Table of Contents

TUI Guide

Everything you can do in the EchoHub terminal client: keyboard shortcuts, mouse actions, slash commands, themes, and the everyday behaviors (unread markers, auto-join, scrollback) that make it feel like a proper IRC-era client with modern comforts.

Layout

┌ Menu bar ──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ┌ Channels ─┐ ┌ Messages ────────────────────┐ ┌ Users ──┐ │
│ │ #general 3│ │ 12:01 <alice> hi             │ │ ★ alice │ │
│ │ #dev      │ │ ── new messages ──           │ │ ❀ bob   │ │
│ │ #random*~ │ │ 12:04 <bob> anyone around?   │ │ carol   │ │
│ └───────────┘ └──────────────────────────────┘ │ d [irc] │ │
│ ┌ Message │ Enter=send │ Tab=complete │ … ────┐ └─────────┘ │
│ │ _                                           │             │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘             │
│ Status: Connected │ v0.2.14 │ alice │ Act: #dev             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Channel list markers: * = password-protected, ~ = private (unlisted), plus unread counts (orange when you were @mentioned). Users panel glyphs: ★ Owner, ♦ Admin, ❀ Mod, [irc] for IRC-gateway-only users; status icons ●/○/◐/◌ for online/offline/away/dnd.

Keyboard shortcuts

In the message input

Key Action
Enter Send the message (also sends staged attachments with the text as caption)
Ctrl+N Insert a newline (multiline message)
Tab Autocomplete a slash command (/th → /theme)
Ctrl+V (or Ctrl+Y) Paste — copied files and images become attachments, text pastes normally (details)
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X Copy / cut in the input
Ctrl+W Delete the word left of the cursor
Ctrl+K Open the search palette
F6 Move focus into the message list

In the message list (after F6)

Key Action
↑ / ↓ Select a message
Enter Activate: play/download/save an attachment, open an @mention's profile, join a #channel, or open the sender's profile
Delete / Backspace Delete the selected message (with confirmation; permission rules)
F6 Return focus to the input

Anywhere

Key Action
F2 Toggle the users panel
Ctrl+K Search palette
Alt+Q Quit

The search palette (Ctrl+K)

A command-palette that searches channels and app actions — type to filter, ↓ to navigate, Enter to jump. Actions include Connect, Disconnect, Logout, My Profile, Set Status, Create/Delete Channel, Saved Servers, Toggle Users Panel, Check for Updates, and Quit. Ctrl+K again closes it.

Mouse

  • Right-click a message for the context menu: save image / play audio / download file (depending on the attachment), *Mention @user*, View profile, Copy text, Copy message ID, Delete message.
  • Left-click a message does the most useful thing for that line: attachments play/download/save, @mentions and the sender open profiles, #channel references join that channel.
  • Click a user in the users panel to open their profile; click a channel to switch.

Slash commands

Type /help in any channel for the full list. The highlights:

Command What it does
/status <online\|away\|dnd\|invisible> or /status <message> Presence / status message
/nick <name>, /color <#hex>, /avatar <url or path> Display name, nick color, avatar
/theme <name> Switch theme
/send, /clear, /size, /downloadpath Attachments — see Messages & Attachments
/join <channel> [password], /leave, /topic <text> Channel membership and topic
/passwd <old> <new> Rotate an encrypted room's passphrase
/profile [user], /users, /meta Profiles, online users, room info
/kick, /ban, /mute, /role, /nuke, … Moderation
/servers, /quit Saved servers, exit

Emoji shortcodes (:smile: style) are replaced live as you type.

Themes

14 built-in themes: Default, Transparent, TransparentLight, Classic, Light, Hacker, Solarized, Dracula, Monokai, Nord, Gruvbox, Ocean, HighContrast, RosePine — switch from the User menu or /theme <name>. The two Transparent themes use no background color at all, so your terminal's own background (and any blur/acrylic) shows through.

You can add your own: drop a theme JSON into ~/.echohub/themes/ and it appears in the list (names that collide with a built-in are skipped).

Everyday behaviors

  • Unread markers — a ── new messages ── rule marks where you left off in each channel, irssi-style. Read positions are persisted per server, so the marker survives reconnects and restarts. The status bar's Act: segment lists channels with activity (orange when you were @mentioned), and day boundaries draw a date rule.
  • Auto-join — connecting joins #general plus every channel you're a member of, so unread counts and mentions accumulate everywhere. Channels you /leave stay left, and password-protected or encrypted rooms are never auto-prompted — join those explicitly. #general is the home channel and can't be left or deleted.
  • Scrollback — history loads 100 messages at a time; scrolling to the top of a channel fetches the next page and keeps your position (no jump).
  • Drag & drop — dropping a file onto the window stages it as an attachment.
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