(Last revision: 29-06-2025)
The gochat client offers a Terminal User Interface (TUI for short) designed for its ease of use and customisation!
In order to run the program you do not need to provide any additional arguments.
Once you open the program you will be greeted with a welcome message. You can see a help window with an exhaustive list of key combinations and commands using Ctrl-J If you look at the bottom left you will see your server list and in the top left the buffer list. The TUI refers to buffers as independent instances for messaging, similar to the concept of "channels". The TUI automatically creates a non-persitant "Local" server for important system messages and basic usage. Anything done in the "Local" server will not persist between sessions, so feel free to experiment!
Different key combinations are available to interact with the different components in the TUI. Mainly, Ctrl-T is used to switch between the text and input window, Ctrl-K focuses the buffer list and Ctrl-S focuses the server list. Once you focus a component you will have different keybinds available for different tasks. pressing Ctrl-N while on the server list you will open the popup to create a new server. Follow the instructions on the prompts to create the server.
New servers will have a "Default" system buffer used for system messages, you can use that to start running commands. Using /connect will connect you to the server, which if successful will make the server name turn green in the server list.
After connection you must create an account using /register <username>. The TUI will ask for a password and a confirmation of said password. It is important to note that created accounts are only available on that server and no other.
Once registered you can log in using /login <username> which will ask for the password of the given account and log you into the server. If the login is successful you will see that a new bar will appear to the right side, showing the list of online users in the server.
The protocol so far only supports conversations between 2 people. If you wish to talk to a user you can see the list of available users in the server with /users remote <all/online>.
Now, by focusing the buffer list (using Ctrl-K as said before) and pressing Ctrl-N will allow you to create a new buffer with the given username. If the creation is successful and the given user exists, you will get a new empty buffer where you can start talking to that user. Messages will be saved locally and will persist between sessions.
You can use /logout and /disconnect to log out of your account and disconnect from the server respectively. This will remove from the list all users you were having a conversation with. To recreate them you must log in again.
Using Ctrl-G you can quickly switch between buffers on a server by typing the name of the buffer.
If the TUI seems unresponsive or looks broken, press Ctrl-R to redraw the screen.
You can quickly switch between servers with Shift-Up/Down and between buffers with Alt-Up/Down
Please consult and read the help page carefully if you have any other doubts.