diff --git a/onionr/communicator.py b/onionr/communicator/__init__.py
similarity index 78%
rename from onionr/communicator.py
rename to onionr/communicator/__init__.py
index 33901202..f4e7495f 100755
--- a/onionr/communicator.py
+++ b/onionr/communicator/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python3
 '''
     Onionr - Private P2P Communication
 
@@ -20,9 +19,9 @@
     along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 '''
 import sys, os, time
-import streamedrequests
 import core, config, logger, onionr
 import onionrexceptions, onionrpeers, onionrevents as events, onionrplugins as plugins, onionrblockapi as block
+from . import onlinepeers
 from communicatorutils import servicecreator, onionrcommunicatortimers
 from communicatorutils import downloadblocks, lookupblocks, lookupadders
 from communicatorutils import servicecreator, connectnewpeers, uploadblocks
@@ -31,7 +30,6 @@ from communicatorutils import cooldownpeer, housekeeping, netcheck
 from onionrutils import localcommand, epoch, basicrequests
 from etc import humanreadabletime
 import onionrservices, onionr, onionrproofs
-
 OnionrCommunicatorTimers = onionrcommunicatortimers.OnionrCommunicatorTimers
 
 config.reload()
@@ -99,7 +97,7 @@ class OnionrCommunicatorDaemon:
 
         # Set timers, function reference, seconds
         # requiresPeer True means the timer function won't fire if we have no connected peers
-        peerPoolTimer = OnionrCommunicatorTimers(self, self.getOnlinePeers, 60, maxThreads=1)
+        peerPoolTimer = OnionrCommunicatorTimers(self, onlinepeers.get_online_peers, 60, maxThreads=1, myArgs=[self])
         OnionrCommunicatorTimers(self, self.runCheck, 2, maxThreads=1)
 
         # Timers to periodically lookup new blocks and download them
@@ -107,7 +105,7 @@ class OnionrCommunicatorDaemon:
         OnionrCommunicatorTimers(self, self.getBlocks, self._core.config.get('timers.getBlocks', 30), requiresPeer=True, maxThreads=2)
 
         # Timer to reset the longest offline peer so contact can be attempted again
-        OnionrCommunicatorTimers(self, self.clearOfflinePeer, 58)
+        OnionrCommunicatorTimers(self, onlinepeers.clear_offline_peer, 58, myArgs=[self])
 
         # Timer to cleanup old blocks
         blockCleanupTimer = OnionrCommunicatorTimers(self, housekeeping.clean_old_blocks, 65, myArgs=[self])
@@ -209,56 +207,6 @@ class OnionrCommunicatorDaemon:
         except KeyError:
             pass
 
-    def pickOnlinePeer(self):
-        '''randomly picks peer from pool without bias (using secrets module)'''
-        retData = ''
-        while True:
-            peerLength = len(self.onlinePeers)
-            if peerLength <= 0:
-                break
-            try:
-                # get a random online peer, securely. May get stuck in loop if network is lost or if all peers in pool magically disconnect at once
-                retData = self.onlinePeers[self._core._crypto.secrets.randbelow(peerLength)]
-            except IndexError:
-                pass
-            else:
-                break
-        return retData
-
-    def clearOfflinePeer(self):
-        '''Removes the longest offline peer to retry later'''
-        try:
-            removed = self.offlinePeers.pop(0)
-        except IndexError:
-            pass
-        else:
-            logger.debug('Removed ' + removed + ' from offline list, will try them again.')
-        self.decrementThreadCount('clearOfflinePeer')
-
-    def getOnlinePeers(self):
-        '''
-            Manages the self.onlinePeers attribute list, connects to more peers if we have none connected
-        '''
-
-        logger.debug('Refreshing peer pool...')
-        maxPeers = int(config.get('peers.max_connect', 10))
-        needed = maxPeers - len(self.onlinePeers)
-
-        for i in range(needed):
-            if len(self.onlinePeers) == 0:
-                self.connectNewPeer(useBootstrap=True)
-            else:
-                self.connectNewPeer()
-
-            if self.shutdown:
-                break
-        else:
-            if len(self.onlinePeers) == 0:
-                logger.debug('Couldn\'t connect to any peers.' + (' Last node seen %s ago.' % humanreadabletime.human_readable_time(time.time() - self.lastNodeSeen) if not self.lastNodeSeen is None else ''), terminal=True)
-            else:
-                self.lastNodeSeen = time.time()
-        self.decrementThreadCount('getOnlinePeers')
-
     def addBootstrapListToPeerList(self, peerList):
         '''
             Add the bootstrap list to the peer list (no duplicates)
@@ -302,37 +250,6 @@ class OnionrCommunicatorDaemon:
                 score = str(self.getPeerProfileInstance(i).score)
                 logger.info(i + ', score: ' + score, terminal=True)
 
