diff --git a/tools/chatgui/CMakeLists.txt b/tools/chatgui/CMakeLists.txt
index 600433fd..6b55060f 100644
--- a/tools/chatgui/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tools/chatgui/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ add_executable(chatgui
     transport/msg_client.cpp
     transport/crypto.cpp
     transport/chat_propagator.cpp
+    transport/utun_node.cpp
     db/db_manager.cpp
     db/sqlite3.c
     resources/chatgui.qrc
diff --git a/tools/chatgui/transport/utun_node.cpp b/tools/chatgui/transport/utun_node.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f7043a15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/chatgui/transport/utun_node.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+// utun_node.cpp — embedded uTun node running in a dedicated thread
+#include "utun_node.h"
+#include <cinttypes>
+
+// === C headers ===
+extern "C" {
+#include "utun_instance.h"
+#include "etcp_router.h"
+#include "etcp_api.h"
+#include "etcp.h"
+#include "config_parser.h"
+#include "config_updater.h"
+#include "control_server.h"
+#include "secure_channel.h"
+#include "../lib/u_async.h"
+#include "../lib/ll_queue.h"
+#include "../lib/memory_pool.h"
+#include "../lib/debug_config.h"
+#include "../lib/mem.h"
+}
+
+#define ETCP_RT_ID_CHAT  0x11
+
+static thread_local UtunNode* g_currentNode = nullptr;
+
+UtunNode::UtunNode(QObject* parent) : QObject(parent) {}
+
+UtunNode::~UtunNode() {
+    stop();
+}
+
+bool UtunNode::start(const QString& configPath) {
+    if (m_running) return false;
+    m_configPath = configPath;
+    m_stop = false;
+    m_running = true;
+    m_thread = std::thread(&UtunNode::runLoop, this);
+
+    for (int i = 0; i < 50 && m_running && !m_instance; ++i)
+        std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(10));
+
+    if (!m_instance) {
+        m_stop = true;
+        if (m_thread.joinable()) m_thread.join();
+        m_running = false;
+        return false;
+    }
+    emit started();
+    return true;
+}
+
+void UtunNode::stop() {
+    if (!m_running) return;
+    m_stop = true;
+    if (m_thread.joinable()) m_thread.join();
+    m_running = false;
+}
+
+void UtunNode::send(uint64_t dstNodeId, const QByteArray& data) {
+    if (!m_instance) return;
+    struct ll_entry* entry = queue_entry_new(data.size());
+    if (!entry) return;
+    memcpy(entry->data, data.constData(), data.size());
+    etcp_route_send(m_instance, dstNodeId, entry, 0);
+}
+
+QString UtunNode::nodeIdHex() const {
+    if (!m_instance) return {};
+    char buf[32];
+    snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%016" PRIx64, m_instance->node_id);
+    return QString(buf);
+}
+
+QString UtunNode::pubKeyHex() const {
+    if (!m_instance || !m_instance->config) return {};
+    return QString::fromLatin1(m_instance->config->global.my_public_key_hex, 64);
+}
+
+void UtunNode::recvCallback(struct ETCP_CONN* conn, struct ll_entry* entry) {
+    if (!g_currentNode || !entry) return;
+    uint64_t src = conn ? conn->peer_node_id : 0;
+    QByteArray data((const char*)entry->data, (int)(entry->len ? entry->len : 0));
+    QMetaObject::invokeMethod(g_currentNode, [=] {
+        emit g_currentNode->messageReceived(src, data);
+    }, Qt::QueuedConnection);
+}
+
+void UtunNode::runLoop() {
+    g_currentNode = this;
+
+    debug_config_init();
+    debug_set_level(DEBUG_LEVEL_ERROR);
+    debug_enable_function_name(0);
+
+    utun_instance_set_tun_init_enabled(0);
+
+    struct UASYNC* ua = uasync_create();
+    if (!ua) {
+        QMetaObject::invokeMethod(this, [this] { emit error("uasync_create failed"); });
+        g_currentNode = nullptr;
+        return;
+    }
+
+    m_instance = utun_instance_create(ua, m_configPath.toUtf8().constData());
+    if (!m_instance) {
+        QMetaObject::invokeMethod(this, [this] { emit error("utun_instance_create failed"); });
+        uasync_destroy(ua, 0);
+        g_currentNode = nullptr;
+        return;
+    }
+
+    m_instance->test_user_ptr = this;
+
+    if (utun_instance_init(m_instance) != 0) {
+        QMetaObject::invokeMethod(this, [this] { emit error("utun_instance_init failed"); });
+        utun_instance_destroy(m_instance);
+        m_instance = nullptr;
+        uasync_destroy(ua, 0);
+        g_currentNode = nullptr;
+        return;
+    }
+
+    etcp_router_bind(m_instance, ETCP_RT_ID_CHAT, recvCallback);
+
+    while (!m_stop) {
+        uasync_poll(ua, 100);
+    }
+
+    etcp_router_bind(m_instance, ETCP_RT_ID_CHAT, nullptr);
+    utun_instance_destroy(m_instance);
+    m_instance = nullptr;
+    uasync_destroy(ua, 0);
+    g_currentNode = nullptr;
+    QMetaObject::invokeMethod(this, [this] { emit stopped(); });
+}
diff --git a/tools/chatgui/transport/utun_node.h b/tools/chatgui/transport/utun_node.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..08e4b51f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/chatgui/transport/utun_node.h
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+// utun_node.h — C++ wrapper for embedded uTun node (runs in dedicated thread)
+#ifndef UTUN_NODE_H
+#define UTUN_NODE_H
+
+#include <QObject>
+#include <QByteArray>
+#include <QString>
+#include <atomic>
+#include <thread>
+
+struct UTUN_INSTANCE;
+
+class UtunNode : public QObject {
+    Q_OBJECT
+public:
+    explicit UtunNode(QObject* parent = nullptr);
+    ~UtunNode();
+
+    bool start(const QString& configPath);
+    void stop();
+    bool isRunning() const { return m_running; }
+
+    void send(uint64_t dstNodeId, const QByteArray& data);
+
+    QString nodeIdHex() const;
+    QString pubKeyHex() const;
+
+signals:
+    void started();
+    void stopped();
+    void error(const QString& msg);
+    void messageReceived(uint64_t src, const QByteArray& data);
+
+private:
+    void runLoop();
+    static void recvCallback(struct ETCP_CONN* conn, struct ll_entry* entry);
+
+    UTUN_INSTANCE* m_instance = nullptr;
+    std::thread m_thread;
+    std::atomic<bool> m_running{false};
+    std::atomic<bool> m_stop{false};
+    QString m_configPath;
+};
+#endif // UTUN_NODE_H