Æthernet C++ SDK

The Æthernet C++ SDK connects embedded devices and native applications to Æthernet, a managed connectivity layer for secure real-time messaging over unstable or bandwidth-constrained networks.

It supports C++20 builds on Linux, macOS, Windows, and ESP32/ESP-IDF. Dependencies are resolved by CMake through CPM.cmake.

Documentation · Tutorials · Examples

Why Æthernet

• handshake-free application requests with authentication and encryption data carried per request;
• automatic endpoint recovery when responses are delayed;
• self-provisioning for unattended devices;
• request-response and fire-and-forget messaging;
• compact binary protocol and specialized types for constrained devices;
• support for Wi-Fi and cellular IoT deployments, including NB-IoT and LTE-M integrations.

Requirements

• CMake 3.16 or newer;
• a C++20 compiler;
• Git, used by CPM.cmake to retrieve dependencies;
• platform networking dependencies.

The first configure can take longer because CMake downloads and patches the required third-party libraries.

Build the SDK and included examples

git clone https://github.com/aethernetio/aether-client-cpp.git
cd aether-client-cpp

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --parallel

The root build enables tools, examples, and tests by default. To build only the library:

cmake -S . -B build \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DAE_BUILD_TOOLS=OFF \
  -DAE_BUILD_EXAMPLES=OFF \
  -DAE_BUILD_TESTS=OFF
cmake --build build --parallel

Add it to another CMake project

CPM.cmake is the dependency mechanism currently used by the SDK:

CPMAddPackage(
  NAME aether
  GITHUB_REPOSITORY aethernetio/aether-client-cpp
  GIT_TAG main
)

target_link_libraries(your_target PRIVATE aether)

For production builds, pin GIT_TAG to a reviewed commit SHA until versioned releases are available.

Important build options

Option	Default for a root build	Purpose
AE_BUILD_EXAMPLES	ON	Build bundled examples
AE_BUILD_TESTS	ON	Build tests
AE_BUILD_TOOLS	ON	Build SDK tools
AE_DISTILLATION	ON	Enable distillation build mode
AE_FILTRATION	OFF	Enable filtration mode
USER_CONFIG	empty	Path to a user configuration header
FS_INIT	empty	Path to generated saved-state data

ESP32

ESP32 builds use ESP-IDF components for Wi-Fi, networking, NVS, SPIFFS, and UART. For a complete device project, start with the ESP32 examples or the temperature sensor reference project.

Tests

cmake -S . -B build -DAE_BUILD_TESTS=ON
cmake --build build --parallel
ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure

Maturity

The current project version is 0.1.0. The API and installation process may change before a stable release. Do not use benchmark or performance claims without the corresponding test methodology and raw results.

License

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE.