Hello everybody!


PyGate - Python FidoNet-NNTP Gateway, has been released to the public.

PyGate is a Python-based gateway system that bridges FidoNet echomail and NNTP newsgroups, allowing seamless message exchange between the two networks.

Version: 1.5.2
Author: Stephen Walsh
Contact: vk3heg@gmail.com | FidoNet 3:633/280 | FSXNet 21:1/195 | Amiganet 39:901/280
Based on: SoupGate by Tom Torfs

Features
Core Functionality

Bidirectional Gateway: Messages flow seamlessly between FidoNet and NNTP
Flexible Deployment Modes: Full gateway mode or client-only mode
Area Mapping: Flexible mapping between FidoNet areas and NNTP newsgroups
Message Hold System: Manual review and approval of messages
Spam Filtering: Advanced regex-based filtering with built-in patterns
Netmail Notifications: Automatic notifications for held messages
Areafix Support: Dynamic area management via netmail with wildcard protection
Character Set Handling: Proper encoding conversion per FTS standards

Advanced Features

Message Deduplication: Prevents duplicate messages
Cross-posting Control: Configurable limits on cross-posted messages
Timezone Support: Proper timezone handling (TZUTC)
Message Threading: Preserves reply chains and references
Administrative Panel: Admin panel interface for message review of held messages, filter management, newsrc management, newsgroups list viewing.

Requirements

Python 3.7 or higher
NNTP server access
FidoNet mailer (binkd recommended)
Required Python packages:
configparser
pathlib
logging
datetime
uuid
json
paramiko (for SSH/remote ctlinnd on Windows deployments)
psutil (for automation script process management)


Deployment Modes

PyGate supports two deployment modes:
Full Gateway Mode (Default)

In this mode, PyGate manages both the NNTP connection and the server configuration:

Updates local newsrc file when areas are added/removed
Executes ctlinnd commands to create/remove newsgroups on NNTP server
Requires server administrative privileges or SSH access
Best for deployments where PyGate runs on or manages the news server

[Gateway]
client_mode = false # or omit this line (false is default)

Client-Only Mode

In this mode, PyGate operates as a standard NNTP client without server management:

Updates local newsrc file when areas are added/removed
Does NOT execute ctlinnd commands
Assumes newsgroups already exist on the remote NNTP server
Does not require server administrative privileges
Best for connecting to external/remote news servers you don't control

[Gateway]
client_mode = true

When to use client-only mode:

Connecting to a remote news server you don't administer
Using a commercial or third-party news provider
Testing PyGate without affecting server configuration
Security-restricted environments where ctlinnd access is unavailable

Note: In client-only mode, areafix operations will still update your local newsrc file, but you must ensure the corresponding newsgroups exist on the NNTP
server before subscribing to them.


Message Hold System

The hold system allows manual review of messages before they are gated, providing control over message flow. When areas are remapped to fidonet echomail
areas. This is mainly to protect fidonet from usenet spam.

Configuration

Enable holding in pygate.cfg:

[Arearemap]
Hold = yes
notify_sysop = yes

How It Works

Message Evaluation: Each message is checked against area mappings
Hold Decision: Messages in mapped areas are held for review
Notification: Netmail sent to sysop (once per hour maximum)
Review Process: Admin reviews messages via admin panel
Action: Messages are approved, rejected, or archived

Notification System

When messages are held:

Netmail sent to sysop at linked_address
Rate Limited: Maximum one notification per hour
Comprehensive: Lists all areas with pending messages
Tracking: State saved in hold/notifications.json





https://github.com/vk3heg/pygate




Vorlon


--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: Dragon's Lair ---:- dragon.vk3heg.net -:--- Prt: 6800 (3:633/280)

On 22.01.2026 17.15, Stephen Walsh wrote:

Hello everybody!

PyGate - Python FidoNet-NNTP Gateway, has been released to the public.

Testing...

Based on: SoupGate by Tom Torfs

+1 :)

'Tommi


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: RBB PyGate (2:221/1)

Hello Tommi!

22 Jan 26 17:33, you wrote to all:

PyGate - Python FidoNet-NNTP Gateway, has been released to the
public.

Testing...

Will be waiting for any feedback!

It's been running here on my news server every half an hour since I started the project in October last year.

Based on: SoupGate by Tom Torfs

+1 :)

Soupgate was good, but there was just to many bits that needed bolting together.

Compiling it for Linux showed a number of short comings and bugs.



Stephen


--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: Dragon's Lair ---:- dragon.vk3heg.net -:--- Prt: 6800 (3:633/280)

Stephen Walsh wrote:

Will be waiting for any feedback!

