https://github.com/d99kris/nchat
Terminal-based Telegram / WhatsApp client for Linux and macOS
https://github.com/d99kris/nchat
console linux macos ncurses telegram telegram-client terminal-based tui whatsapp whatsapp-client
Last synced: 28 days ago
JSON representation
Terminal-based Telegram / WhatsApp client for Linux and macOS
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/d99kris/nchat
- Owner: d99kris
- License: mit
- Created: 2019-02-19T13:24:47.000Z (over 7 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2025-05-10T06:15:34.000Z (about 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-05-10T07:26:27.485Z (about 1 year ago)
- Topics: console, linux, macos, ncurses, telegram, telegram-client, terminal-based, tui, whatsapp, whatsapp-client
- Language: C++
- Homepage:
- Size: 19.9 MB
- Stars: 957
- Watchers: 12
- Forks: 60
- Open Issues: 15
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
nchat
=====
| **Linux** | **Mac** |
|-----------|---------|
| [](https://github.com/d99kris/nchat/actions?query=workflow%3ALinux) | [](https://github.com/d99kris/nchat/actions?query=workflow%3AmacOS) |
nchat is a multi-protocol terminal-based messaging client for Linux and macOS with support for
Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal.
Features
--------
- Customizable color schemes and key bindings
- Jump to unread chat
- Message history cache with support for text export
- Message read receipt
- Receive / send markdown formatted messages
- Reply / delete / edit / forward / send messages
- List dialogs for selecting chats, contacts, emojis, files
- Show user status (online, away, typing)
- Toggle to view textized emojis vs. graphical
- View / save media files (documents, photos, videos)
- Send and display reactions
Optional Features
-----------------
Signal support is disabled by default and requires enabling a
[feature flag](/doc/SIGNAL.md).
Usage
=====
Usage:
nchat [OPTION]
Command-line Options:
-d, --confdir use a different directory than ~/.config/nchat
-e, --verbose enable verbose logging
-ee, --extra-verbose enable extra verbose logging
-h, --help display this help and exit
-k, --keydump key code dump mode
-m, --devmode developer mode
-r, --remove remove chat protocol account
-s, --setup set up chat protocol account
-v, --version output version information and exit
-x, --export export message cache to specified dir
Interactive Commands:
PageDn history next page
PageUp history previous page
Tab next chat
Sh-Tab previous chat
Ctrl-f jump to unread chat
Ctrl-g toggle show help bar
Ctrl-l toggle show contact list
Ctrl-n goto chat
Ctrl-p toggle show top bar
Ctrl-q quit
Ctrl-s insert emoji
Ctrl-t send file
Ctrl-x send message
Ctrl-y toggle show emojis
KeyUp select message
Alt-@ insert mention
Alt-a archive current chat
Alt-d delete/leave current chat
Alt-e external editor compose
Alt-i auto-compose reply
Alt-n search contacts
Alt-p pin/unpin current chat
Alt-t external telephone call
Alt-/ find in chat
Alt-? find next in chat
Alt-$ external spell check
Alt-, decrease contact list width
Alt-. increase contact list width
Interactive Commands for Selected Message:
Ctrl-d delete selected message
Ctrl-r download attached file
Ctrl-v open/view attached file
Ctrl-w open link
Ctrl-x send reply to selected message
Ctrl-z edit selected message
Alt-c copy selected message to clipboard
Alt-q jump to quoted/replied message
Alt-r forward selected message
Alt-s add/remove reaction on selected message
Alt-w external message viewer
Interactive Commands for Text Input:
Ctrl-a move cursor to start of line
Ctrl-c clear input buffer
Ctrl-e move cursor to end of line
Ctrl-k delete from cursor to end of line
Ctrl-u delete from cursor to start of line
Alt-Left move cursor backward one word
Alt-Right move cursor forward one word
Alt-Backsp delete previous word
Alt-Delete delete next word
Alt-Tab insert tab (four spaces)
Alt-c copy input buffer to clipboard (if no message selected)
Alt-v paste into input buffer from clipboard
Alt-x cut input buffer to clipboard
Supported Platforms
===================
nchat is developed and tested on Linux and macOS. Current version has been
tested on:
- macOS Sequoia 15.5
- Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Install using Package Manager
=============================
macOS
-----
**Build / Install Stable Release using Brew**
brew tap d99kris/nchat
brew install nchat
Optionally one can disable protocols using `--without-whatsapp` and
`--without-telegram`, for example:
brew install nchat --without-telegram
Arch Linux
----------
**Build / Install Latest Git**
yay -S nchat-git
**Build / Install Stable Release**
yay -S nchat
Build from Source
=================
nchat consists of a large code-base (mainly the Telegram library tdlib), so be
prepared for a relatively long first build time.
**Get Source**
git clone https://github.com/d99kris/nchat && cd nchat
Using make.sh script
--------------------
If using macOS, Alpine, Arch, Fedora, Gentoo, Raspbian, Ubuntu or Void, one
can use the `make.sh` script provided.
