Setting up Marchat

[Blue-Azure]

Create New Profile

Selected: Default
Authentication Required

Admin Key: ••••••••
Keystore passphrase: ••••••

Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as BlueAzure...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> marchat-client
📝 Select a connection profile or create a new one...
Select a connection profile:

▶ Default (BlueAzure@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E] [Recent]
Profile-2 (Azura@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
Create New Profile

Selected: Default
Authentication Required

Admin Key: ••••••••
Keystore passphrase: ••••••

Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as BlueAzure...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> marchat-client
📝 Select a connection profile or create a new one...
Select a connection profile:

▶ Default (BlueAzure@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E] [Recent]
Profile-2 (Azura@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
Create New Profile

Selected: Default
Authentication Required

Admin Key: ••••••••
Keystore passphrase: ••••••

Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as BlueAzure...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> marchat-client
📝 Select a connection profile or create a new one...
Select a connection profile:

▶ Default (BlueAzure@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E] [Recent]
Profile-2 (Azura@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
Create New Profile

Selected: Default
Authentication Required

Admin Key: ••••••
Keystore passphrase: ••••••

Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as BlueAzure...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> marchat-client
📝 Select a connection profile or create a new one...
Select a connection profile:

Default (BlueAzure@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E] [Recent]
Profile-2 (Azura@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
▶ Create New Profile

Creating a new connection profile...
🚀 marchat Configuration

Server URL: ws://localhost:5555/ws
Username: Az
Admin user? n
Enable E2E encryption? y
Keystore passphrase: ••••••
Theme: retro

[ Connect ]

✅ Configuration saved as 'Profile-3'! You can use --auto or --quick-start for faster connections.
Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as Az...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> marchat-client
📝 Select a connection profile or create a new one...
Select a connection profile:

Profile-3 (Az@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [E2E] [Recent]
▶ Default (BlueAzure@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
Profile-2 (Azura@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
Create New Profile

Selected: Default
Authentication Required

Admin Key: ••••••••
Keystore passphrase: ••••••

Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as BlueAzure...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> marchat-client
📝 Select a connection profile or create a new one...
Select a connection profile:

Default (BlueAzure@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E] [Recent]
Profile-4 (aua@ws://localhost:5555/ws)
Profile-3 (Az@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [E2E]
▶ Profile-2 (Azura@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
Create New Profile

Selected: Profile-2
Authentication Required

Admin Key: ••••••••
Keystore passphrase: ••••••

Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as Azura...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> bash test.sh
Running Marchat Test Suite

Using Go: go version go1.25.7 X:nodwarf5 linux/amd64

Running tests...

ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/client (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/client/config (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/client/crypto (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/cmd/license (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/cmd/server (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/config (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin/host (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin/license (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin/manager (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin/store (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/server (cached)
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/shared (cached)

All tests passed!

Generating test coverage report...

ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/client (cached) coverage: 25.3% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/client/config (cached) coverage: 54.5% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/client/crypto (cached) coverage: 76.9% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/cmd/license (cached) coverage: 42.2% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/cmd/server (cached) coverage: 5.3% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/config (cached) coverage: 74.2% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin (cached) coverage: [no statements]
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin/host (cached) coverage: 22.4% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin/license (cached) coverage: 83.1% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin/manager (cached) coverage: 22.5% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/plugin/store (cached) coverage: 46.8% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/server (cached) coverage: 33.2% of statements
ok github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat/shared (cached) coverage: 82.4% of statements
Coverage report generated: coverage.html

Coverage Summary:

total: (statements) 34.7%

Test suite completed successfully!
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main)> marchat-client
📝 Select a connection profile or create a new one...
Select a connection profile:

▶ Profile-2 (Azura@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E] [Recent]
Default (BlueAzure@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
Profile-4 (aua@ws://localhost:5555/ws)
Profile-3 (Az@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [E2E]
Create New Profile

