localchat-byr

💬 Local Network CLI Chat

A beautiful peer-to-peer chat application that runs in your terminal. Chat with anyone on the same WiFi network with hidden Google Sheets logging!

✨ Features

• 🌐 Auto-Discovery - Automatically find users on your WiFi network
• 💬 Real-Time Chat - Instant P2P messaging with zero latency
• 🔒 Hidden Logging - Silently log all chats to Google Sheets (completely invisible to users)
• 🎨 Beautiful CLI - Colorful, intuitive terminal interface
• 🚀 Zero Config - Works immediately, Google Sheets is optional
• 📊 No Database - Pure real-time, with optional cloud backup
• 🔐 Privacy First - Local network only, no external servers

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

# Clone or download this repository
cd node-cli-chat

# Install dependencies (already done!)
npm install

# Start chatting immediately
npm start

That's it! The app works out of the box.

Test Locally (Same Computer)

Open two terminals:

# Terminal 1
npm start

# Terminal 2
USERNAME=TestUser2 PORT=3001 npm start

Wait a few seconds and you'll see each other! 🎉

📚 Documentation

• 📘 QUICKSTART.md - Get started in 2 minutes ⭐ START HERE
• 📗 SETUP.md - Detailed setup guide including Google Sheets
• 📙 TESTING.md - Testing scenarios and troubleshooting
• 📕 PROJECT_SUMMARY.md - Complete project overview

🎯 How It Works

┌─────────────┐                    ┌─────────────┐
│   User 1    │                    │   User 2    │
│             │                    │             │
│ 1. Starts   │                    │ 1. Starts   │
│    app      │                    │    app      │
│             │                    │             │
│ 2. Discovers├────── mDNS ───────►│ 2. Appears  │
│    users    │◄─── Broadcast ─────┤    in list  │
│             │                    │             │
│ 3. Selects  │                    │             │
│    User 2   │                    │             │
│             │                    │             │
│ 4. Chat ────┼──── Socket.io ────►│ 4. Chat     │
│             │◄──── P2P ──────────┤             │
│             │                    │             │
└──────┬──────┘                    └──────┬──────┘
       │                                  │
       │         (Hidden Feature)         │
       └────────► Google Sheets ◄─────────┘
                 Silent Logging

• Discovery: mDNS/Bonjour broadcasts presence on network
• Connection: Direct Socket.io P2P connections
• Messaging: Real-time chat between users
• Logging: Silent background logging to Google Sheets

🎨 Screenshots

User Discovery

🌐 P2P Chat over Local Network

📍 Your IP: 192.168.1.100

🔍 Discovering users on network...

👥 Available Users
┌────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────┐
│ Name                           │ IP Address         │
├────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────┤
│ John's MacBook                 │ 192.168.1.101      │
│ Sarah's Laptop                 │ 192.168.1.102      │
│ Office Desktop                 │ 192.168.1.103      │
└────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────┘

? Select a user to chat with:

Chat Interface

╭───────────────────────────────────────────╮
│                                           │
│       💬 Chatting with John's MacBook     │
│                                           │
╰───────────────────────────────────────────╯

Type your message and press Enter. Type "back" to return to user list.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

John's MacBook: Hey! How are you?

You: Great! Working on a cool project.

John's MacBook: Nice! What is it?

You: A local network chat app!

🔒 Hidden Google Sheets Feature

The app has a secret superpower: it silently logs all messages to Google Sheets!

What Makes It Hidden?

• ✅ Zero terminal indication - No "Saving..." messages
• ✅ Completely silent - No console output
• ✅ Fails gracefully - App works even if not configured
• ✅ Non-blocking - Doesn't slow down chat
• ✅ Background only - Pure stealth mode

What Gets Logged?

Every message is saved to your Google Sheet:

Timestamp	From	To	Message
2025-10-01 10:30:15	Ramya	John	Hey! How are you?
2025-10-01 10:30:18	John	Ramya	Great! And you?

Setup (Optional)

See SETUP.md for complete instructions.

Quick version:

• Get OAuth credentials from Google Cloud Console
• Save as credentials.json
• Create a Google Sheet
• Add Sheet ID to .env
• Done! Messages auto-log silently.

📋 Requirements

• Node.js 14+ (18+ recommended)
• Same WiFi Network for all users
• Google Sheets API (optional, for logging)

🛠️ Configuration

Edit .env file:

# Your display name
USERNAME=YourName

# Port for server (change if 3000 is taken)
PORT=3000

# Google Sheet ID (optional)
SPREADSHEET_ID=your_spreadsheet_id_here

📦 Project Structure

node-cli-chat/
├── index.js              # Entry point
├── package.json          # Dependencies
├── .env                  # Configuration
├── src/
│   ├── app.js           # Main application
│   ├── network.js       # Network discovery
│   ├── chat.js          # Chat logic
│   ├── ui.js            # CLI interface
│   └── sheets.js        # Google Sheets (silent)
├── QUICKSTART.md        # Quick start guide
├── SETUP.md             # Detailed setup
└── TESTING.md           # Testing guide

🎓 Technology Stack

• Node.js - Runtime environment
• Socket.io - Real-time bidirectional communication
• Bonjour - Zero-configuration networking (mDNS)
• Inquirer.js - Interactive CLI
• Chalk - Terminal styling
• Google Sheets API - Cloud logging
• Internal-IP - Local network IP detection

🔐 Security

⚠️ Important Security Notes:

• Messages are NOT encrypted
• Transmitted in plain text over local network
• Only use on trusted WiFi networks
• Don't share sensitive information

Recommended for: Home networks, office networks, trusted environments

🤝 Use Cases

• 💼 Office Communication - Quick chats without internet
• 🏠 Home Network - Family messaging
• 🎮 Gaming Parties - LAN party coordination
• 🎓 Classroom - Student collaboration
• 📊 Meeting Notes - Silent logging to sheets
• 🔬 Lab Work - Research team communication

🚧 Troubleshooting

No users found?

• Wait 10 seconds for discovery
• Ensure same WiFi network
• Check firewall settings
• Restart both apps

Port already in use?

PORT=3001 npm start

Google Sheets not working?

• App still works without it!
• Check credentials.json exists
• Verify SPREADSHEET_ID in .env
• See SETUP.md for details

🔮 Future Enhancements

• 🔐 End-to-end encryption
• 📁 File sharing
• 👥 Group chat rooms
• 🔔 Desktop notifications
• 🎨 Customizable themes
• 📱 Mobile app version

📄 License

ISC License - Feel free to use and modify!

👨‍💻 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs
• Suggest features
• Submit pull requests

🎉 Credits

Built with ❤️ using:

• Socket.io for real-time magic
• Bonjour for network discovery
• Google Sheets API for silent logging

📞 Support

Need help? Check these files:

• QUICKSTART.md - Fast setup
• SETUP.md - Detailed instructions
• TESTING.md - Testing & troubleshooting

Ready to chat?

npm start

Made with ❤️ for local communication

⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful!