Ephemeral Terminal Chat

Zero-trace terminal chat application with 59-second disappearing messages.

Features

• Messages disappear after 59 seconds
• Zero trace - no history kept
• Fast terminal UI with Textual framework
• Mono font recommended (set in your terminal, e.g., JetBrains Mono)
• Supabase backend for real-time sync
• Share rooms with 6-character room codes
• Random nickname generation

Setup

1. Supabase Setup

1. Go to supabase.com and create a free account
2. Create a new project
3. Go to SQL Editor and run the supabase_setup.sql file
4. Get your project URL and anon key from Settings > API

2. Environment Variables

Copy .env.example to .env and add your Supabase credentials:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env:

SUPABASE_URL=your_supabase_project_url
SUPABASE_KEY=your_supabase_anon_key

3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run

python main.py

Usage

• Type a message and press Enter to send
• Ctrl+R - Create new room
• Ctrl+C - Quit
• Share the room code with others to chat
• Messages auto-delete after 59 seconds

How It Works

• Each room has a unique 6-character code
• Messages are stored in Supabase with timestamp
• Auto-cleanup deletes messages older than 59 seconds
• Terminal polls for new messages every second
• Zero-trace: no message history retained

Terminal Share

Share your terminal with:

• tmate: tmate
• warp: Share session feature
• ssh: Allow remote connections
• Or just share the room code via any channel