Selected: Profile-2
Authentication Required

Admin Key: ••••••••
Keystore passphrase: ••••••

Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as Azura...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> openssl rand -hex 32
61014f45e194e5b585a18336b0bf3d795a911f533903c45adc3c3506bc441436
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main)> marchat-client --interactive
flag provided but not defined: -interactive
Usage of marchat-client:
-admin
Connect as admin (requires --admin-key)
-admin-key string
Admin key for privileged commands
-auto
Automatically connect using most recent profile
-config string
Path to config file (optional)
-e2e
Enable end-to-end encryption
-keystore-passphrase string
Passphrase for keystore (required for E2E)
-non-interactive
Skip interactive prompts (require all flags)
-quick-start
Use last connection or select from saved profiles
-server string
Server URL
-skip-tls-verify
Skip TLS certificate verification
-theme string
Theme
-username string
Username
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [2]> marchat-client --keystore-passphrase
flag needs an argument: -keystore-passphrase
Usage of marchat-client:
-admin
Connect as admin (requires --admin-key)
-admin-key string
Admin key for privileged commands
-auto
Automatically connect using most recent profile
-config string
Path to config file (optional)
-e2e
Enable end-to-end encryption
-keystore-passphrase string
Passphrase for keystore (required for E2E)
-non-interactive
Skip interactive prompts (require all flags)
-quick-start
Use last connection or select from saved profiles
-server string
Server URL
-skip-tls-verify
Skip TLS certificate verification
-theme string
Theme
-username string
Username
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [2]> marchat-client --keystore-passphrase 641366
📝 Select a connection profile or create a new one...
Select a connection profile:

Profile-2 (Azura@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E] [Recent]
▶ Default (BlueAzure@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [Admin] [E2E]
Profile-4 (aua@ws://localhost:5555/ws)
Profile-3 (Az@ws://localhost:5555/ws) [E2E]
Create New Profile

Selected: Default
Authentication Required

Admin Key: ••••••••
Keystore passphrase: ••••••

Connecting to ws://localhost:5555/ws as BlueAzure...
Error initializing keystore: failed to decrypt keystore: cipher: message authentication failed
blueazure@Azura ~/D/M/marchat (main) [1]> openssl rand -hex 32

[Cod-e-Codes]

No worries, glad you found the config directory. If anything else comes up, just ask.

[Blue-Azure]

thank you! how do i rate a github project?

[Cod-e-Codes]

GitHub doesn’t have star ratings. The closest is starring the repo:

1. Open the repo (e.g. github.com/Cod-e-Codes/marchat).
2. Click the Star button at the top right (next to “Watch” and “Fork”).
3. You can click it again to unstar.

Starring shows you like the project and adds it to your “Stars” list. There’s no 1–5 rating or review; starring is how people “rate” projects on GitHub.

[Blue-Azure]

ah

[Blue-Azure]

huh, i found someting quite wierd

[Cod-e-Codes]

What did you run into? Share the steps or output and we can figure it out.

[Blue-Azure]

oh my i was recording then spectacle crashed xD

[Blue-Azure]

Screencast_20260219_170830.webm

[Blue-Azure]

idk why it does that exactly

[Blue-Azure]

found it! if marchat isn't run in marchat's directory it will not use the config.

[Blue-Azure]

but also now the web panel wont work :(

[Cod-e-Codes]

Config directory (recap)
The server always uses a config directory; which one depends on the current working directory at startup. If that directory has go.mod, it uses ./config. Otherwise it uses ~/.config/marchat. So config is always used; only the path changes.

Web panel
The web admin panel is disabled by default. Start the server with the --web-panel flag so it serves the panel at /admin on the same port as the server (e.g. http://localhost:5555/admin if MARCHAT_PORT=5555, or http://localhost:8080/admin on the default port).

Example:

./marchat-server --web-panel

Or with a custom config dir:

./marchat-server --web-panel --config-dir /path/to/your/config

The TUI admin panel (Ctrl+A) is separate and is enabled with --admin-panel if you use that.

[Blue-Azure]

i forgot to add the web-panel flag

[Blue-Azure]

you should add a "edit" option to marchat-client so if your port or something changes you can change it and not have to make a new profile

[Cod-e-Codes]

An edit option in the client would be a good improvement. For now you can change a profile by editing the profiles file (e.g. ~/.config/marchat/profiles.json on Linux). Update the server URL or other fields for the profile you use, save the file, then run the client again. I’ll keep the in-app edit option in mind for a future release.

[Blue-Azure]

oh also, a restart command would be nice

[Blue-Azure]

hmm, my phone isn't wanting to connect

[Cod-e-Codes]

A restart command (e.g. from the admin panel or as an admin chat command) would be a good addition. Right now there isn’t one: you’d stop the server (Ctrl+C or shutdown from the admin panel) and start it again manually. I’ll keep a restart command in mind for a future release.

[Cod-e-Codes]

Make sure you're on the same network as the server and not your mobile network.

[Blue-Azure]

i like your project, but i'm poor so i just support with ideas :)

[Blue-Azure]

Make sure you're on the same network as the server and not your mobile network.

how would i not need to be on the same network?

[Cod-e-Codes]

If your phone was using mobile data rather than being connected to the same network your server is running on

[Blue-Azure]

?

