nirc-rs/readme.md

nirc-rs

nirc-rs is a multi-protocol terminal chat client written in Rust. It provides a unified TUI interface for IRC, Matrix, Discord, ADC/DC++, BitChat (P2P via libp2p), Revolt/Stout, Spacebar, and Nerimity — all in a single ncurses-style terminal window.

Features

• Multi-protocol: IRC (with TLS/SASL), Matrix (megolm E2EE), Discord (Gateway + REST), ADC/DC++, BitChat (P2P Gossipsub), Stout, Spacebar, Nerimity
• naim-style TUI: Right-side window list panel, chat area with naim-compatible formatting, status bar, input bar, debug console overlay
• HTML-like message markup: Bold, italic, underline, color, monospace, links, custom emoji themes
• File transfers: P2P file send via libp2p request-response (BitChat), progress bars, SHA-256 verification, cancellation
• Plugin system: Dynamic .so plugin loading for custom commands
• Per-channel logging: naim-format log files per channel/protocol
• Encrypted tunnels: Noise protocol tunnels between peers
• Multiplexed streams: yamux-based stream multiplexing for concurrent file transfers and tunnels

Supported Protocols

Protocol	Tag	Description
IRC	IRC	Classic IRC with TLS, SASL, ISUPPORT
Matrix	Mtx	Matrix.org with megolm E2EE
Discord	Dsc	Discord Gateway + REST API
ADC/DC++	ADC	Direct Connect hub client
BitChat	P2P	P2P chat via libp2p Gossipsub
Stout	Sto	Revolt/Stout REST + WebSocket
Spacebar	Spc	Spacebar REST + WebSocket
Nerimity	Ner	Nerimity REST + WebSocket

Building

Requires Rust 1.75+ and a C compiler (for dependencies like sha2, ring).

# Clone
git clone https://git.dcos.net/dcosnet/nirc-rs.git
cd nirc-rs

# Build (release)
cargo build --release

# Or use the provided build script
./build.sh           # release
./build.sh debug     # debug
./build.sh check     # cargo check only
./build.sh test      # run tests
./build.sh clippy    # lint

The binary is output to target/release/nirc-rs (or target/debug/nirc-rs).

Configuration

nirc-rs reads configuration from ~/.nirc/config.toml. Create it manually or let the first run generate a template:

mkdir -p ~/.nirc
nirc-rs  # generates a template config on first run

Server entries

Each protocol connection is defined as a [[servers]] block:

# IRC example
[[servers]]
name = "libera"
protocol = "irc"
address = "irc.libera.chat:6697"
tls = true
nick = "myuser"
[servers.extra]
password = "optional_nickserv_pass"

# Matrix example
[[servers]]
name = "matrix"
protocol = "matrix"
address = "https://matrix.org"
user_id = "@you:matrix.org"
[servers.extra]
password = "your_password"

# Discord example
[[servers]]
name = "discord"
protocol = "discord"
address = "https://discord.com/api"
bot_token = "your_bot_token_here"

# BitChat (P2P) example
[[servers]]
name = "bitchat"
protocol = "bitchat"
address = "/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/9394"
[servers.extra]
bootstrap = "/ip4/1.2.3.4/tcp/9394/p2p/QmSomePeerId"
nickname = "myhandle"

Usage

nirc-rs [config-path]

Key bindings

Key	Action
Ctrl+N	Next window
Ctrl+P	Previous window
Alt+1-9	Switch to window 1-9
Page Up/Down	Scroll chat history
Tab	Cycle nickname completions
/command	Enter command mode
Ctrl+^	Toggle debug console overlay
Ctrl+L	Redraw screen

Commands

• /connect <server> — Connect to a configured server
• /join <channel> — Join a channel
• /part — Leave current channel
• /msg <target> <text> — Send a direct message
• /me <text> — Send an action/emote
• /quit — Exit nirc-rs
• /bitchat peers — List discovered P2P peers
• /matrix verify <user> — Start SAS device verification

Architecture

• src/main.rs — Application entry, event loop, TUI rendering
• src/config.rs — TOML config parser
• src/core/ — Core types: App, ChatMessage, ProtocolType, commands
• src/protocols/ — Protocol backends (IRC, Matrix, Discord, etc.)
• src/engine/ — Dispatcher, crypto tunnels, multiplexer
• src/tui/ — Terminal UI: chat view, winlist, input bar, console
• src/transfer/ — File transfer engine and state management
• src/plugins/ — Dynamic plugin loader (.so)

License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.