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https://github.com/lemunozm/termchat

Terminal chat through the LAN with video streaming and file transfer.
https://github.com/lemunozm/termchat

chat command-line-tool lan terminal

Last synced: 3 months ago
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Terminal chat through the LAN with video streaming and file transfer.

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README 

        
[![](https://img.shields.io/crates/v/termchat)](https://crates.io/crates/termchat)

[![](https://img.shields.io/crates/l/termchat)](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.txt)

[![](https://img.shields.io/github/workflow/status/lemunozm/termchat/termchat%20ci)](https://github.com/lemunozm/termchat/actions?query=workflow%3A%22termchat+ci%22)





  




A distributed LAN chat application in the terminal (without needing a server!).

Run the application in your terminal and write into the LAN!



Built on top of [tui-rs](https://github.com/fdehau/tui-rs) to create the terminal UI and

[message-io](https://github.com/lemunozm/message-io) to make the network connections.



![](./screenshot.png)



# Installation

You can use the [cargo][cargo] package manager in order to install it.



```

$ cargo install termchat --all-features

```



If you have `~/.cargo/bin` in your PATH (or similar in your OS), you will be able to use *termchat* everywhere in your computer!



Also, you can download the last release for your machine from the [releases](https://github.com/lemunozm/termchat/releases).



## Arch Linux



`termchat` can be installed from available [AUR packages](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/?O=0&SeB=b&K=termchat&outdated=&SB=n&SO=a&PP=50&do_Search=Go) using an [AUR helper](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AUR_helpers). For example,



```sh

$ yay -S termchat

```



If you prefer, you can clone the [AUR packages](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/?O=0&SeB=b&K=termchat&outdated=&SB=n&SO=a&PP=50&do_Search=Go) and then compile them with [makepkg](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Makepkg). For example,



```sh

$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/termchat.git && cd termchat && makepkg -si

```



[cargo]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/getting-started/installation.html



# How it works?

To not saturate the network, *termchat* uses only one multicast message at startup to find other *termchat* applications on the network.

Once a new application has been found by multicast, a TCP connection is created between them.



## Usage

Simply write:

```

$ termchat

```



to open the application in your terminal.



By default, your computer user name is used. You can use a different username with `-u `



You can modify the multicast discovery address with `-d 
`



You can set a custom tcp sever port with `-t `



(see the application help for more info `--help`).



### Commands

Termchat treats messages containings the following commands in a special way:



- **`?send <$path_to_file>`**: sends the specified file to everyone on the network,

  example: `?send ./myfile`



  Note: The received files can be found in `/tmp/termchat//` on Linux or Mac,

  or `%USERPROFILE%\Appdata\Local\Temp\termchat\\` if using Windows.



- **`?startstream`**/**`?stopstream`**: starts/stops video stream and send it to all peers. Currently this is only supported on linux, the other platforms can only receive the video.



### Config

Termchat store its configuration in a simple file located at `$ConfigDir/termchat/config` in Mac or Linux,

or `%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\termchat\config` if using Windows.



**Default config:**

```

discovery_addr = "238.255.0.1:5877"

tcp_server_port = 0

user_name = "my_awesome_user_name"

terminal_bell = true



[theme]

message_colors = ["Blue", "Yellow", "Cyan", "Magenta"]

my_user_color = "Green"

date_color = "DarkGray"

system_info_color = ["Cyan", "LightCyan"]

system_warning_color = ["Yellow", "LightYellow"]

system_error_color = ["Red", "LightRed"]

chat_panel_color = "White"

progress_bar_color = "LightGreen"

command_color = "LightYellow"

input_panel_color = "White"

```



## Frequently Asked Questions



***Q:*** **Hosts are not disoverable**



***A:***



- Make sure that no firewall is running (example: ufw), and if that's the case either stop it or add termchat ports to the white list.



- By default you need to allow port `5877/udp` and `port X/tcp`, `X` is a different with each run. Note that you can specify a custom tcp port as mentioned above and add it to the firewall whitelist.



***Q:*** **Can I silence the terminal bell when I received a message?**



***A:*** Yeah! You can run `termchat` passing the flag `--quiet-mode` or simple `-q`.



***Q:*** **I can't see anything on my light themed desktop!!!**



***A:*** You can use `termchat --theme light`, also you can customize colors individually via the config file.