avatar_chat_universal

A standalone, cross-platform chat door for BBSes — and also a regular CLI app if you don't have a BBS handy. Works against the existing futureland.today:10088 chat server (so users on this door and the Synchronet JS avatar_chat door share channels) and ships its own self-hostable server for offline / private fleets.

Why

The original avatar_chat is a JavaScript door that only runs inside Synchronet. This is a from-scratch Go port that runs as a regular native binary, so it slots into Mystic, ENiGMA½, or any BBS that emits a DOOR32.SYS / DOOR.SYS drop file — and stays interoperable with the JS door's chat protocol.

Single static binary per platform. No runtime dependencies.

Features

• 10×6 CP437 avatars: pick from bundled / sysop collections, upload your own via Zmodem, or draw one in the in-door pixel editor (BETA).
• Per-message avatar gutter matching the JS door's bubble layout, with relative timestamps ("5m ago", "2h ago") and BBS hostname.
• Idle screensaver with 15+ procedural animations plus an ANSI gallery that scrolls SAUCE-tagged .ans/.bin art from a sysop-managed directory.
• Sysop theming via themes/<name>.ini — color palette + screensaver profile per theme.
• Optional splash screen with an RGB strobe effect on entry.
• Self-hostable companion server speaks the same JSON-RPC protocol as the public futureland server.
• Optional IRC and Discord bridge daemons link external rooms to one Avatar Chat channel.
• Runs as a standalone CLI app without a drop file (./avatar_chat_universal -user alice) for testing or shell-only use.

Quick start

Pre-built binaries

Grab the tarball matching your platform from the GitHub Releases page:

Filename	Platform
avatar_chat_universal_linux_amd64.tar.gz	64-bit Linux (most BBS hosts)
avatar_chat_universal_linux_arm64.tar.gz	Raspberry Pi 4/5, Graviton
avatar_chat_universal_linux_386.tar.gz	32-bit Linux
avatar_chat_universal_windows_amd64.tar.gz	64-bit Windows
avatar_chat_universal_windows_386.tar.gz	32-bit Windows
avatar_chat_universal_darwin_amd64.tar.gz	Intel macOS
avatar_chat_universal_darwin_arm64.tar.gz	Apple Silicon macOS

Each tarball contains the door binary, the server binary, bridge binaries, the default avatar_chat.ini / bridge INI files, the themes/futurewave.ini, and the docs.

Build from source

# Build the door + server + bridge daemons for your host platform.
make build

# Drop into a Synchronet door slot (see INSTALL.md for the full SCFG fields):
#   Command Line: avatar_chat_universal -dropfile %f
#   I/O Method:   Socket
#   Native:       Yes
#   Drop File:    DOOR32.SYS

# Or run standalone, against the public chat server:
./avatar_chat_universal -user alice

# Or run the bundled chat server alongside for an isolated deployment:
./avatar_chat_server -addr :10088 &
./avatar_chat_universal -user alice            # uses host=futureland by default; edit avatar_chat.ini to point at localhost

# Or run the IRC bridge as a foreground process / supervised daemon:
./avatar_chat_irc_bridge -config irc_bridge.ini

# Or run the Discord bridge:
cp discord_bridge.ini.example discord_bridge.ini
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=... ./avatar_chat_discord_bridge -config discord_bridge.ini

# Or the Telegram / Matrix / Slack bridges (same shape):
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...  ./avatar_chat_telegram_bridge -config telegram_bridge.ini
MATRIX_ACCESS_TOKEN=... ./avatar_chat_matrix_bridge   -config matrix_bridge.ini
SLACK_APP_TOKEN=... SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=... ./avatar_chat_slack_bridge -config slack_bridge.ini

Each bridge ships an <platform>_bridge.ini.example to copy and edit. To run one as a boot-started, auto-restarting daemon under systemd, see Running a bridge as a systemd service; a ready-to-install unit ships for each (avatar-chat-discord-bridge.service, -telegram-, -matrix-, -slack-).

IRC bridge

avatar_chat_irc_bridge connects one IRC channel to one Avatar Chat channel. IRC has no avatar or ANSI/bitmap image payload support, so avatars are omitted and [BITMAP|...] payloads are controlled by bitmap_mode in irc_bridge.ini: filter, announce, or dump. Messages that originated from a bridge carry an internal origin marker so the same bridge does not echo them back.

Discord bridge

avatar_chat_discord_bridge connects one Discord channel to one Avatar Chat channel. Avatar payloads and [BITMAP|...] images are rendered to PNG attachments when enabled in discord_bridge.ini; Discord attachments are bridged back to Avatar Chat as URLs. The bot needs access to the configured channel and Discord's Message Content intent enabled for Discord-to-Avatar Chat messages. Keep the runtime discord_bridge.ini local; the tracked discord_bridge.ini.example contains the setup and bot invite steps.

Telegram bridge

avatar_chat_telegram_bridge connects one Telegram group/channel to one Avatar Chat channel. Avatars (off by default) and [BITMAP|...] images render to native photo uploads; linked images/audio in chat are re-uploaded as native Telegram media. Telegram file URLs embed the bot token, so inbound attachments are annotated by type ([photo], [file: ...]) rather than forwarded as links. Set the token via TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN; see telegram_bridge.ini.example for the @BotFather and chat-id steps.

Matrix bridge

avatar_chat_matrix_bridge connects one Matrix room to one Avatar Chat channel using a bot account's access token (no SDK; plain Client-Server API). BITMAP and linked media upload to the homeserver media repo as native events; inbound mxc:// media is annotated by type rather than forwarded (download often needs auth). Set the token via MATRIX_ACCESS_TOKEN; see matrix_bridge.ini.example.

Slack bridge

avatar_chat_slack_bridge connects one Slack channel to one Avatar Chat channel over Socket Mode (no public endpoint needed). It needs an app-level token (SLACK_APP_TOKEN, xapp-) and a bot token (SLACK_BOT_TOKEN, xoxb-). BITMAP and linked media upload natively; inbound files carry an auth-only url_private, so they're annotated rather than forwarded. See slack_bridge.ini.example for the app scopes and Socket Mode setup.

Documentation

• INSTALL.md — sysop install guide for Synchronet, Mystic, ENiGMA½, generic BBS softwares, and standalone use. Cross-platform build instructions.
• CONFIG.md — every avatar_chat.ini key with semantics and defaults.
• THEMING.md — how to ship a custom color palette + screensaver profile via themes/<name>.ini.
• BRIDGES.md — bridge architecture, origin rules, and media mapping for Discord/Telegram/Matrix/Slack-style adapters.
• AVATARS.md — avatar format, validation rules, sysop-managed collection directory, the in-door selector / upload / editor flows.
• SCREENSAVER.md — idle animations, ANSI gallery setup, idle-interleave behavior.

Status

This door is in active development. The core chat experience is solid; some features (avatar editor, image sending) are explicitly marked BETA in-app. File issues / PRs welcome.

License

MIT — see LICENSE. Bundle it, ship it, fork it; just keep the copyright notice in derivative works.