-    def peerAction(self, peer, action, data='', returnHeaders=False, max_resp_size=5242880):
-        '''Perform a get request to a peer'''
-        penalty_score = -10
-        if len(peer) == 0:
-            return False
-        #logger.debug('Performing ' + action + ' with ' + peer + ' on port ' + str(self.proxyPort))
-        url = 'http://%s/%s' % (peer, action)
-        if len(data) > 0:
-            url += '&data=' + data
-
-        self._core.setAddressInfo(peer, 'lastConnectAttempt', epoch.get_epoch()) # mark the time we're trying to request this peer
-        try:
-            retData = basicrequests.do_get_request(self._core, url, port=self.proxyPort, max_size=max_resp_size)
-        except streamedrequests.exceptions.ResponseLimitReached:
-            retData = False
-            penalty_score = -100
-        # if request failed, (error), mark peer offline
-        if retData == False:
-            try:
-                self.getPeerProfileInstance(peer).addScore(penalty_score)
-                self.removeOnlinePeer(peer)
-                if action != 'ping' and not self.shutdown:
-                    logger.warn('Lost connection to ' + peer, terminal=True)
-                    self.getOnlinePeers() # Will only add a new peer to pool if needed
-            except ValueError:
-                pass
-        else:
-            self._core.setAddressInfo(peer, 'lastConnect', epoch.get_epoch())
-            self.getPeerProfileInstance(peer).addScore(1)
-        return retData # If returnHeaders, returns tuple of data, headers. if not, just data string
-
     def getPeerProfileInstance(self, peer):
         '''Gets a peer profile instance from the list of profiles, by address name'''
         for i in self.peerProfiles:
diff --git a/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/__init__.py b/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7465b2b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+'''
+    Onionr - Private P2P Communication
+
+    interact with the peer pool in a communicator instance
+'''
+'''
+    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+'''
+
+from . import clearofflinepeer, onlinepeers, pickonlinepeers
+
+clear_offline_peer = clearofflinepeer.clear_offline_peer
+get_online_peers = onlinepeers.get_online_peers
+pick_online_peer = pickonlinepeers.pick_online_peer
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/clearofflinepeer.py b/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/clearofflinepeer.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..31507878
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/clearofflinepeer.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+'''
+    Onionr - Private P2P Communication
+
+    clear offline peer in a communicator instance
+'''
+'''
+    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+'''
+import logger
+def clear_offline_peer(comm_inst):
+    '''Removes the longest offline peer to retry later'''
+    try:
+        removed = comm_inst.offlinePeers.pop(0)
+    except IndexError:
+        pass
+    else:
+        logger.debug('Removed ' + removed + ' from offline list, will try them again.')
+    comm_inst.decrementThreadCount('clear_offline_peer')
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/onlinepeers.py b/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/onlinepeers.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2eaa3d9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/onlinepeers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+'''
+    Onionr - Private P2P Communication
+
+    get online peers in a communicator instance
+'''
+'''
+    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+'''
+import time
+from etc import humanreadabletime
+import logger
+def get_online_peers(comm_inst):
+    '''
+        Manages the comm_inst.onlinePeers attribute list, connects to more peers if we have none connected
+    '''
+    config = comm_inst._core.config
+    logger.debug('Refreshing peer pool...')
+    maxPeers = int(config.get('peers.max_connect', 10))
+    needed = maxPeers - len(comm_inst.onlinePeers)
+
+    for i in range(needed):
+        if len(comm_inst.onlinePeers) == 0:
+            comm_inst.connectNewPeer(useBootstrap=True)
+        else:
+            comm_inst.connectNewPeer()
+
+        if comm_inst.shutdown:
+            break
+    else:
+        if len(comm_inst.onlinePeers) == 0:
+            logger.debug('Couldn\'t connect to any peers.' + (' Last node seen %s ago.' % humanreadabletime.human_readable_time(time.time() - comm_inst.lastNodeSeen) if not comm_inst.lastNodeSeen is None else ''), terminal=True)
+        else:
+            comm_inst.lastNodeSeen = time.time()
+    comm_inst.decrementThreadCount('get_online_peers')
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/pickonlinepeers.py b/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/pickonlinepeers.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3a6ac0aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/communicator/onlinepeers/pickonlinepeers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+'''
+    Onionr - Private P2P Communication
+
+    pick online peers in a communicator instance
+'''
+'''
+    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+'''
+def pick_online_peer(comm_inst):
+    '''randomly picks peer from pool without bias (using secrets module)'''
+    retData = ''
+    while True:
+        peerLength = len(comm_inst.onlinePeers)
+        if peerLength <= 0:
+            break
+        try:
+            # get a random online peer, securely. May get stuck in loop if network is lost or if all peers in pool magically disconnect at once
+            retData = comm_inst.onlinePeers[comm_inst._core._crypto.secrets.randbelow(peerLength)]
+        except IndexError:
+            pass
+        else:
+            break
+    return retData
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/onionr/communicator/peeraction.py b/onionr/communicator/peeraction.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..442b1649
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/communicator/peeraction.py
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+'''
+    Onionr - Private P2P Communication
+
+    This file implements logic for performing requests to Onionr peers
+'''
+'''
+    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+'''
+import streamedrequests
+import logger
+from onionrutils import epoch, basicrequests
+from . import onlinepeers
+def peer_action(comm_inst, peer, action, data='', returnHeaders=False, max_resp_size=5242880):
+    '''Perform a get request to a peer'''
+    penalty_score = -10
+    if len(peer) == 0:
+        return False
+    url = 'http://%s/%s' % (peer, action)
+    if len(data) > 0:
+        url += '&data=' + data
+
+    comm_inst._core.setAddressInfo(peer, 'lastConnectAttempt', epoch.get_epoch()) # mark the time we're trying to request this peer
+    try:
+        retData = basicrequests.do_get_request(comm_inst._core, url, port=comm_inst.proxyPort, max_size=max_resp_size)
+    except streamedrequests.exceptions.ResponseLimitReached:
+        retData = False
+        penalty_score = -100
+    # if request failed, (error), mark peer offline
+    if retData == False:
+        try:
+            comm_inst.getPeerProfileInstance(peer).addScore(penalty_score)
+            comm_inst.removeOnlinePeer(peer)
+            if action != 'ping' and not comm_inst.shutdown:
+                logger.warn('Lost connection to ' + peer, terminal=True)
+                onlinepeers.get_online_peers(comm_inst) # Will only add a new peer to pool if needed
+        except ValueError:
+            pass
+    else:
+        comm_inst._core.setAddressInfo(peer, 'lastConnect', epoch.get_epoch())
+        comm_inst.getPeerProfileInstance(peer).addScore(1)
+    return retData # If returnHeaders, returns tuple of data, headers. if not, just data string
diff --git a/onionr/communicatorutils/announcenode.py b/onionr/communicatorutils/announcenode.py
index 38453647..8b85c177 100755
--- a/onionr/communicatorutils/announcenode.py
+++ b/onionr/communicatorutils/announcenode.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import base64
 import onionrproofs, logger
 from etc import onionrvalues
 from onionrutils import basicrequests, bytesconverter
+from communicator import onlinepeers
 
