YTalk – multi-user chat program

YTalk is a terminal-based chat program that extends the traditional Unix talk utility with support for conversations involving multiple users.

The original talk program was designed primarily for communication between two people. YTalk allows additional participants to join a conversation, dividing the terminal into separate areas so that messages from different users remain visible.

YTalk is compatible with both the original talk protocol and the newer ntalk protocol. It can communicate with different talk daemons, making it useful in mixed Unix environments where participants may use different implementations.

The application also provides a menu-driven interface for managing conversations. Users can invite additional participants, manage connections and change session settings without restarting the program.

One of YTalk’s distinctive capabilities is its ability to share the output of a command shell with other participants. This makes it useful for demonstrating commands or discussing terminal activity remotely.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• Supports simultaneous conversations with multiple users.
• Communicates with both talk and ntalk daemons.
• Divides the terminal into separate windows for conversation participants.
• Allows additional users to be invited during a conversation.
• Provides controls for disconnecting individual participants.
• Supports automatically accepting incoming invitations.
• Can automatically invite users connected to other participants.
• Offers configurable invitation retries for unresponsive users.
• Provides a menu for viewing and changing conversation settings.
• Supports launching a command shell and sharing its output with participants.
• Handles basic VT100 terminal control sequences and job control.
• Allows conversation output to be saved to a file.
• Supports scrolling and word wrapping.
• Provides aliases for frequently contacted users and hosts.
• Allows a preferred local interface to be selected on multihomed systems.
• Supports configuration through a .ytalkrc file.
• Provides an optional X11 interface.
• Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris and other Unix systems.

Website: ytalk.ourproject.org
Support:
Developer: Andreas Kling (original developer: Britt Yenne)
License: GNU General Public License v2.0

YTalk is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

Alternatives to talk

Explore Linux
	Best Free and Open Source Software - A huge collection of recommended free and open source software covering every major category.
	In-depth Linux Software Reviews - Detailed assessments of Linux software covering features, usability and overall quality.
	The Big List of Active Linux Distros - An extensive collection of actively developed Linux distributions.
	Open Source Alternatives - Alternatives to software and services from Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Autodesk, Oracle and others.
	Essential Linux System Tools - Indispensable utilities for monitoring, maintaining and managing Linux systems.
	Linux Productivity Tools - Useful utilities for improving productivity and streamlining everyday tasks.
	Alternatives to Popular CLI Tools - Modern alternatives to familiar command-line utilities supplied with Linux systems.
	Awesome Free Linux Game Tools - Tools, utilities and companion software that improve gaming on Linux.
	Machine Learning on Linux - Machine learning and deep learning software, self-hosted applications and practical tools.
	Saving Money with Linux - Practical ways to reduce electricity consumption and lower computing costs with Linux.
	Linux Candy - Fun, entertaining and sometimes delightfully quirky software from the lighter side of Linux.