marchat is a lightweight terminal chat with real-time messaging over WebSockets, optional E2E encryption, and a flexible plugin ecosystem.
It’s built for developers who prefer the command line.
marchat started as a fun weekend project for father-son coding sessions and has evolved into a lightweight, self-hosted terminal chat application designed specifically for developers who love the command line.
This is free and open source software.
Features include:
- Terminal UI – Beautiful TUI built with Bubble Tea.
- Real-time Chat – Fast WebSocket messaging with SQLite backend (PostgreSQL/MySQL planned).
- Plugin System – Remote registry with text commands and Alt+key hotkeys.
- E2E Encryption – X25519/ChaCha20-Poly1305 with global encryption.
- File Sharing – Send files up to 1MB (configurable) with interactive picker.
- Admin Controls – User management, bans, kick system with ban history gaps.
- Smart Notifications – Bell + desktop notifications with quiet hours and focus mode.
- Themes – Built-in themes + custom themes via JSON.
- Docker Support – Containerized deployment with security features.
- Health Monitoring – /health and /health/simple endpoints with system metrics.
- Structured Logging – JSON logs with component separation and user tracking.
- Cross-Platform – Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, and Android/Termux.
Website: github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat
Support:
Developer: Cody Marsengill
License: MIT License
marchat is written in Go. Learn Go with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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