Terminal Chat

A fully terminal-based, TLS-encrypted, and manually-approved chat application built for maximum privacy and minimalism. No UI, no cloud, no sharing of client files — just a one-liner invite command with tight access control.

💡 Features

• 🔐 TLS Encryption – All communication is secured using SSL.
• 👤 Name + Key Authentication – Clients submit their name and a shared secret.
• ✋ Manual Approval – Server prompts for each connection; only approved users join.
• 🧠 No Client Code Sharing – Clients fetch the bootstrap client code via a secure one-liner.
• 🧼 Minimal & Clean – 100% terminal-based. No GUI distractions.

📁 Directory Structure

secure_terminal_chat/
├── server.py            # Main chat server with TLS & approval logic
├── client.py       # Lightweight, secure bootstrap client (fetched remotely)
├── invite.py      # Tiny HTTP server to serve the client_boot.py file
├── certs/
│   ├── cert.pem         # TLS certificate
│   └── key.pem          # TLS private key

🚀 How to Use

1. 🔧 Setup TLS Certs

mkdir certs
openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -nodes -out certs/cert.pem -keyout certs/key.pem

2. 🔐 Start the Chat Server

python3 server.py

You’ll see prompts for each connection request:

[REQUEST] Connection from 192.168.1.23
  Name: Karna
  Key: letmein1337
  Accept? (y/n):

3. 🌐 Start the Invite Host

python3 invite.py

This serves client.py to the public via HTTP on port 9000.

4. 🧑‍💻 Share the Invite Command

Give this to your friends:

python3 <(curl -s http://YOUR.IP.ADDRESS:9000/client.py)

They’ll be prompted for their name and shared key. You’ll be asked to accept or deny.

🔒 They never see or get the code, and only you can approve who joins.

⚙️ Configuration

Inside server.py and client_boot.py, set:

PORT = 7777
SHARED_KEY = 'letmein1337'

Update HOST in client_boot.py to your actual IP (or automate it via serve_invite.py).

🔐 Security Tips

• Change your TLS certs regularly.
• Use a strong shared key.
• Change ports often.
• Never run this on open Wi-Fi without a VPN.
• Use firewall rules to restrict unexpected traffic.

💡 Future Improvements

• 🔐 Per-user tokens or dynamic shared keys
• 🛡️ IP rate-limiting
• ⏳ One-time access links with expiration
• 📜 Chat logs (optional)
• 🧰 Admin commands like /kick or /mute