# neotalk

A modern peer-to-peer (P2P) chat over IP, with a graphical interface. Inspired
by the classic Unix `talk`.

- **Negotiation** (finding each other and ringing the doorbell) goes over **UDP**.
- The **conversation** goes over a **direct TCP connection** between the two clients.
- **End-to-end** encryption (X25519 + AES-GCM).
- No servers, no accounts, no groups. Nothing is stored: closing loses it.
- **VPN friendly.** Auto-discovery works on the local network; across a VPN
  (WireGuard, Tailscale…) you connect directly by address. See
  [Connecting over a VPN](#connecting-over-a-vpn-wireguard-tailscale).

## Usage

```sh
uv run neotalk --alias yourname
```

Open another instance (on the same machine or another one on the local network)
and they will find each other. Pick someone from the list, type, and press Enter.

Both people must be on the **same local network** for automatic discovery.

## Connecting over a VPN (WireGuard, Tailscale…)

Automatic discovery uses multicast, which a VPN tunnel does not carry, so you
will not see each other in the list. The conversation itself is a direct TCP
connection, though, and that travels over the tunnel fine. Connect by address:

1. One of you opens the ⚙ panel and sets a fixed **Your port** (for example
   `51821`) so the address is stable, then Save. Leaving it empty keeps the
   local-network mode with an automatic port. (You can also pass `--port 51821`
   at launch.)
2. That person shares their address: their **VPN IP** plus that port, for
   example `10.8.0.2:51821`. The ⚙ panel shows your current port.
3. The other opens the ⚙ panel, types the address into **Connect to
   host:port**, and presses Connect.

The conversation opens over the tunnel, end-to-end encrypted as usual.

## Running on Windows

Two options. Both need [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/), installed once from
PowerShell:

```powershell
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
```

Then get the code (or download the ZIP from the repository and unzip it):

```powershell
git clone https://git.andros.dev/andros/neotalk.git
cd neotalk
```

### Option A: just run it

```powershell
uv run neotalk --alias yourname
```

uv downloads Python and every dependency the first time; later runs are instant.

### Option B: build a standalone `neotalk.exe`

```powershell
uv run --extra build pyinstaller --noconfirm --clean --distpath dist --workpath build/pyinstaller packaging/neotalk.spec
```

The result is a single file at `dist\neotalk.exe`. Double-click it to run, no
Python required, and copy it anywhere you like.

> A Windows executable must be built on Windows: PyInstaller does not
> cross-compile from macOS or Linux.

## Development

```sh
uv run --extra dev pytest        # tests
uv run --extra dev ruff check    # lint
```

## Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see the [contribution guidelines](https://git.andros.dev/andros/contribute) for instructions on how to submit issues or pull requests.

## License

GPL-3.0-or-later.