retr0chat telnet/vt100 chat server
Project description
retr0chat, irc-like chat service for superthin clients
MIT-Licensed, 2018-01-07, ed @ irc.rizon.net
windows telnet 360 noscope <- good video
summary
imagine being stuck on ancient gear, in the middle of nowhere, on a slow connection between machines that are even more archaic than the toaster you’re trying to keep from falling apart
retr0chat is the lightweight, no-dependencies, runs-anywhere solution for when life gives you lemons
tries to be irssi
zero dependencies on python 2.6, 2.7, 3.x
supports telnet, netcat, /dev/tcp clients
fallbacks for inhumane conditions
linemode
no vt100 / ansi escape codes
windows clients
use putty in telnet mode
or enable Telnet Client in control panel -> programs -> programs and features -> turn windows features on or off, then press WIN+R and run telnet r0c.int
putty is the best option;
windows-telnet has a bug (since win7) where unicode letters become unstable the more text you have on the screen (starts flickering and then disappear one by one)
the powershell client wastes a LOT of data (an entire kilobyte for each new message, totally unbelievable, who could possibly afford that) because powershell’s scrolling is glitchy af
linux clients
most to least recommended
client |
example |
---|---|
telnet |
telnet r0c.int |
socat |
socat -,raw,echo=0 tcp:r0c.int:531 |
bash |
|
netcat |
nc r0c.int 531 |
you can even exec 147<>/dev/tcp/r0c.int/531;cat<&147 &while IFS= read -rn1 x;do [[ "x$x" == "x" ]] && x=$'\n'; printf '%s' "$x">&147;done (disconnect using exec 147<&-; killall cat #sorry)
firewall rules
telnet uses port 23 by default, so on the server you’ll want to port-forward 23 to 2323 (and 531 to 1531 for plaintext):
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 23 -m state --state NEW -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 531 -m state --state NEW -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 2323 -m state --state NEW -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 1531 -m state --state NEW -j ACCEPT
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -i eth0 -p tcp --dport 23 -j REDIRECT --to-port 2323
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -i eth0 -p tcp --dport 531 -j REDIRECT --to-port 1531
documentation
not really but there is a list of commands and a list of hotkeys
Project details
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