Hotline!

[fogWraith]

This is a fairly ambitious project, while supporting (hopefully) all known Hotline client / server features, there are also extensions to the protocol.
The extensions (and more) are available at GitHub, and yes - I use AI to assist with processing documentation. And no, I don't care about how butthurt / annoyed some would be over this.

Client - Hermes
Currently realeased as an Alpha, this to showcase some of the features a modern client could implement.
Most features are listed on the website.

Server - Janus
Most features are listed on the website.

Tracker - Argus
Most features are listed on the website.

Instant Messenger - Nyx | Iris
Built on the Hotline protocol, features are listed on the website.

And to showcase a bit of the API (as well as Mnemosyne, a content indexing service), there is Agora. It lists tracked servers and offers searching content.
Leaving this post short and concise, mostly to spark a bit of interest, exploration, hopefully testing and perhaps a bit of feedback.

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Instant Messaging Notes
This is but one of my extensions to the already existing Hotline protocol as it is documented today, it allows for a Hotline server to also act as a server for pure instant messaging ~as it were back in the day. Think AIM / ICQ / MSN etc.

 

[Byte Knight]

Client - Hermes
Currently realeased as an Alpha, this to showcase some of the features a modern client could implement.
Most features are listed on the website.

So does this have anything to do with the new Hermes BBS terminal?

 

[fogWraith]

So does this have anything to do with the new Hermes BBS terminal?

It does not! And thank you for the link.
My Hotline lineup simply follows ~sensical naming after a certain theme (Pantheon, Agora, Argus, Janus, Hermes, Mnemosyne)

 

[ScutBoy]

It does not! And thank you for the link.
My Hotline lineup simply follows ~sensical naming after a certain theme (Pantheon, Agora, Argus, Janus, Hermes, Mnemosyne)

the ancient history major in me salutes you!

 

[fogWraith]

Tacked on some relevant new things at the end of the first post. I bet excitement is through the roof.

Anyways, a minor note on the Hotline extension in the Bonus section, once the documentation with implementation details is released, creating yet another IM client for vintage / legacy systems should be easy peasy lemon squeezy. It does, after all, use the Hotline protocol.

 

[fogWraith]

Another update before the Instant Messenger client and updated documentation is made available, the Hotline server (Janus) has reached 2.0.10 stable and comes with a fairly large update, it comes with a new method of storing files - HFS+ volume support. Still a bit on the experimental side of things, but it's there, it works.

Apart from that, plenty of fixes to go around.

 

[fogWraith]

The first Beta of my instant messenger, Nyx, is finally available for download and testing.

Due to VesperNet, I run an official Hotline server under its name, which in turn runs my own software.
The Messenger tab at the website uses the API found in the Hotline server, and the account creation (instant) creates actual accounts on the Hotline server using a template with the correct priv bits, thus the account works on the Hotline server itself as well as for the IM client.

So, since the server (also available for download) supports the protocol extension which is being worked on, one can host their own server, the client supports picking different servers from day 1. Latest changes are always found on the official server however.

For macOS users, I'll have you know that the .app has not yet been notarized, but may be in the future (final release). For a beta product this should be sufficient as there are still tiny updates and fixes being made as I discover them. Feedback is highly appreciated.

As for the protocol extension documentation, it's being cleaned up and polished - a separate document is also being crafted for anyone that would want to create an instant messenger based on this. Coming ~soon.