Table of Contents

1. Chat-Server-Terminal - Simple FTXUI server clinet socket terminal app

   • Features

2. Getting Started

   • Prerequisites
   • Bulding Alterm
3. Project Structure
4. Usage
5. Settings Keys
6. License
7. Future Work
8. What I Learned

Chat-Server-Terminal - Simple FTXUI server clinet socket terminal app

Chat-Server-Terminal is a terminal-based client-server chat system written in C++, featuring an interactive TUI(Text User Interface) built with FTXUI, presistent user management using SQLite, and a modular architecture designed with real-world system principles.

The project focuses on engineering clarity, separation of concerns, and Linux-first development, rather than begin a simple demo chat app.

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Features

• Client-Server Architecture (TCP sockets)

• Interactive Terminal UI (FTXUI)

• User Authentication System

  • Login
  • Registration
  • Password validation

• SQLite Database Integration

  • Persistent user storage
  • Unique usernames

• Post-Login Menu System

  • Enter Chat
  • Settings
  • Server Info
  • Logout

• Settings Panel

  • Account settings
  • Network info

• Server Information Panel

  • Local IPs
  • Active port

• Keyboard + Mouse Navigation

• Modular, Extensible Codebase

ScreenShots

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Getting Started

These instructions will help you build and run chat-server-termianl.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed on you system:

• g++ version 11 or higher

• cmake version 3.21 or higher

• FTXUI version 2.0 or higher

• SQLite3

• pkg-config

• Linux-based system (Arch, Debian, Ubuntu, WSL)

Building

Clone the repository and build the project using the provided Makefile.

$  git clone https://github.com/zoldyck13/chat-server-terminal.git

$  cd chat-server-terminal

Build using MakeFile:

$  make

The compiled binaries will be generated in the build directory.

Project Structure

chat-server-terminal/
├── include/
│   ├── client/
│   │   ├── ChatState.hpp
│   │   ├── ChatUI.hpp
│   │   ├── ClienSocket.hpp
│   │   ├── Login.hpp
│   │   ├── Menu.hpp
│   │   ├── Register.hpp
│   │
│   ├── server/
│   ├── Dbserver.hpp
│   ├── Launch.hpp
│   ├── login.hpp
│   ├── Menu.hpp
│   ├── Register.hpp
│   ├── Settings.hpp
│   ├── User.hpp
│   ├──utility.hpp
│   ├── handelclient.hpp
│   └── Server.hpp
│
├── src/
│   ├── client/
│   │   ├── client_ftxui.cpp
│   │   ├── ClientSocket.cpp
│   │      
│   ├── server/
│       ├── Dbserver.cpp
│       ├── mainServer.cpp
│       ├── Server.cpp
│    
│
├── assets/
├── Makefile
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
└── admin.db
  

Usage

---

1. Start the server:

$ ./server.out

2. Start the client:

$ ./clientui.out  

3. Register or log in

4. Navigate using keyboard or mouse

5. Ente chat or manage settings

Future Work

• Real-time multi-client chat
• Message history presistence
• Scrollbale chat view
• User roled(admin / user)
• Encryption (TLS)
• headless server mode
• Configuration file support

---

What I Learned

• Designing client–server systems in C++

• Managing stateful TUIs without blocking render loops

• Integrating SQLite safely

• Handling event-driven UI with FTXUI

• Thinking beyond “it works” → toward maintainable systems

Licnese

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