112 lines
3.7 KiB
Markdown
112 lines
3.7 KiB
Markdown
# neotalk
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A modern peer-to-peer (P2P) chat over IP, with a graphical interface. Inspired
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by the classic Unix `talk`.
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- **Negotiation** (finding each other and ringing the doorbell) goes over **UDP**.
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- The **conversation** goes over a **direct TCP connection** between the two clients.
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- **End-to-end** encryption (X25519 + AES-GCM).
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- No servers, no accounts, no groups. Nothing is stored: closing loses it.
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- **VPN friendly.** Auto-discovery works on the local network; across a VPN
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(WireGuard, Tailscale…) you connect directly by address. See
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[Connecting over a VPN](#connecting-over-a-vpn-wireguard-tailscale).
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## Download
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- **macOS** (Apple Silicon, signed and notarized): grab the latest `.zip` from
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the [releases page](https://git.andros.dev/andros/neotalk/releases). Unzip and
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open `neotalk.app`, no extra steps.
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- **Windows** and **from source**: see the sections below.
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## Usage
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```sh
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uv run neotalk --alias yourname
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```
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Open another instance (on the same machine or another one on the local network)
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and they will find each other. Pick someone from the list, type, and press Enter.
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Both people must be on the **same local network** for automatic discovery.
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## Connecting over a VPN (WireGuard, Tailscale…)
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Automatic discovery uses multicast, which a VPN tunnel does not carry, so peers
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do not show up in the list on their own. There are two ways around it; both keep
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the conversation end-to-end encrypted over the tunnel.
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### Automatic (recommended)
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Announce your presence by unicast to the VPN, so you appear in each other's list
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without typing addresses:
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1. Open the ⚙ panel, set **Discover on (IP or subnet)** to your VPN range (for
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example `10.0.200.0/24`) or directly to your friend's VPN IP, then Save.
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2. That's it: you show up in each other's list and can click to talk. Only
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**one** side needs to set this; the other is answered automatically.
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You can also pass it at launch: `uv run neotalk --alias you --discover 10.0.200.0/24`.
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### Manual (connect by address)
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1. One of you opens ⚙, sets a fixed **Your port** (e.g. `51821`), Save, and
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shares their **VPN IP + port** (e.g. `10.0.200.143:51821`). The panel shows
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your port. (Or launch with `--port 51821`.)
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2. The other opens ⚙, types that into **Connect to host:port**, and presses
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Connect.
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> Tip: over WireGuard, ICMP `ping` may be blocked even when TCP works, so "I
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> can't ping them" does not mean neotalk won't connect.
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## Running on Windows
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Two options. Both need [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/), installed once from
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PowerShell:
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```powershell
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powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
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```
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Then get the code (or download the ZIP from the repository and unzip it):
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```powershell
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git clone https://git.andros.dev/andros/neotalk.git
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cd neotalk
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```
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### Option A: just run it
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```powershell
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uv run neotalk --alias yourname
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```
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uv downloads Python and every dependency the first time; later runs are instant.
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### Option B: build a standalone `neotalk.exe`
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```powershell
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uv run --extra build pyinstaller --noconfirm --clean --distpath dist --workpath build/pyinstaller packaging/neotalk.spec
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```
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The result is a single file at `dist\neotalk.exe`. Double-click it to run, no
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Python required, and copy it anywhere you like.
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> A Windows executable must be built on Windows: PyInstaller does not
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> cross-compile from macOS or Linux.
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## Development
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```sh
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uv run --extra dev pytest # tests
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uv run --extra dev ruff check # lint
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```
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## Contributing
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Contributions are welcome! Please see the [contribution guidelines](https://git.andros.dev/andros/contribute) for instructions on how to submit issues or pull requests.
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## License
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GPL-3.0-or-later.
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