Andros Fenollosa
907a0eeb55
Add a 'Your port' field in the settings panel: empty keeps local-network mode with an ephemeral port, a value rebinds the TCP listener to a stable address for dialing over a VPN. Active conversations survive the rebind. Adds controller.set_listen_port and a rebindable transport.start(port).
91 lines
3 KiB
Markdown
91 lines
3 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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## 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 you
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will not see each other in the list. The conversation itself is a direct TCP
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connection, though, and that travels over the tunnel fine. Connect by address:
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1. One of you opens the ⚙ panel and sets a fixed **Your port** (for example
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`51821`) so the address is stable, then Save. Leaving it empty keeps the
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local-network mode with an automatic port. (You can also pass `--port 51821`
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at launch.)
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2. That person shares their address: their **VPN IP** plus that port, for
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example `10.8.0.2:51821`. The ⚙ panel shows your current port.
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3. The other opens the ⚙ panel, types the address into **Connect to
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host:port**, and presses Connect.
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The conversation opens over the tunnel, end-to-end encrypted as usual.
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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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