let packet = TestHelpers.createTestPacket()
+        // Padded
+        guard let padded = BinaryProtocol.encode(packet, padding: true) else { return XCTFail("encode padded") }
+        guard let dec1 = BinaryProtocol.decode(padded) else { return XCTFail("decode padded") }
+        XCTAssertEqual(dec1.type, packet.type)
+        XCTAssertEqual(dec1.payload, packet.payload)
+        // Unpadded
+        guard let unpadded = BinaryProtocol.encode(packet, padding: false) else { return XCTFail("encode unpadded") }
+        guard let dec2 = BinaryProtocol.decode(unpadded) else { return XCTFail("decode unpadded") }
+        XCTAssertEqual(dec2.type, packet.type)
+        XCTAssertEqual(dec2.payload, packet.payload)
+    }
+}
+

bitchatTests/Utils/InputValidatorTests.swift

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+//
+// InputValidatorTests.swift
+// bitchatTests
+//
+// This is free and unencumbered software released into the public domain.
+//
+
+import XCTest
+@testable import bitchat
+
+final class InputValidatorTests: XCTestCase {
+    func test_accepts_short_hex_peer_id() {
+        XCTAssertTrue(InputValidator.validatePeerID("0011223344556677"))
+        XCTAssertTrue(InputValidator.validatePeerID("aabbccddeeff0011"))
+    }
+
+    func test_accepts_full_noise_key_hex() {
+        let hex64 = String(repeating: "ab", count: 32) // 64 hex chars
+        XCTAssertTrue(InputValidator.validatePeerID(hex64))
+    }
+
+    func test_accepts_internal_alnum_dash_underscore() {
+        XCTAssertTrue(InputValidator.validatePeerID("peer_123-ABC"))
+        XCTAssertTrue(InputValidator.validatePeerID("nostr_user_01"))
+    }
+
+    func test_rejects_invalid_characters() {
+        XCTAssertFalse(InputValidator.validatePeerID("peer!@#"))
+        XCTAssertFalse(InputValidator.validatePeerID("gggggggggggggggg")) // not hex for short form
+    }
+
+    func test_rejects_too_long() {
+        let tooLong = String(repeating: "a", count: 65)
+        XCTAssertFalse(InputValidator.validatePeerID(tooLong))
+    }
+}
+