BizChat CLI

A modern terminal-based chat client for workers-chat.

Features

• 🌐 Join public chat rooms
• 🔒 Create private, password-protected rooms
• 💬 Real-time messaging with WebSocket connection
• 👥 Live user roster
• 🎨 Beautiful terminal UI with colors and borders
• ⌨️ Full keyboard navigation
• 🔄 Automatic reconnection on connection loss
• 📱 Responsive design that adapts to terminal size

Installation

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Make the CLI executable
chmod +x index.js

Usage

Interactive Mode (Recommended)

Simply run the CLI and follow the prompts:

npm start

Command Line Options

You can also provide options directly:

# Basic usage
node index.js

# Specify username and room
node index.js --username "John" --room "general"

# Join a password-protected room
node index.js --username "John" --room "private-room" --password "secret"

# Use a different server
node index.js --host "myserver.com:8080"

Available Options

• -u, --username <username> - Your username
• -r, --room <room> - Room to join
• -p, --password <password> - Room password (if required)
• -h, --host <host> - Chat server hostname (default: localhost:8787)
• --help - Show help
• --version - Show version

Controls

Navigation

• Arrow Keys (↑↓) - Navigate menu options (during setup)
• Enter - Select option or send message
• Tab - Switch between input areas (where applicable)

Chat Interface

• Type and Enter - Send a message
• ESC - Go back or quit
• Ctrl+C - Quit application

Room Types

Public Rooms

• Open to everyone who knows the room name
• No password required
• Messages are visible to all participants

Private Rooms

• Created with a custom name
• Optionally password-protected
• More secure and controlled access

Architecture

The CLI is built with a modular architecture:

bizchat/
├── index.js                # Main entry point
├── src/
│   ├── ChatApp.js          # Main application orchestrator
│   ├── UserInterface.js    # Terminal UI handling
│   ├── WebSocketClient.js  # WebSocket connection management
│   └── RoomManager.js      # Room creation and management
├── package.json
└── README.md

Key Components

• ChatApp: Main application coordinator that manages the flow
• UserInterface: Handles all terminal rendering and user input
• WebSocketClient: Manages WebSocket connections with auto-reconnect
• RoomManager: Handles room creation and password checking

Dependencies

• commander: Command-line argument parsing
• inquirer: Interactive command-line prompts
• chalk: Terminal string styling
• ora: Loading spinners
• boxen: Terminal boxes
• terminal-kit: Advanced terminal control
• ws: WebSocket client
• node-fetch: HTTP requests
• gradient-string: Gradient text effects
• figlet: ASCII art text

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

• Ensure the workers-chat server is running on the specified host
• Check your network connection
• Try connecting to a different room

Input Problems

• Make sure your terminal supports the required features
• Try resizing your terminal window
• Restart the application if input becomes unresponsive

Password Issues

• Ensure you're entering the correct password
• Check if the room actually requires a password
• Try creating a new room with a different name

Development

Project Structure

• index.js - Entry point with CLI argument parsing
• src/ChatApp.js - Main application logic
• src/UserInterface.js - Terminal UI using terminal-kit
• src/WebSocketClient.js - WebSocket handling with EventEmitter
• src/RoomManager.js - HTTP API interactions

Running in Development

npm run dev

Features Implemented

• ✅ Interactive setup wizard
• ✅ Command-line argument support
• ✅ Real-time chat with WebSocket
• ✅ User roster management
• ✅ Password-protected rooms
• ✅ Auto-reconnection
• ✅ Responsive terminal UI
• ✅ Proper error handling
• ✅ Keyboard navigation

License

MIT License