Ok, here is goes, for starters. :)

I installed it first as a point. (Pygate: 2:221/1.100, Boss: 2:221/1). Noticed the the .pkts Pygate creates are from 2:221/1 to 2:221/1. No point. :(

Then I was wondering why some messages from fidonet are not apperaring at my INN. It seems that Pygate sees only one message per one .pkt. It this case there are two, but only one gets to my news server:

# pktinfo -h 6973af9c.pkt
PktInfo/lnx 1.9 2024-03-02

Packet header ========================================================================= Filename : 6973af9c.pkt
OrigAddr : 2:221/600.0
DestAddr : 2:221/10.0
AuxNet : 0
CapWord : 0x0001
DateCreation : Fri 2026-01-23 19:27:55
ProdCode : 10ff
ProdVersion : 1.9

Message header -+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From : "Tommi Koivula"
To : "All"
Subject : "1p"
DateTime : "23 Jan 26 19:26:54"
Attr : 0x0000
OrigAddr : 221/0
DestAddr : 221/10

Message header -+-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From : "Tommi Koivula"
To : "All"
Subject : "2p??"
DateTime : "23 Jan 26 19:27:14"
Attr : 0x0000
OrigAddr : 221/0
DestAddr : 221/10



Starting import operation...
INFO - Starting packet import operation
INFO - Processing approved held messages for NNTP posting
INFO - No approved messages to post to NNTP
INFO - Processing packet: /bbs/piste/obox/pygate/6973af9c.pkt
INFO - Parsed 1 messages from /bbs/piste/obox/pygate/6973af9c.pkt

Ok, now it is running for some echos like this one.

Let's see how it goes...

'Tommi

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: RBB PyGate (2:221/10)

Stephen Walsh wrote:

One more thing. Some newsreaders like HotDogED put "X-Comment-To" line when replying. Would be nice if PyGate could read that and put it in "To:" field in fidonet .PKT.

Soupgate was good, but there was just to many bits that needed
bolting together.

It is still doing it's job here, like it has been done over 25 years.. Not perfect but it is running. :)

Compiling it for Linux showed a number of short comings and bugs.

I've got it compiled and running in Linux. But Spoon dies when trying to post.. That's why I still use OS/2 to post. :)

'Tommi

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: RBB PyGate (2:221/10)

Hello Tommi!

23 Jan 26 19:41, you wrote to all:

I installed it first as a point. (Pygate: 2:221/1.100, Boss: 2:221/1). Noticed the the .pkts Pygate creates are from 2:221/1 to 2:221/1. No point. :(

I didn't code it to run as a point, so that's why that issue shows up.

Then I was wondering why some messages from fidonet are not apperaring
at my INN. It seems that Pygate sees only one message per one .pkt. It this case there are two, but only one gets to my news server:

I'll test that out and look at a fix.


Stephen


--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: Dragon's Lair ---:- dragon.vk3heg.net -:--- Prt: 6800 (3:633/280)

On 24.01.2026 5.50, Stephen Walsh wrote:

I installed it first as a point. (Pygate: 2:221/1.100, Boss: 2:221/1). Noticed the the .pkts Pygate creates are from 2:221/1 to 2:221/1. No point. :(

I didn't code it to run as a point, so that's why that issue shows up.

Sure thing. However, it is better to run tests as a point rather than an unlisted node. ;)

Then I was wondering why some messages from fidonet are not apperaring
at my INN. It seems that Pygate sees only one message per one .pkt. It this case there are two, but only one gets to my news server:

I'll test that out and look at a fix.

Thanks.

Usually there are not many messages going in that direction. I did a
%rescan for this area and only the first message showed up.

'Tommi





--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: RBB PyGate (2:221/10)

Hello Tommi!

23 Jan 26 19:50, you wrote to all:

Soupgate was good, but there was just to many bits that needed
bolting together.

It is still doing it's job here, like it has been done over 25 years..
Not perfect but it is running. :)

In the testing I did, it was prone to not doing a full run.
Also having to use a 2-3 step process was a pain.

Compiling it for Linux showed a number of short comings and bugs.

I've got it compiled and running in Linux. But Spoon dies when trying
to post.. That's why I still use OS/2 to post. :)

Have you compiled it on a 64bit system? That will come along and bite you even more.
Yes, spoon was a pain in the backside. Having the source code was fine and good, but it was missing
files. (I find it hard to read/understand 'c', so fixing the bugs was above my skill level).




Stephen


--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: Dragon's Lair ---:- dragon.vk3heg.net -:--- Prt: 6800 (3:633/280)

Hello Tommi!