[Cod-e-Codes]

What are you asking

[Blue-Azure]

i wanted to know how to connect to a server that is on a different network

[Cod-e-Codes]

To connect when the server is on a different network (e.g. server at home, you’re on mobile data or elsewhere), the server has to be reachable from the internet. Common options:

1. Port forwarding – On the router for the network where the server runs, forward the server’s port (e.g. 5555 or 8080) to the machine running marchat. Then in the client use that network’s public IP or a DynDNS hostname, e.g. ws://your-public-ip:5555/ws or wss://your-hostname:5555/ws if you use TLS.

2. VPS – Run the server on a cloud host (DigitalOcean, Linode, etc.) and connect to that host’s address from anywhere.

3. Tunnel – Use something like Cloudflare Tunnel or ngrok so the server can be reached from the internet without opening ports or a static IP. You get a URL that forwards to your server.

For any of these, use TLS (wss://) when the server is on the internet so traffic is encrypted. Once the server is reachable at a public URL, you can connect from any network using that URL in the client.

[Blue-Azure]

wierd, idk why it's not acceping my phone

[Cod-e-Codes]

A couple of things that often cause this:

1. Same username in two places
The server only allows one connection per username. If you’re already connected on your PC (e.g. as BlueAzure or Azura) and try to connect from your phone with the same username, the server will reject the phone. You’ll usually see something like “Username already taken.” Fix: use a different username on the phone (e.g. a separate profile with another name), or disconnect on the PC first, then connect on the phone.

2. Network
Phone and server have to be able to reach each other. If the server is at home and the phone is on the same WiFi, the client on the phone must use your machine’s LAN IP (e.g. ws://192.168.1.x:5555/ws), not localhost. If the phone is on mobile data, the server has to be reachable from the internet (port forward, VPS, or tunnel as in the previous message).

What exactly happens on the phone when it fails (error text, or it just hangs/disconnects)? That will narrow it down.

[Blue-Azure]

here i'll record

[Blue-Azure]

Screencast_20260219_174324.webm

[Blue-Azure]

here is localhost ig

Screencast_20260219_174827.webm

[Cod-e-Codes]

TLS (wss://)
If the server is running with TLS (you set MARCHAT_TLS_CERT_FILE and MARCHAT_TLS_KEY_FILE), use wss:// on the phone, e.g.:

wss://PC_IP:5555/ws

If the cert is self-signed, the client on the phone needs to be run with --skip-tls-verify so it accepts that cert.
If the server is not using TLS, use ws:// instead of wss:// (e.g. ws://PC_IP:5555/ws).

So: same idea as before (use the PC’s IP, not localhost), but with wss and the right port when TLS is on, and --skip-tls-verify for a self-signed cert.

[Blue-Azure]

any ideas

[Cod-e-Codes]

One thing that helps: connect a client from the same machine that’s running the server (e.g. a second terminal with marchat-client using ws://localhost:5555/ws or wss://localhost:5555/ws if you use TLS). If that works, server and config are fine and the problem is likely network or firewall between the phone and the PC. If it fails there too, fix that first (port, TLS, username, etc.), then try the phone again.

[Blue-Azure]

localhost wont work

[Blue-Azure]

i'll check the config

[Blue-Azure]

nothing's abnormal

[Blue-Azure]

idk how to fix it, i'd down for you to remote control if you wanna

[Cod-e-Codes]

One more thing to try: if you're on a self-signed cert, use --skip-tls-verify when launching the client, or set "skip_tls_verify": true for that profile in profiles.json. Calling it a night. We can pick this up tomorrow if it's still not working.

[Blue-Azure]

okay, sleep well!

[Cod-e-Codes]

I need to see actual error output to help further. Videos of the UI don't show what's failing.

Required diagnostic output:

Server side:

# Show startup output
./marchat-server 2>&1 | tee server-log.txt

# Verify it's listening
ss -tlnp | grep 5555  # or whatever port

Client side (same machine as server):

# Test local connection
./marchat-client --server ws://localhost:5555/ws --username TestUser 2>&1 | tee client-log.txt

Paste the text output from both. Without actual error messages and server logs, I can't debug this.

---

Important: This project assumes basic familiarity with:

• Terminal/command-line usage
• TCP/IP networking (localhost vs LAN vs internet)
• Server administration basics
• Reading error logs

If you're new to self-hosting, I recommend:

1. Start with the Docker image (simpler deployment)
2. Get localhost working before attempting remote access
3. Use GitHub Discussions for setup questions (Issues are for bugs)