**Dependencies**
./make.sh deps
**Build / Install**
./make.sh build && ./make.sh install
Manually
--------
**Dependencies**
macOS
brew install gperf cmake openssl ncurses ccache readline help2man sqlite libmagic go
Arch
sudo pacman -S ccache cmake file go gperf help2man ncurses openssl readline sqlite zlib base-devel
Debian-based (Ubuntu, Raspbian, etc)
sudo apt install ccache cmake build-essential gperf help2man libreadline-dev libssl-dev libncurses-dev libncursesw5-dev ncurses-doc zlib1g-dev libsqlite3-dev libmagic-dev golang
Fedora
sudo dnf install git cmake clang golang ccache file-devel file-libs gperf readline-devel openssl-devel ncurses-devel sqlite-devel zlib-devel
Gentoo
sudo emerge -n dev-util/cmake dev-util/ccache dev-util/gperf sys-apps/help2man sys-libs/readline dev-libs/openssl sys-libs/ncurses sys-libs/zlib dev-db/sqlite sys-apps/file dev-lang/go
Void
sudo xbps-install base-devel go ccache cmake gperf help2man libmagick-devel readline-devel sqlite-devel file-devel openssl-devel
**Extra Dependencies**
For Wayland-based systems install `wl-clipboard` to enable clipboard
functionality.
To support pasting images directly from clipboard `libpng-dev` is needed. On
X11 systems `libxcb1-dev` and `libx11-dev` are needed as well.
**Build**
mkdir -p build && cd build && cmake .. && make -s
**Install**
sudo make install
Advanced Build Options
----------------------
By default nchat requires ~3.5GB RAM to build using G++ and ~1.5GB RAM with
clang++, but it is possible to reduce the memory needed,
see [Building on Low Memory Systems](/doc/LOWMEMORY.md).
All nchat features are enabled by default, but it's possible to control
inclusion of some features using cmake flags, see [Feature Flags](/doc/FLAGS.md).
Getting Started
===============
In order to configure / setup an account one needs to run nchat in setup mode:
nchat --setup
The setup mode prompts for phone number, which shall be entered with country
code. Example:
$ nchat --setup
Protocols:
0. Dummy
1. Telegram
2. WhatsAppMd
3. Signal
4. Exit setup
Select protocol (3): 1
Enter phone number (ex. +6511111111): +6511111111
Open Telegram on your phone, go to Settings -> Devices
and click Link Desktop Device and scan the QR code.
...
Succesfully set up profile Telegram_+6511111111
By default, nchat uses QR code authentication. The QR code should be scanned
using the official app on the primary device. To use authentication code
instead, set the `USE_PAIRING_CODE` environment variable (see FAQ below).
If unsure of what phone number to enter, open the official app on the phone
and look for the phone number under Settings or Profile section, and use
the number displayed there (omitting spaces, so for the below screenshot
the number to enter is `+6511111111`).
Once the setup process is completed, the main UI of nchat will be loaded.
In order to set up multiple protocols/profiles, exit nchat and perform the
setup step again. To remove a protocol account, use `nchat --remove`.
Troubleshooting
===============
Refer to [Debugging](/doc/DEBUGGING.md) for details.
Telegram Group
==============
A Telegram group [https://t.me/nchatusers](https://t.me/nchatusers) is
available for users to discuss nchat usage and related topics.
Security
========
User data is stored locally in `~/.config/nchat`. Default file permissions
only allow user access, but anyone who can gain access to a user's private
files can also access the user's personal nchat data. To protect against
the most simple attack vectors it may be suitable to use disk encryption and
to ensure `~/.config/nchat` is not backed up unencrypted.
Configuration
=============
The following configuration files (listed with current default values) can be
used to configure nchat.
~/.config/nchat/app.conf
------------------------
This configuration file holds general application settings. Default content:
assert_abort=0
attachment_prefetch=1
attachment_send_type=1
cache_enabled=1
cache_read_only=0
clipboard_copy_command=
clipboard_has_image_command=
clipboard_paste_command=
clipboard_paste_image_command=
coredump_enabled=0
downloads_dir=
emoji_list_all=0
link_send_preview=1
logdump_enabled=0
mentions_quoted=1
message_delete=1
proxy_host=
proxy_pass=
proxy_port=
proxy_user=
timestamp_iso=0
use_pairing_code=0
use_qr_terminal=0
version_used=
### assert_abort
Specifies whether to abort execution (crash) if assertions fail. Primarily
intended for debugging.
### attachment_send_type
Specifies how attachments are sent:
0 = send all attachments as document type (typically preserves file content)
1 = detect file type (audio, video, image, document) and send as that type <- default
2 = like 1, but when sending just a file (no text or quote), webp files are
sent as stickers and mp4/m4v files as borderless auto-playing "GIFs"
### attachment_prefetch
Specifies level of attachment prefetching:
0 = no prefetch (download upon open/save)
1 = selected (download upon message selection) <- default
2 = all (download when message is received)
### cache_enabled
Specifies whether to enable cache functionality.
### cache_read_only
Specifies whether to access cache read-only. Primarily intended for debugging.
### clipboard_*_command
Specifies custom clipboard commands to be used instead of system clipboard.
Refer to [Clipboard](/doc/CLIPBOARD.md) for details.
### coredump_enabled
Specifies whether to enable core dumps on application crash.
### downloads_dir
Specifies a custom downloads directory path to save attachments to. If not
specified, the default dir is `~/Downloads` if exists, otherwise `~`.
### emoji_list_all
Specifies whether the emoji dialog should list all emojis, it is otherwise
restricted to listing emojis that renders properly in common terminals.
### link_send_preview
Specifies whether to enable preview for links in messages sent (Telegram only).
### logdump_enabled
Specifies whether to dump warning and error log messages to stdout upon exit.
### mentions_quoted
Specifies whether to use bracket quoting for display-name mentions with spaces.
### message_delete
Specifies handling of message deletion by other users (WhatsApp and Signal):
1 = erase message <- default
2 = replace message text with `[This message was deleted]`
3 = prefix message text with `[This message was deleted]`
Messages deleted by oneself are always erased locally regardless of this
setting. Deleting messages already marked deleted erases them locally.
### proxy_
SOCKS5 proxy server details. To enable proxy usage the parameters `host` and
`port` are required, while `user` and `pass` are optional (depending on the
SOCKS server). Note: In order to use a proxy while setting up nchat the first
time, it is recommended to first run nchat without arguments (`nchat`) for its
config dir to be created, and then edit proxy settings in
`~/.config/nchat/app.conf` as needed, before running `nchat -s` to setup an
account.
### timestamp_iso
Specifies whether to use ISO-style timestamps (`YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM`) in the UI
and at export of chat history. By default nchat uses a dynamic "human-friendly"
format:
- `HH:MM` for timestamps on same date as today, e.g. `19:00`
- `DAY HH:MM` for timestamps in the last week, e.g. `Mon 19:00`
- `DD MMM HH:MM` for timestamps in the current year, e.g. `14 Nov 19:00`
- `DD MMM YYYY HH:MM` for timestamps in non-current year, e.g. `14 Nov 2022 19:00`
- `DD MMM YYYY HH:MM` for timestamps during export, e.g. `14 Nov 2022 19:00`
### use_pairing_code
Stores the environment variable flag `USE_PAIRING_CODE` if set during setup.
It specifies whether to use pairing code / authentication code instead of
QR code (Telegram/WhatsApp).
### use_qr_terminal
Stores the environment variable flag `USE_QR_TERMINAL` if set during setup.
It specifies whether to display QR code in the terminal, disabling detection
of GUI capability for displaying images.
### version_used
For internal use only. Stores version used for last successful execution. May
be used for debugging startup crash / hang regressions.
~/.config/nchat/ui.conf
-----------------------
This configuration file holds general user interface settings. Default content:
attachment_indicator=📎
attachment_open_command=
away_status_indication=0
auto_compose_command=
auto_compose_enabled=0
auto_compose_history_count=25
auto_select_chat_timeout_sec=1
call_command=
chat_picker_sorted_alphabetically=0
confirm_archiving=1
confirm_deletion=1
confirm_send_pasted_image=1
desktop_notify_active_current=0
desktop_notify_active_noncurrent=1
desktop_notify_command=
desktop_notify_connectivity=1
desktop_notify_enabled=0
desktop_notify_inactive=1
downloadable_indicator=+
edited_indicator=✎
emoji_enabled=1
entry_height=4
failed_indicator=✗
file_picker_command=
file_picker_persist_dir=1
help_enabled=1
home_fetch_all=0
linefeed_on_enter=1
link_open_command=
list_enabled=1
list_width=14
listdialog_show_filter=1
mark_read_any_chat=0
mark_read_on_view=1
mark_read_when_inactive=0
message_edit_command=
message_open_command=
muted_indicate_unread=1
muted_notify_unread=0
muted_position_by_timestamp=1
notify_every_unread=1
online_status_share=1
online_status_dynamic=1
phone_number_indicator=
pinned_indicator=âš²
proxy_indicator=🔒
read_indicator=✓
reactions_enabled=1
spell_check_command=
status_broadcast=1
status_enabled=1
syncing_indicator=⇄
tab_size=4
terminal_bell_active=0
terminal_bell_inactive=1
terminal_title=
top_enabled=1
top_show_version=0
transfer_send_caption=1
typing_status_share=1
undo_clear_input=1
unread_indicator=*
### attachment_indicator
Specifies text to prefix attachment filenames in message view.
### attachment_open_command
Specifies a custom command to use for opening/viewing attachments. The
command shall include `%1` which will be replaced by the filename
to open. If not specified, the following default commands are used:
Linux: `xdg-open >/dev/null 2>&1 '%1' &`
macOS: `open '%1' &`
Note: Omit the trailing `&` for commands taking over the terminal, for
example `w3m -o confirm_qq=false '%1'` and `see '%1'`.
