MigChat CLI

An interactive command-line client for MigChat server, built with Rust.

Features

• 🎨 Beautiful Interactive UI - Colorful, menu-driven interface using dialoguer
• 🔐 Account Management - Create accounts and automatic session management
• 💬 Real-time Messaging - Send and receive messages to/from other users
• 📋 Conversation Tracking - View all your conversations with metadata
• 💾 Persistent Sessions - Automatic token storage in ~/.migchat/config.json
• 🌐 Configurable Server - Connect to any MigChat server instance

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

Linux / macOS:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/migchat/cli/main/install.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/migchat/cli/main/install.ps1 | iex

The installer will:

• Detect your platform and architecture automatically
• Download the latest release binary
• Install to the appropriate location:
  • Unix: ~/.local/bin/migchat
  • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\migchat\bin\migchat.exe
• Configure PATH (Windows does this automatically)
• Make it executable (Unix only)

Unix PATH Setup: After installation on Linux/macOS, you may need to add ~/.local/bin to your PATH:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Supported Platforms

• Linux (x86_64, aarch64)
• macOS (Intel x86_64, Apple Silicon aarch64)
• Windows (x86_64, aarch64)

Manual Installation

1. Download the binary for your platform from the latest release
2. Rename it:
   • Unix: migchat (remove platform suffix)
   • Windows: migchat.exe (remove platform suffix)
3. Unix only: Make it executable: chmod +x migchat
4. Move it to a directory in your PATH:
   • Unix: mv migchat ~/.local/bin/
   • Windows: Move to %LOCALAPPDATA%\migchat\bin\ and add to PATH

From Source

1. Install Rust (if not already installed):

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

2. Clone and build:

git clone https://github.com/migchat/cli.git
cd cli
cargo build --release

3. Install globally (optional):

cargo install --path .

Or run directly:

cargo run

Usage

Starting the CLI

# If installed via script or manually
migchat

# If installed via cargo
migchat-cli

# Or run from source
cargo run

First Time Setup

1. The CLI will connect to the default server: https://server-1ce-la.fly.dev
2. On first launch, you'll be prompted to create an account
3. Enter your desired username and password
4. Your account and session will be saved automatically

Account Management

The CLI supports multiple accounts:

• First Login: When no accounts exist, you'll be prompted to create one
• Returning Users: When accounts exist, you'll see a list of saved accounts to select from
• Switch Accounts: Switch between accounts without re-entering credentials
• Persistent Sessions: All account tokens are stored securely in ~/.migchat/config.json

Main Features

1. Multiple Account Support

• Store multiple accounts on the same server
• Quickly switch between accounts
• Each account maintains its own authentication token

2. Create Account

• Create a new account with a unique username
• Password is securely hashed on the server
• Authentication token is stored locally

3. View Conversations

• See all your active conversations
• Shows last message and timestamp
• Displays unread message count

4. View All Messages

• See complete message history
• Shows sent and received messages
• Color-coded for easy reading (you vs others)

5. Send Message

• Send a message to any username
• Server validates recipient exists
• Instant confirmation

6. Switch Account / Logout

• Switch between your saved accounts
• Logout to return to account selection
• Accounts remain saved for easy re-login

7. Set Server URL

• Connect to a different MigChat server
• Useful for development or self-hosted instances

Configuration

Configuration is stored in ~/.migchat/config.json:

{
  "server_url": "https://server-1ce-la.fly.dev",
  "accounts": {
    "alice": {
      "username": "alice",
      "token": "alice_auth_token"
    },
    "bob": {
      "username": "bob",
      "token": "bob_auth_token"
    }
  },
  "current_account": "alice"
}

Changing Server

You can change the server in two ways:

1. Through the CLI: Select "Set Server URL" from the auth menu
2. Edit config manually: Edit ~/.migchat/config.json before launching

UI Preview

╔═══════════════════════════════════╗
║                                   ║
║          MigChat CLI              ║
║     Interactive Chat Client       ║
║                                   ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════╝

✓ Connected to server: https://server-1ce-la.fly.dev

Logged in as: your_username

Main Menu:
  View Conversations
> View All Messages
  Send Message
  Logout
  Exit

Development

Project Structure

src/
├── main.rs           # Application entry point
├── api/              # API client implementation
│   ├── mod.rs
│   ├── client.rs     # HTTP client for MigChat API
│   └── models.rs     # Request/response models
├── config.rs         # Configuration management
└── ui/               # Interactive UI
    └── mod.rs        # Menu system and display logic

Dependencies

• reqwest - HTTP client for API calls
• dialoguer - Interactive CLI prompts and menus
• colored - Terminal color output
• serde/serde_json - JSON serialization
• chrono - Date/time handling
• anyhow - Error handling
• dirs - Cross-platform config directory

Building

# Debug build
cargo build

# Release build (optimized)
cargo build --release

# Run with logging
RUST_LOG=debug cargo run

Testing with Local Server

If you're running the server locally:

# Start the server on port 3000
cd ../server
cargo run

# In another terminal, run the CLI
cd ../cli
cargo run

Then set the server URL to http://localhost:3000 from the CLI menu.

Features in Detail

Color Coding

• 🟢 Green: Success messages and your username
• 🔵 Cyan: Other usernames and headers
• 🟡 Yellow: Loading/processing messages
• 🔴 Red: Errors and unread counts
• ⚫ Gray: Timestamps and metadata

Message Display

Messages show:

• Timestamp in your local timezone
• Direction (from/to)
• Content
• Visual separation between messages

Error Handling

• Network errors are caught and displayed
• Invalid credentials show clear messages
• Server unavailability is detected on startup

Troubleshooting

"Cannot connect to server"

Check:

1. Server URL is correct in config
2. Server is running and accessible
3. No firewall blocking the connection

"Failed to create account: Username already exists"

The username is taken. Try a different one.

Config file errors

Delete the config file and restart:

rm ~/.migchat/config.json

Build errors

Make sure you have the latest Rust:

rustup update

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! For major changes, please open an issue first.

License

MIT

Related

• MigChat Server - The backend server