TerminalTalk 🌐

Welcome to TerminalTalk, your go-to solution for easy and seamless texting over a WAN (Wide Area Network) and LAN (Local Area Network)! Whether you're chatting with friends across the room or across the globe, TerminalTalk makes it simple and enjoyable.

🚀 Overview

TerminalTalk is a lightweight chat application that allows users to communicate in real-time using a simple terminal interface. Built using Python's socket programming, it leverages TCP connections for reliable messaging. This project is perfect for learning about networking concepts and building your own messaging system.

Key Features:

• 💬 Real-time messaging between users
• 🖥️ Connect over LAN or WAN
• 🛠️ Simple terminal-based user interface
• 🔒 Basic nickname handling for personalization

🖥️ Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x installed on your machine
• Basic knowledge of using the terminal/command prompt

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/saicharan1901/TerminalTalk.git
   cd TerminalTalk

📡 Running on LAN

To run TerminalTalk on a Local Area Network (LAN), follow these steps:

Server Setup

1. Open your terminal and navigate to the project directory:

   cd TerminalTalk

2. Run the server:

   python server.py

   • The server will start listening for connections on your local IP address and the specified port (default: 7976).

Client Setup

1. On another device connected to the same network, open the terminal.

2. Connect to the server using the server's local IP address:

   client = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
   client.connect(('192.168.x.x', 7976)) # Replace with the server's local IP

3. Run the client:

   python client.py

🏠 Conclusion for LAN

You can now chat with users on the same network! 🎉

🌍 Running on WAN

To run TerminalTalk over a Wide Area Network (WAN), follow these steps:

Step 1: Set Up ngrok

1. If you haven't already, install ngrok using Homebrew:

   brew install ngrok/ngrok/ngrok

2. Authenticate ngrok with your account:

   ngrok authtoken YOUR_AUTHTOKEN

Step 2: Start Your Server

1. In your terminal, navigate to the project directory:

   cd TerminalTalk

2. Run the server:

   python server.py

Step 3: Expose Your Server with ngrok

1. Run ngrok to expose your server:

   ngrok tcp 7976

   • Note the forwarding address given by ngrok (e.g., tcp://0.tcp.in.ngrok.io:19049).

Step 4: Client Connection

1. On any device, open the terminal and connect to ngrok's forwarding address:

   client.connect(('0.tcp.in.ngrok.io', 19049)) # Use the address from ngrok

2. Run the client:

   python client.py

🌟 Conclusion for WAN

You can now chat with friends no matter where they are! 🌍💬

🤝 Contribution

Feel free to fork the repository and submit pull requests! We welcome contributions to enhance TerminalTalk.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

📬 Contact

For any questions or suggestions, please reach out at [email protected].