### away_status_indication
Specifies whether to indicate away status in the top bar while sharing away
status with other users. I.e. the status will read `Away` instead of `Online`
when the terminal is inactive (assuming `online_status_share=1` and
`online_status_dynamic=1`).
### auto_compose_command
Specifies a custom command to use to auto-compose message reply. The
command shall include `%1` which will be replaced by the path of a temporary
text file with message history. If not specified, the following default
command is used:
(prefix)/libexec/nchat/compose -c '%1'
Refer to [Auto-Compose](/doc/AUTOCOMPOSE.md) for details.
### auto_compose_enabled
Specifies whether to enable using auto-compose. The reason for not enabling
it by default is that the `compose` tool may use third-party services (if API
key is set up in the shell environment) that can incur costs.
### auto_compose_history_count
Specifies the maximum number of chat messages up to latest (or current
selected) to pass to the auto-compose tool.
### auto_select_chat_timeout_sec
Specifies a timeout after receiving previous history sync message (with
timestamp before the application went online) for automatically setting
current chat. If disabled (value 0) current chat will only be set upon
any user input, or receiving a message with timestamp after application
went online (connected to server).
### call_command
Specifies a custom command to use for starting a call using an external
tool. The command shall include `%1` which will be replaced by the phone
number of the contact. If not specified, the following default commands
are used:
Linux: `xdg-open >/dev/null 2>&1 'tel://%1' &`
macOS: `open 'tel://%1' &`
### chat_picker_sorted_alphabetically
Specifies whether the chat selection dialog (used when forwarding message)
should be sorted alphabetically. If not, its order follows the main chat
list order.
### confirm_archiving
Specifies whether to prompt the user for confirmation when archiving a chat.
### confirm_deletion
Specifies whether to prompt the user for confirmation when deleting a message
or a chat.
### confirm_send_pasted_image
Specifies whether to prompt the user for confirmation when pasting an image
to a chat.
### desktop_notify_active_current
Specifies whether new message in current chat shall trigger desktop
notification when nchat terminal window is active.
### desktop_notify_active_noncurrent
Specifies whether new message in non-current chat shall trigger desktop
notification when nchat terminal window is active.
### desktop_notify_command
Specifies a custom command to use for desktop notifications. The command may
include `%1` (will be replaced by `sender name` or `group name - sender name`)
and `%2` (will be replaced by `message text`) enclosed in single quotes (to
prevent shell injection). Default command used, if not specified:
Linux: `notify-send 'nchat' '%1: %2'`
macOS: `osascript -e 'display notification "%1: %2" with title "nchat"'`
### desktop_notify_connectivity
Specifies whether change of connectivity status (going offline or back online)
shall trigger desktop notification.
### desktop_notify_enabled
Specifies whether desktop notifications are permitted. Simply enabling this
parameter will not display notifications, unless other `desktop_notify_*`
parameters are enabled.
### desktop_notify_inactive
Specifies whether new message shall trigger desktop notification when nchat
terminal window is inactive.
### downloadable_indicator
Specifies text to suffix attachment filenames in message view for attachments
not yet downloaded. This is only shown for `attachment_prefetch` < 2.
### edited_indicator
Specifies text to suffix message header in message view for messages that have
been edited.
### emoji_enabled
Specifies whether to display emojis. Controlled by Ctrl-y in run-time.
### entry_height
Specifies height of text entry area.
### failed_indicator
Specifies text to suffix attachment filenames in message view for failed
downloads.
### file_picker_command
Specifies a command to use for file selection, in place of the internal file
selection dialog used when sending files. The command shall include `%1` (a
temporary file path) which the command should write its result to. Examples:
nnn: `nnn -p '%1'`
ranger: `ranger --choosefiles='%1'`
### file_picker_persist_dir
Specifies whether the file selection dialog shall persist the directory of
last selected file.
### help_enabled
Specifies whether to display help bar. Controlled by Ctrl-g in run-time.
### home_fetch_all
Specifies whether `home` button shall repeatedly fetch all chat history.
### linefeed_on_enter
Specifies if enter key press should be read as linefeed (LF `\12`).
Otherwise read as carriage return (CR `\15`). This setting is only
relevant if `key.conf` uses numerical key value for enter (LF `\12`,
CR `\15`). The key name `KEY_RETURN` always maps to the one in use.
### link_open_command
Specifies a custom command to use for opening/viewing links. The
command shall include `%1` which will be replaced by the url
to open. If not specified, the following default commands are used:
Linux: `xdg-open >/dev/null 2>&1 '%1' &`
macOS: `open '%1' &`
Note: Omit the trailing `&` for commands taking over the terminal, for
example `w3m -o confirm_qq=false '%1'` and `see '%1'`.
