feature: host-join mode, ngrok HTTPS tunnelling, and session UX improvements#3
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marknimbuspay wants to merge 3 commits intodiorwave:mainfrom
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feature: host-join mode, ngrok HTTPS tunnelling, and session UX improvements#3marknimbuspay wants to merge 3 commits intodiorwave:mainfrom
marknimbuspay wants to merge 3 commits intodiorwave:mainfrom
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…ixes Server: - New --join/-j flag on serve command starts the server and immediately joins as a chat participant in the same process (server runs as a daemon child process via multiprocessing to work around signal handler restrictions on non-main threads) - Host typing q broadcasts a farewell message to all connected clients before shutting the server down - Session store now cleaned up on WebSocket disconnect, allowing users to reconnect with the same username after leaving Client: - Async stdin reading via connect_read_pipe replaces run_in_executor, eliminating the hang on exit caused by asyncio waiting for the blocked input() thread - SOCKS proxy bypass (proxy=None) prevents websockets auto-detecting system proxy configuration for local connections - Chat display scales to terminal height with messages pinned to the bottom and input at the foot of the screen (minimum 15 message rows) - Separators fill terminal width dynamically - Server shutdown detected and reported; client exits cleanly without requiring user input - Screen cleared and session ended message shown on clean exit; error output preserved on connection or auth failure Launcher: - cmd_chat.py auto-selects venv interpreter via os.execv when not already running inside it (detected via sys.prefix comparison) - Server and client imports are lazy so connect command has no dependency on Sanic
Adds optional ngrok HTTPS tunnel to the serve command via --ngrok and --ngrok-token flags. On startup, opens an HTTP tunnel (TLS-terminated at grok). The host's chat UI shows the tunnel address in the Online header. Client auto-selects https:// and wss:// when connecting on port 443. Tunnel is torn down cleanly on server exit.
ngrok: - Show public access panel after Sanic "Worker ready" (not before startup noise) via after_server_start listener - With --join, hold at the panel until the first remote participant connects before launching the host's chat client - Redisplay ngrok panel inside the host's chat client (cleared on start) - Password omitted from connect command example — show <password> placeholder with a security warning to share it out-of-band Session exit: - Kill server process via on_disconnect callback the moment the host's websocket closes, so remote clients drop to "press any key" in sync - Await cancelled tasks after asyncio.wait so readline unblocks immediately when the server disconnects; no stale input prompt - Clear visible screen and scrollback (\033[H\033[2J\033[3J) written atomically to /dev/tty to avoid buffer-ordering issues with Rich - GRACEFUL_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT = 0 so Ctrl-C on serve exits immediately CLI: - username and password are now optional positionals on connect, and --password is optional on serve; missing values are prompted interactively (password via getpass, no echo) - --join now accepts an optional username; omitting it prompts
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Summary
This PR adds several quality-of-life and security improvements to cmd-chat, centred around three themes: hosting UX, public access via ngrok, and clean
session lifecycle management.
Host-join mode (
--join)--join [USERNAME]flag onservelets the person starting the server participate in the chat from the same command, without opening a secondterminal
q, a farewell message is broadcast to all participants and the server shuts down immediately — remote clients are dropped toa clean exit prompt in sync
ngrok HTTPS tunnel (
--ngrok)--ngrokflag onserveopens a public HTTPS tunnel via pyngrok, allowing participants to connect fromanywhere without port forwarding
--ngrok-token TOKENto supply a free ngrok authtoken (removes session limits)wss://andhttps://<username>and<password>as placeholders — the password is intentionally omitted with a prominent securitywarning: it must be pre-shared out-of-band and never sent over the chat channel
--join, the host's screen holds at the public access panel until the first remote participant connects, giving time to share the addressSession lifecycle & terminal hygiene
via a single atomic write to
/dev/tty(\033[H\033[2J\033[3J)GRACEFUL_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT = 0so Ctrl-C onserveexits immediately rather than waiting up to 15 secondsos.execv; the terminal is restored cleanly on exitCLI improvements
usernameandpasswordonconnectare now optional positional arguments — if omitted, they are prompted interactively--passwordonserveis now optional — prompted if not supplied--joinaccepts an optional username; omitting it prompts interactivelygetpass(no terminal echo)Bug fixes
proxy=Nonepassed towebsockets.connectto suppress automatic system proxy detectionrun_in_executorstdin reading withasyncio.connect_read_pipe, eliminating the thread that blockedasyncio.run()from returningTest plan
servewithout flags starts cleanly; Ctrl-C exits immediatelyserve --joinprompts for username if omitted, connects host to chatserve --join alice --ngrokshows public access panel, waits for first participant, then opens chat with tunnel address in headerwss://(port 443)q— all clients drop to "press any key" simultaneouslyconnectwithout username/password prompts for both