termchat

Minimal anonymous terminal chatrooms.

Open a terminal → paste one command → instantly chat.

Built for quick collaboration, debugging sessions, pair programming, temporary communities, and internet-native realtime chat.

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Features

• Anonymous ephemeral chat rooms
• Zero account creation
• Realtime WebSocket messaging
• LAN Host Mode for direct IP-based local rooms
• Room discovery (online and LAN)
• Room passwords (locked / unlocked rooms)
• Host privileges with automatic succession
• Modern terminal-native TUI
• Sidebar user list with host indicator
• Mention highlighting (@user)
• Cross-platform bootstrap installer
• Linux / macOS / Windows / Android (Termux) support
• Auto-generated room IDs
• Nickname colors
• Responsive terminal layout
• GitHub Releases binary delivery
• Dockerized deployment
• GitHub Actions CI/CD
• GHCR container publishing
• Lightweight single-binary CLI

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UI Preview

The latest TUI includes:

• Dedicated users sidebar
• Better spacing and layout
• Cleaner message rendering
• Improved command hints
• Status footer
• Mention highlighting
• Better input handling
• Adaptive resizing

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [system] Alice joined the room                                             │
│ Alice: Hey @Bob                                                            │
│ Bob: sup                                                                   │
│                                                                            │
│ Commands: /help /clear /nick /color /password /quit                        │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ > Type a message...                                                        │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Quick Start

Linux / macOS

Create a room:

curl -fsSL https://termchat.sacred99.online | bash

Join a room:

curl -fsSL https://termchat.sacred99.online/7WHB | bash

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Windows (PowerShell)

Create a room:

irm https://termchat.sacred99.online/win -OutFile termchat-bootstrap.ps1
.\termchat-bootstrap.ps1

Join a room:

irm https://termchat.sacred99.online/win/7WHB -OutFile termchat-bootstrap.ps1
.\termchat-bootstrap.ps1

If PowerShell blocks scripts:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass

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Android / Termux

pkg install curl
curl -fsSL https://termchat.sacred99.online | bash

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CLI Usage

Create a cloud room:

termchat

Join a cloud room:

termchat FROG

Join with an explicit room flag:

termchat --room FROG

Use a custom WebSocket server:

termchat FROG --server wss://my.server/ws

Discover rooms:

termchat discover
termchat discover --online
termchat discover --local

Show help:

termchat --help

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LAN Host Mode

LAN Host Mode runs the WebSocket server, room manager, and local TUI in one process. Other users connect directly to the host's IP address.

Host an auto-generated room:

termchat host

Host a specific room:

termchat host FROG

Host on a custom port:

termchat host FROG --port 9000

Host a password-protected room:

termchat host --password secret
termchat host FROG --password secret

Join a LAN room:

termchat FROG --host 192.168.1.42

Join a LAN room with a password:

termchat FROG --host 192.168.1.42 --password secret

Join a LAN room on a custom port:

termchat FROG --host 192.168.1.42 --port 9000

Notes:

• Default LAN port: 8080
• --server still works and takes priority over --host / --port
• A UDP multicast beacon is broadcast every second, enabling termchat discover --local

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Supported Platforms

Platform	Architectures
Linux	amd64, arm64, 386 / i686
macOS	amd64, arm64
Windows	amd64, arm64
Android / Termux	arm64

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Commands

Command	Description
/help	Show available commands
/clear	Clear chat history
/nick NAME	Change nickname
/color #HEX	Change nickname color
/password NEWPASS	Set or change room password (host only)
/password	Remove room password (host only)
/quit	Exit room

Notes:

• The online users panel is built directly into the UI.
• /users command has been removed.
• Mentions highlight automatically when using @nickname.

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Room System

termchat rooms are:

• Temporary
• Memory-only
• Automatically created on join
• Deleted when empty
• Shareable via URL-style room codes
• Locked (password-protected) or unlocked

The first user to join a room becomes the host. The host is shown with a [host] tag in the user list sidebar. When the host disconnects, the next oldest user by join time becomes the new host. A system message broadcasts the change.

Example:

https://termchat.sacred99.online/7WHB

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Security

Current protections include:

• WebSocket keepalive
• Buffered outbound queues
• Graceful disconnect handling
• Inactive connection cleanup
• Cross-platform bootstrap detection
• Automatic binary fetching
• ANSI escape sanitization
• Message length enforcement
• Room passwords for access control

Recommended future hardening:

• Global + per-room rate limits
• Join throttling
• Room validation hardening
• Profanity / spam filtering
• Abuse detection

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Roadmap

Planned ideas:

• File transfer
• Message reactions
• Terminal notifications
• Persistent optional identities
• End-to-end encryption experiments
• Self-hosted one-command deployment
• Rich markdown rendering
• Multi-room support

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Technologies

• Go
• Bubble Tea
• Lip Gloss
• Gorilla WebSocket
• Chi
• Docker
• Caddy
• GitHub Actions
• GitHub Container Registry

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Philosophy

termchat is designed to feel:

• Instant
• Disposable
• Lightweight
• Terminal-first
• Frictionless

No signup. No browser tabs.

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License

MIT