### list_enabled
Specifies whether to display chat list. Controlled by Ctrl-l in run-time.
### list_width
Specifies width of chat list.
### listdialog_show_filter
Specifies whether list dialogs should display the search filter input by user.
### mark_read_any_chat
Specifies whether nchat may mark messages as read before current chat has
been set (either through user activity or time elapsed since last old sync
message was received).
### mark_read_on_view
Specifies whether nchat should send message read receipts upon viewing. If
false nchat will only mark the messages read upon `next_page` (page down),
`end` (end) or upon sending a message/file in the chat.
### mark_read_when_inactive
Controls whether nchat marks messages in the current chat as read while the
terminal is inactive.
### message_edit_command
Specifies a custom command to use for external editor compose. If not
specified, nchat will use `EDITOR` environment variable if set, or
otherwise use `nano`.
### message_open_command
Specifies a custom command to use for opening/viewing message text part. If
not specified, nchat will use `PAGER` environment variable if set, or
otherwise use `less`.
### muted_indicate_unread
Specifies whether chat list should indicate unread status `*` for muted chats.
This also determines whether the such chats are included in jump to unread.
### muted_notify_unread
Specifies whether to notify (terminal bell) new unread messages in muted chats.
### muted_position_by_timestamp
Specifies whether chat list position of muted chats should reflect the time of
their last received/sent message. Otherwise muted chats are listed last.
### notify_every_unread
Specifies whether to notify upon receiving more messages in an unread chat.
### online_status_share
Share online status with other users.
Note: Disabling this stops updates on other users online/typing status for
WhatsApp.
### online_status_dynamic
Dynamically update online status based on terminal active state.
Note: Enabling this stops updates on other users online/typing status for
WhatsApp when the terminal is not active.
### phone_number_indicator
Specifies status bar text to indicate phone number of the current chat is
available. This field may contain `%1` which will be replaced with the actual
phone number of the contact. Other examples: `🎧`
### pinned_indicator
Specifies text to suffix message header in message view for messages that have
been pinned.
### proxy_indicator
Specifies top bar text to indicate proxy is enabled.
### read_indicator
Specifies text to indicate a message has been read by the receiver.
### reactions_enabled
Specifies whether to display reactions.
### spell_check_command
Specifies a custom command to use for spell checking composed messages. If not
specified, nchat checks if `aspell` or `ispell` is available on the system (in
that order), and uses the first found.
### status_broadcast
Specifies (WhatsApp) Status Updates chat level of visibility:
0 = hidden
1 = visible and muted <- default
2 = visible
### status_enabled
Specifies whether to display status bar.
### syncing_indicator
Specifies text to suffix attachment filenames in message view for downloads
in progress.
### tab_size
Specifies number of spaces to insert when user inputs a tab character.
### terminal_bell_active
Specifies whether new message shall trigger terminal bell when nchat terminal
window is active.
### terminal_bell_inactive
Specifies whether new message shall trigger terminal bell when nchat terminal
window is inactive.
### terminal_title
Specifies custom terminal title, ex: `terminal_title=nchat - telegram`.
### top_enabled
Specifies whether to display top bar. Controlled by Ctrl-p in run-time.
### top_show_version
Specifies whether to display nchat version in top bar.
### transfer_send_caption
Specifies if entered text should be sent as caption when transferring a file.
### typing_status_share
Specifies whether to share typing status with other user(s) in the
conversation.
### undo_clear_input
Specifies whether undoing clearing of input buffer (by pressing ctrl-c again)
is enabled.
### unread_indicator
Specifies the character to suffix chats with unread messages in the chat list.
~/.config/nchat/key.conf
------------------------
This configuration file holds user interface key bindings. Default content:
archive_chat=\33\141
auto_compose=\33\151
backspace=KEY_BACKSPACE
backspace_alt=KEY_ALT_BACKSPACE
backward_kill_word=\33\177
backward_word=
begin_line=KEY_CTRLA
cancel=KEY_CTRLC
clear=KEY_CTRLC
copy=\33\143
cut=\33\170
decrease_list_width=\33\54
delete=KEY_DC
delete_chat=\33\144
delete_line_after_cursor=KEY_CTRLK
delete_line_before_cursor=KEY_CTRLU
delete_msg=KEY_CTRLD
down=KEY_DOWN
edit_msg=KEY_CTRLZ
end=KEY_END
end_line=KEY_CTRLE
ext_call=\33\164
ext_edit=\33\145
find=\33\57
find_next=\33\77
forward_msg=\33\162
forward_word=
goto_chat=KEY_CTRLN
home=KEY_HOME
increase_list_width=\33\56
jump_pinned=KEY_CTRLP
jump_quoted=\33\161
kill_word=
left=KEY_LEFT
linebreak=KEY_RETURN
next_chat=KEY_TAB
next_page=KEY_NPAGE
ok=KEY_RETURN
open=KEY_CTRLV
open_link=KEY_CTRLW
open_msg=\33\167
other_commands_help=KEY_CTRLO
paste=\33\166
pin=\33\160
prev_chat=KEY_BTAB
prev_page=KEY_PPAGE
quit=KEY_CTRLQ
react=\33\163
right=KEY_RIGHT
save=KEY_CTRLR
select_contact=\33\156
select_emoji=KEY_CTRLS
select_mention=\33\62
send_msg=KEY_CTRLX
spell=\33\44
tab=\33\11
terminal_focus_in=KEY_FOCUS_IN
terminal_focus_out=KEY_FOCUS_OUT
terminal_resize=KEY_RESIZE
toggle_emoji=KEY_CTRLY
toggle_help=KEY_CTRLG
toggle_list=KEY_CTRLL
toggle_top=KEY_NONE
transfer=KEY_CTRLT
unread_chat=KEY_CTRLF
up=KEY_UP
The key bindings may be specified in the following formats:
- Ncurses macro (ex: `KEY_CTRLK`)
- Hex key code (ex: `0x22e`)
- Octal key code sequence (ex: `\033\177`)
- Plain-text single-char ASCII (ex: `r`)
- Disable key binding (`KEY_NONE`)
To determine the key code sequence for a key, one can run nchat in key code
dump mode `nchat -k` which will output the octal code, and ncurses macro name
(if present).