 def announce_node(daemon):
     '''Announce our node to our peers'''
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ def announce_node(daemon):
                 peer = i
                 break
         else:
-            peer = daemon.pickOnlinePeer()
+            peer = onlinepeers.pick_online_peer(daemon)
 
         for x in range(1):
             if x == 1 and daemon._core.config.get('i2p.host'):
diff --git a/onionr/communicatorutils/connectnewpeers.py b/onionr/communicatorutils/connectnewpeers.py
index c3a9f77b..17dd901d 100755
--- a/onionr/communicatorutils/connectnewpeers.py
+++ b/onionr/communicatorutils/connectnewpeers.py
@@ -17,15 +17,12 @@
     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
     along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 '''
-import time, sys
+import time, sys, secrets
 import onionrexceptions, logger, onionrpeers
 from utils import networkmerger
 from onionrutils import stringvalidators, epoch
-# secrets module was added into standard lib in 3.6+
-if sys.version_info[0] == 3 and sys.version_info[1] < 6:
-    from dependencies import secrets
-elif sys.version_info[0] == 3 and sys.version_info[1] >= 6:
-    import secrets
+from communicator import peeraction
+
 def connect_new_peer_to_communicator(comm_inst, peer='', useBootstrap=False):
     config = comm_inst._core.config
     retData = False
@@ -67,7 +64,7 @@ def connect_new_peer_to_communicator(comm_inst, peer='', useBootstrap=False):
         if comm_inst.shutdown:
             return
         # Ping a peer,
-        if comm_inst.peerAction(address, 'ping') == 'pong!':
+        if peeraction.peer_action(comm_inst, address, 'ping') == 'pong!':
             time.sleep(0.1)
             if address not in mainPeerList:
                 # Add a peer to our list if it isn't already since it successfully connected
diff --git a/onionr/communicatorutils/downloadblocks/__init__.py b/onionr/communicatorutils/downloadblocks/__init__.py
index f8d7fdd5..c50a5d49 100755
--- a/onionr/communicatorutils/downloadblocks/__init__.py
+++ b/onionr/communicatorutils/downloadblocks/__init__.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import communicator, onionrexceptions
 import logger, onionrpeers
 from onionrutils import blockmetadata, stringvalidators, validatemetadata
 from . import shoulddownload
+from communicator import peeraction, onlinepeers
 