24 Jan 26 10:11, you wrote to all:

Noticed the the .pkts Pygate creates are from 2:221/1 to
2:221/1. No point. :(

I didn't code it to run as a point, so that's why that issue shows
up.

Sure thing. However, it is better to run tests as a point rather than
an unlisted node. ;)

This has now been put in place. I've not tested it though. #-;
Your the guinea pig for that!

Then I was wondering why some messages from fidonet are not

apperaring at my INN. It seems that Pygate sees only one message per
one .pkt. It this case there are two, but only one gets to my news
server:

I'll test that out and look at a fix.

Usually there are not many messages going in that direction. I did a %rescan for this area and only the first message showed up.

Yeah, I was only working with single messages myself going to nntp, as it's very rare to see more then
one at a time from fidonet.

This has now been implemented. Tested with two messages, so should work with more. The messages go
through the same process stream.



Stephen


--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: Dragon's Lair ---:- dragon.vk3heg.net -:--- Prt: 6800 (3:633/280)

Re: Re: PyGate Has been released
By: Tommi Koivula to All on Fri Jan 23 2026 19:41:35

...some messages from fidonet are not apperaring at my INN.

Maybe there's no room? ;)
--- SBBSecho 3.35-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (1:124/5016)

Hello Mortar!

24 Jan 26 21:35, you wrote to Tommi Koivula:

...some messages from fidonet are not apperaring at my INN.

Maybe there's no room? ;)

All booked out for a long weekend! ^-;


Stephen


--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: Dragon's Lair ---:- dragon.vk3heg.net -:--- Prt: 6800 (3:633/280)

Hi Stephen.

24 Jan 26 22:51:20, you wrote to me:

Compiling it for Linux showed a number of short comings and bugs.

I've got it compiled and running in Linux. But Spoon dies when
trying to post.. That's why I still use OS/2 to post. :)

Have you compiled it on a 64bit system? That will come along and bite
you even more. Yes, spoon was a pain in the backside. Having the source code was fine and good, but it was missing files. (I find it hard to read/understand 'c', so fixing the bugs was above my skill level).

I compiled soupgate with "-m32" in 64bit debian. It works.

Spoon compiles 64bit. It can fetch mail and news, but when posting it crashes. Tried to compile also in real 32bit debian but no luck.

=== Cut ===
Posting mail to localhost...
Mailing from SysOp@f1.n221.z2.fidonet.fi
Mailing to ping@tkk.iki.fi
free(): double free detected in tcache 2
./send.sh: line 10: 145759 Aborted (core dumped)
=== Cut ===

I don't really know C/C++, so there's not much to do.

'Tommi

---
* Origin: Point One (2:221/1.1)

Hi Stephen.

24 Jan 26 22:44:16, you wrote to me:

Noticed the the .pkts Pygate creates are from 2:221/1 to
2:221/1. No point. :(

I didn't code it to run as a point, so that's why that issue shows
up.

Sure thing. However, it is better to run tests as a point rather
than an unlisted node. ;)

This has now been put in place. I've not tested it though. #-;
Your the guinea pig for that!

The Pig says well done. :)

Yeah, I was only working with single messages myself going to nntp, as it's very rare to see more then one at a time from fidonet.

This has now been implemented. Tested with two messages, so should work with more. The messages go through the same process stream.

This one works fine now. I did a rescan of 15 messages. :)

=== Cut ===

- INFO - Processing packet: /bbs/pygate/inbound/6974b8a2.pkt
- INFO - Parsed 15 messages from /bbs/pygate/inbound/6974b8a2.pkt
- INFO - Loaded 4 areas from config/newsrc
- INFO - Connecting to NNTP server 192.168.10.2:119
- INFO - Posting message to rbb.test.1: 1
- INFO - Message posted successfully: NNTPResponse(code=240,
.....
- INFO - Area RBB.TEST.1: 15 gated, 0 filtered, 0 failed
- INFO - Updating newsrc for 1 newsgroup(s) after import
- INFO - Loaded 4 areas from config/newsrc
- INFO - Updated rbb.test.1 (rbb.test.1): 10 -> 25
- INFO - Updated newsrc configuration
- INFO - Newsrc updated successfully after import
- INFO - Import complete: 1 packets processed
=== Cut ===

'Tommi

---
* Origin: Point One (2:221/1.1)

On 25.01.2026 7.40, Mortar M. wrote:

...some messages from fidonet are not apperaring at my INN.

Maybe there's no room? ;)

There was enough space in the lobby. ;)

'Tommi

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.5
* Origin: RBB PyGate (2:221/10)