~/.config/nchat/color.conf
--------------------------
This configuration file holds user interface color settings. Default content:
default_color_bg=
default_color_fg=
dialog_attr=
dialog_attr_selected=reverse
dialog_color_bg=
dialog_color_fg=
entry_attr=
entry_color_bg=
entry_color_fg=
help_attr=reverse
help_color_bg=black
help_color_fg=white
history_name_attr=bold
history_name_attr_selected=reverse
history_name_recv_color_bg=
history_name_recv_color_fg=
history_name_recv_group_color_bg=
history_name_recv_group_color_fg=
history_name_sent_color_bg=
history_name_sent_color_fg=gray
history_text_attachment_color_bg=
history_text_attachment_color_fg=gray
history_text_attr=
history_text_attr_selected=reverse
history_text_quoted_color_bg=
history_text_quoted_color_fg=gray
history_text_reaction_color_bg=
history_text_reaction_color_fg=gray
history_text_recv_color_bg=
history_text_recv_color_fg=
history_text_recv_group_color_bg=
history_text_recv_group_color_fg=
history_text_sent_color_bg=
history_text_sent_color_fg=gray
list_attr=
list_attr_selected=reverse
list_color_bg=
list_color_fg=
list_color_unread_bg=
list_color_unread_fg=
listborder_attr=
listborder_color_bg=
listborder_color_fg=
status_attr=reverse
status_color_bg=
status_color_fg=
top_attr=reverse
top_color_bg=
top_color_fg=
Supported text attributes `_attr` (defaults to `normal` if not specified):
normal
underline
reverse
bold
italic
Supported text background `_bg` and foreground `_fg` colors:
black
red
green
yellow
blue
magenta
cyan
white
gray
bright_black (same as gray)
bright_red
bright_green
bright_yellow
bright_blue
bright_magenta
bright_cyan
bright_white
Custom colors may be specified using hex RGB code, for example `0xff8937`.
The `history_name_recv_group_color` and `history_text_recv_group_color`
parameters also supports the special value `usercolor`. When set, nchat will
determine which color to use for a user, based on a hash of their user id
used to pick a color from the list in `~/.config/nchat/usercolor.conf`.
Themes
------
Color themes are available in the source package under the `themes` directory
and can be used by copying to `~/.config/nchat/`.
Available themes:
ayu-dark
basic-color
catppuccin-mocha
default
dracula
espresso
gruvbox-dark
gruvbox-dark-hard
solarized-dark-higher-contrast
tokyo-night
tomorrow-night
zenbones-dark
zenburned
See the [Themes wiki-page](https://github.com/d99kris/nchat/wiki/Themes) for
example screenshots.
### Installing theme from source
With a source code copy, simply copy the theme files to the config directory
(while nchat is not running). Example installing `dracula` theme:
cp themes/dracula/* ~/.config/nchat/
### Installing theme from web
One can fetch current `master` copy of a theme from the github repository and
download to the config directory (while nchat is not running). Example
installing `dracula` theme:
THEME="dracula" ; curl -L "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/d99kris/nchat/refs/heads/master/themes/${THEME}/{color.conf,usercolor.conf}" -o ~/.config/nchat/#1
### Generating theme from iTerm2-Color-Schemes
To generate nchat themes based on
[iTerm2 Color Schemes](https://github.com/mbadolato/iTerm2-Color-Schemes)
refer to [Generating nchat themes from iTerm2 Color Schemes](/themes/templates/iterm2-color-schemes/README.md).
General
-------
Deleting a configuration entry line (while nchat is not running) and starting
nchat will populate the configuration file with the default entry.