 def download_blocks_from_communicator(comm_inst):
     assert isinstance(comm_inst, communicator.OnionrCommunicatorDaemon)
@@ -47,14 +48,14 @@ def download_blocks_from_communicator(comm_inst):
 
         comm_inst.currentDownloading.append(blockHash) # So we can avoid concurrent downloading in other threads of same block
         if len(blockPeers) == 0:
-            peerUsed = comm_inst.pickOnlinePeer()
+            peerUsed = onlinepeers.pick_online_peer(comm_inst)
         else:
             blockPeers = comm_inst._core._crypto.randomShuffle(blockPeers)
             peerUsed = blockPeers.pop(0)
 
         if not comm_inst.shutdown and peerUsed.strip() != '':
             logger.info("Attempting to download %s from %s..." % (blockHash[:12], peerUsed))
-        content = comm_inst.peerAction(peerUsed, 'getdata/' + blockHash, max_resp_size=3000000) # block content from random peer (includes metadata)
+        content = peeraction.peer_action(comm_inst, peerUsed, 'getdata/' + blockHash, max_resp_size=3000000) # block content from random peer (includes metadata)
         if content != False and len(content) > 0:
             try:
                 content = content.encode()
diff --git a/onionr/communicatorutils/lookupadders.py b/onionr/communicatorutils/lookupadders.py
index fc4527dc..a4d3fd79 100755
--- a/onionr/communicatorutils/lookupadders.py
+++ b/onionr/communicatorutils/lookupadders.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 '''
 import logger
 from onionrutils import stringvalidators
-
+from communicator import peeraction, onlinepeers
 def lookup_new_peer_transports_with_communicator(comm_inst):
     logger.info('Looking up new addresses...')
     tryAmount = 1
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ def lookup_new_peer_transports_with_communicator(comm_inst):
         if len(newPeers) > 10000:
             # Don't get new peers if we have too many queued up
             break
-        peer = comm_inst.pickOnlinePeer()
-        newAdders = comm_inst.peerAction(peer, action='pex')
+        peer = onlinepeers.pick_online_peer(comm_inst)
+        newAdders = peeraction.peer_action(comm_inst, peer, action='pex')
         try:
             newPeers = newAdders.split(',')
         except AttributeError:
diff --git a/onionr/communicatorutils/lookupblocks.py b/onionr/communicatorutils/lookupblocks.py
index 7fae6522..0e36753a 100755
--- a/onionr/communicatorutils/lookupblocks.py
+++ b/onionr/communicatorutils/lookupblocks.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 '''
 import logger, onionrproofs
 from onionrutils import stringvalidators, epoch
+from communicator import peeraction, onlinepeers
 
 def lookup_blocks_from_communicator(comm_inst):
     logger.info('Looking up new blocks...')
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ def lookup_blocks_from_communicator(comm_inst):
         if comm_inst._core.storage_counter.isFull():
             logger.debug('Not looking up new blocks due to maximum amount of allowed disk space used')
             break
-        peer = comm_inst.pickOnlinePeer() # select random online peer
+        peer = onlinepeers.pick_online_peer(comm_inst) # select random online peer
         # if we've already tried all the online peers this time around, stop
         if peer in triedPeers:
             if len(comm_inst.onlinePeers) == len(triedPeers):
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ def lookup_blocks_from_communicator(comm_inst):
         else:
             listLookupCommand += '?date=%s' % (lastLookupTime,)
         try:
-            newBlocks = comm_inst.peerAction(peer, listLookupCommand) # get list of new block hashes
+            newBlocks = peeraction.peer_action(comm_inst, peer, listLookupCommand) # get list of new block hashes
         except Exception as error:
             logger.warn('Could not get new blocks from %s.' % peer, error = error)
             newBlocks = False
diff --git a/onionr/communicatorutils/uploadblocks.py b/onionr/communicatorutils/uploadblocks.py
index 0a3488a8..27391195 100755
--- a/onionr/communicatorutils/uploadblocks.py
+++ b/onionr/communicatorutils/uploadblocks.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import logger
 from communicatorutils import proxypicker
 import onionrblockapi as block
 from onionrutils import localcommand, stringvalidators, basicrequests
+from communicator import onlinepeers
 
 def upload_blocks_from_communicator(comm_inst):
     # when inserting a block, we try to upload it to a few peers to add some deniability
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ def upload_blocks_from_communicator(comm_inst):
                 comm_inst.decrementThreadCount('uploadBlock')
                 return
             for i in range(min(len(comm_inst.onlinePeers), 6)):
-                peer = comm_inst.pickOnlinePeer()
+                peer = onlinepeers.pick_online_peer(comm_inst)
                 if peer in triedPeers:
                     continue
                 triedPeers.append(peer)