Howler TUI

Terminal UI for Howler encrypted messaging. Same account, same E2E encryption, same conversations — from your terminal.

Install

npm install -g @howler/cli

Or run without installing:

npx @howler/cli

Getting started

1. Run howler in your terminal
2. On first launch, your browser opens to log in with your Howler account
3. Once authenticated, the TUI connects and loads your inbox
4. Use Tab to switch between the inbox panel (left) and conversation panel (right)
5. Press Enter on a chat to open it, type a message, and press Enter to send

If you don't have an account yet, sign up at https://howler.pages.dev.

Usage

howler          # Launch TUI (opens browser for login on first run)
howler --logout # Sign out and clear stored credentials

Keyboard shortcuts

| Key | Action | |-----|--------| | Tab / Shift+Tab | Switch between inbox and conversation panels | | ↑ / ↓ | Navigate list or scroll messages | | Enter | Select chat / send message | | Escape | Return to chat list or branch list | | 1 2 3 4 | Filter inbox: All, 1:1, Groups, AI | | l | Load older messages | | / | Open slash command autocomplete |

Slash commands

Type / in the message input to see autocomplete suggestions.

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | /agent <goal> | Create an agent task (bot chats only) | | /addmember @username | Add a member to the current group | | /change-branch | Switch branch in repo bot chats | | /current-branch | Show the active branch | | /exit | Quit the TUI |

Features

• E2E encrypted — Signal Protocol, same keys as the web app
• Real-time — messages appear instantly via Supabase subscriptions
• Multi-device — works alongside the web app on the same account
• Bot/agent support — interact with AI agents, view branch-based conversations

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• A Howler account (sign up at https://howler.pages.dev)