Protocol-Specific Configuration
===============================
The following configuration files (listed with current default values) can be
used to configure nchat.
~/.config/nchat/profiles/Telegram_+nnnnn/telegram.conf
------------------------------------------------------
This configuration file holds protocol-specific settings for Telegram. Default
content:
local_key=
markdown_enabled=1
markdown_version=1
profile_display_name=
### local_key
For internal use by nchat only.
### markdown_enabled
Specifies whether to enable Markdown <-> text conversion for text messages
(default enabled).
### markdown_version
Specifies which Telegram Markdown version to use (default 1).
### profile_display_name
Specifies an optional short/display name in the status bar when using nchat
with multiple profiles. The default profile name is `Telegram` or
`Telegram_+nnnnn` (when more than one Telegram profile is set up) if this
setting is not specified.
~/.config/nchat/profiles/WhatsAppMd_+nnnnn/whatsappmd.conf
----------------------------------------------------------
This configuration file holds protocol-specific settings for WhatsApp. Default
content:
profile_display_name=
### profile_display_name
Specifies an optional short/display name in the status bar when using nchat
with multiple profiles. The default profile name is `WhatsAppMd` or
`WhatsAppMd_+nnnnn` (when more than one WhatsAppMd profile is set up) if this
setting is not specified.
~/.config/nchat/profiles/Signal_+nnnnn/signal.conf
----------------------------------------------------------
This configuration file holds protocol-specific settings for Signal. Default
content:
profile_display_name=
### profile_display_name
Specifies an optional short/display name in the status bar when using nchat
with multiple profiles. The default profile name is `Signal` or
`Signal_+nnnnn` (when more than one Signal profile is set up) if this
setting is not specified.
FAQ
===
### 1. Alt/Opt-keyboard shortcuts are not working?
For Linux please ensure the terminal is configured with
[meta to send escape](https://askubuntu.com/questions/442644/how-to-make-xterm-to-send-the-alt-key-to-emacs-as-meta).
For macOS Terminal ensure that the Terminal profile keyboard setting
"Use Option as Meta key" is enabled.
If issues are still encountered, please use `nchat -k` (keydump mode) to
determine the key codes and modify `~/.config/nchat/key.conf` accordingly.
### 2. Send messages with Enter key?
To simply send on Enter key press and skip message compose with linebreaks,
one can just set `send_msg=KEY_RETURN` in `~/.config/nchat/key.conf`.
To also be able to compose messages with linebreaks using Alt/Opt-Enter, edit
`~/.config/nchat/ui.conf` and set `linefeed_on_enter=0`. And in
`~/.config/nchat/key.conf` set `linebreak=\33\15`.
### 3. Custom colors are not shown when running nchat in tmux?
Please try to run nchat with a TERM supporting custom colors, e.g:
TERM=xterm-256color nchat
### 4. Sent messages are not visible?
For terminals with eight colors (or more) the default color theme displays
sent messages in gray (shaded). Some terminals may wrongly report supporting
more colors than two, or the terminal may be set up with gray mapped to black.
In this case sent / own messages may appear invisible. To avoid nchat using
gray one can edit `~/.config/nchat/color.conf` and remove occurances of `gray`.
### 5. How to use Telegram and WhatsApp concurrently or switch between them?
The **recommended** method is to set up nchat with one config directory per
protocol/phone number, and run each instance in separate terminal windows/tabs.
To simplify such usage one can set up aliases, for example:
alias telegram='nchat -d ~/.config/nchat-telegram'
alias whatsapp='nchat -d ~/.config/nchat-whatsapp'
Then use regular setup for them (separately), for example:
telegram -s
whatsapp -s
The **alternative** method is to set up multiple protocol accounts in a single
nchat config directory. For each protocol/phone nubmer, run setup mode and exit
after initial sync:
nchat -s
### 6. How to set up Telegram / WhatsApp without scanning a QR code?
By default setting up a Telegram or WhatsApp account will display a QR code
to be scanned using the mobile application on the primary device. As an
alternative one can set an environment flag to use authentication code
(Telegram) or pairing code (WhatsApp) instead:
USE_PAIRING_CODE=1 nchat -s
### 7. No QR code is shown when setting up Telegram / WhatsApp / Signal?
By default nchat will attempt to detect if the system is capable of viewing
images using a GUI image viewer, and if detected (indicated by "has gui" in
the log) it displays the QR code using default image viewer. If that for some
reason fails, one can use pairing code (see above), or force nchat to display
the QR code in the terminal:
USE_QR_TERMINAL=1 nchat -s
### 8. Build fails with `c++: fatal error: Killed signal terminated program cc1plus`?
This often means that OOM killer has terminated the compilation due to the
system running out of free RAM.
If the system has **less than 4 GB RAM**, please refer to
[Building on Low Memory Systems](/doc/LOWMEMORY.md).
If the system has **4 GB RAM or more**, the problem can occur if parallelism
is set too high, which is likely to be encountered when installing from the
Arch Linux AUR package. A workaround for the AUR package is to manually
restrict max number of parallel jobs to `available RAM in GB` divided by 4.
For example a system with 8 GB would then need to use max 8 / 4 = 2 jobs:
CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL=2 yay -S nchat
Alternatively one can [Build from Source](#build-from-source) using the
`make.sh` script, which sets parallel job count based on the system
capabilities.
### 9. Terminal transparency is not working?
If on Linux, try removing any custom default background set up, i.e. set
`default_color_bg=` in `~/.config/nchat/color.conf`.
Project Scope
=============
Limitations
-----------
There are no plans to support the following features:
- Telegram secret chats
- Voice / video calls
Additionally, WhatsApp and Signal are only supported on macOS and glibc-based
Linux systems. Thus, it is not supported on musl-based operating systems, such
as Alpine Linux. See [issue #204](https://github.com/d99kris/nchat/issues/204)
for technical details on this limitation.
Roadmap
-------
There is currently no concrete roadmap for further feature development of
nchat. It is not intended to be a full-featured client on par with official
Telegram / WhatsApp / Signal clients, but rather a light-weight client
providing essential functionality suitable for the terminal. However, feel
free to submit feature requests if there's something missing, or help upvote
[existing feature requests](https://github.com/d99kris/nchat/discussions/categories/ideas?discussions_q=is%3Aopen+category%3AIdeas),
if it's useful and low effort it will be considered.
Contributions
=============
Please refer to [Contributing Guidelines](/doc/CONTRIBUTING.md) and
[Design Notes](/doc/DESIGN.md).
Alternatives
============
Terminal-based Telegram clients:
- [tg](https://github.com/paul-nameless/tg)
- [tgt](https://github.com/FedericoBruzzone/tgt)
Terminal-based WhatsApp clients:
- [whatscli](https://github.com/normen/whatscli)
Terminal-based Signal clients:
- [gurk-rs](https://github.com/boxdot/gurk-rs)
Technical Details
=================
Custom API Id / Hash
--------------------
nchat uses its own Telegram API id and hash by default. To use custom id/hash,
obtained from [https://my.telegram.org/](https://my.telegram.org/) one may set
environment variables `TG_APIID` and `TG_APIHASH` when setting up a new Telegram
account. Example (below values must be changed to valid api id/hash):
TG_APIID="123456" TG_APIHASH="aaeaeab342aaa23423" nchat -s
Third-party Libraries
---------------------
nchat is primarily implemented in C++ with some parts in Go. Its source tree
includes the source code of the following third-party libraries:
- [apathy](https://github.com/dlecocq/apathy) -
Copyright 2013 Dan Lecocq -
[MIT License](/ext/apathy/LICENSE)
- [cereal](https://github.com/USCiLab/cereal) -
Copyright 2013 Randolph Voorhies, Shane Grant -
[BSD-3 License](/ext/cereal/LICENSE)
- [clip](https://github.com/dacap/clip) -
Copyright 2015 David Capello -
[MIT License](/ext/clip/LICENSE.txt)
- [QR-Code-generator](https://github.com/nayuki/QR-Code-generator) -
Copyright 2022 Project Nayuki -
[MIT License](/ext/QR-Code-generator/Readme.markdown)
- [mautrix-signal](https://github.com/mautrix/signal) -
Copyright 2020 Tulir Asokan -
[AGPL License](/lib/sgchat/go/ext/signal/LICENSE)
- [stb](https://github.com/nothings/stb) -
Copyright 2017 Sean Barrett -
[MIT License](/ext/stb/LICENSE)
- [sqlite_modern_cpp](https://github.com/SqliteModernCpp/sqlite_modern_cpp) -
Copyright 2017 aminroosta -
[MIT License](/ext/sqlite_modern_cpp/License.txt)
- [tdlib](https://github.com/tdlib/td) -
Copyright 2014 Aliaksei Levin, Arseny Smirnov -
[Boost License](/lib/tgchat/ext/td/LICENSE_1_0.txt)
- [whatsmeow](https://github.com/tulir/whatsmeow) -
Copyright 2022 Tulir Asokan -
[MPL License](/lib/wmchat/go/ext/whatsmeow/LICENSE)
The [tdlib](https://github.com/tdlib/td),
[whatsmeow](https://github.com/tulir/whatsmeow) and
[signal](https://github.com/mautrix/signal)
libraries are actively
developed and need to be updated and integrated into nchat on a regular
basis by nchat maintainer(s). To facilitate this there are scripts available
to update to latest (or a specific) version of these libraries. Example usages:
./utils/tdlib-update 8517026
./utils/whatsmeow-update 7aedaa1
./utils/signal-update 93da772
Code Formatting
---------------
Uncrustify is used to maintain consistent source code formatting, example:
./make.sh src
License
=======
nchat is distributed under the MIT license. See LICENSE file.
Keywords
========
command line, console-based, linux, macos, chat client, ncurses, telegram,
terminal-based.