Whispers used to flash on the recipient's terminal and disappear with
the next redraw. No history, no record, no signal if you weren't
looking.
Now whispers are stored per-recipient in a bounded inbox (16 slots,
FIFO eviction):
typedef struct { time_t timestamp; char from[]; char content[]; } whisper_t;
whisper_t whisper_inbox[16];
int whisper_inbox_count;
_Atomic int unread_whispers;
Sender side (:msg / :w):
- resolves target as before
- pushes the whisper into target->whisper_inbox under target->io_lock
(so two simultaneous senders to the same recipient don't tear the
ring)
- bumps target->unread_whispers atomically
- sends a single \a bell + triggers redraw_pending
- no longer writes whisper text directly to the channel (which used
to get clobbered by the next redraw)
Recipient side:
- new :inbox command in COMMAND mode prints the snapshot under
io_lock, in M7 chat-list style:
悄悄话 · whispers · 3
05-17 13:42 alice: 一会儿要不要喝咖啡
...
- viewing :inbox resets unread_whispers to 0
Title bar (extends UX-11):
- bright magenta "✉ N" chip alongside the yellow "★ N" mention chip
- same priority / degradation rules as ★
Whispers remain private — they're never broadcast to the room and
never persisted to messages.log. The inbox lives only in client_t,
so disconnecting drops it.
The bell + brief yellow highlight on the chat line meant that if you
weren't looking at the screen the moment someone @-mentioned you, you
had no way to know.
Now the title bar carries a sticky chip:
tester · 在线 3 · NORMAL ★ 2 ? 帮助
- bright yellow "★ N" appears whenever client->unread_mentions > 0
- count is bumped atomically in notify_mentions() for each target
- cleared automatically when the user returns to attention:
* pressing 'i' in NORMAL to re-enter INSERT mode
* pressing 'G' in NORMAL to jump to the live tail
- never dropped by the narrow-terminal degradation (UX-6) unless
every other optional chip has already been shed — it's the highest
priority signal in the bar
Counter is _Atomic int so the cross-thread bump in notify_mentions
doesn't tear against the local thread's reads / resets.
ESC in INSERT mode used to switch straight to NORMAL. Now it follows
the same arrow-key probe COMMAND mode already does: if the next two
bytes are "[A" or "[B", treat as Up / Down and walk through the last
16 messages this client has sent. A plain ESC still falls through to
NORMAL — the 50 ms probe timeout keeps that path responsive.
Storage: new client_t fields
char insert_history[16][MAX_MESSAGE_LEN];
int insert_history_count;
int insert_history_pos;
Recording: every Enter that broadcasts a message pushes the input
buffer onto the ring (with FIFO eviction at 16) and resets pos.
Down at the bottom of the ring returns to an empty input.
This is the standard chat-client recall that vim users (and anyone
who's ever used a shell) expect.
The MOTD used to ride on tui_render_command_output's coattails — text
got stuffed into client->command_output prefixed by "=== 公告 / MOTD ==="
and rendered under a reverse-video " COMMAND OUTPUT " title bar. Two
different things (a transient command result vs. a one-shot service
notice) wearing the same chrome.
Now MOTD has its own renderer with its own aesthetic:
╭─ 公告 / MOTD ────────────────────────────────╮
欢迎来到 TNT 公共聊天室。
请互相尊重，不要刷屏。
管理员：m1ng
╰─ 按任意键继续 / press any key ────────────────╯
- title chip embedded in the top border (bright cyan)
- footer hint embedded in the bottom border (dim grey)
- 2-column left padding on body lines, blank top/bottom pad rows
- dim cyan borders, no full-line reverse anywhere
Wiring:
- new tui_render_motd() declared in tui.h
- new client_t.show_motd flag selects the renderer; command_output
remains the text storage (no extra buffer needed)
- input.c MOTD path sets show_motd = true and calls tui_render_motd()
- handle_key's dismiss path clears show_motd alongside command_output
- main-loop redraw dispatch checks show_motd before command_output[0]
Replace the four lines of `==` rules + bilingual title with a centred
rounded box so the eye lands on a single visual element instead of two.
The new tui_render_welcome():
- centres horizontally and vertically (about a third of the way down)
- shows TNT + version, then 中文 subtitle, then English caption with
decreasing visual weight (bold cyan / default / dim grey)
- falls back to a plain "TNT $version — anonymous chat over SSH" line
when the terminal is too narrow for the frame
- declared in tui.h, called from input.c read_username()
read_username()'s prompt becomes a single short bilingual hint
("请输入用户名 (留空 anonymous): ") that lives below the box.
Move client_t I/O and lifecycle out of ssh_server.c into a dedicated
module. ssh_server.c is now down to the listening socket, host key
setup, ssh_server_init / ssh_server_start, and the accept loop.
Migrated to client.{c,h}:
- client_send, client_printf
- client_addref, client_release (and the ssh_session / ssh_channel /
channel_cb teardown that fires on the final release)
- client_install_channel_callbacks
- client_channel_window_change / _eof / _close (the post-bootstrap
callbacks that target the client_t)
The client_t struct definition stays in ssh_server.h so we don't have
to revisit every existing #include chain. bootstrap, commands, exec,
input, and tui pick up the new client.h alongside their existing
ssh_server.h include.
ssh_server.c shrinks from 402 to 249 lines (-153).
Final per-module size after PR2:
ssh_server.c 249 accept loop + ssh_server_init/start + host key
bootstrap.c 493 per-connection SSH handshake / auth / channel
client.c 162 client_t I/O + lifecycle + channel callbacks
input.c 637 username read + handle_key + main loop +
notify_mentions + idle timeout
commands.c 269 vim ':' command dispatcher
exec.c 453 SSH exec subcommand dispatcher
ratelimit.c 197 IP rate limit + connection counters
tui.c 614 screen rendering
chat_room.c 151 room + client list
message.c 350 message log load/save/search
utf8.c 250 UTF-8 width / validation
common.c 133 buffer_*, env_int, is_valid_username,
sanitize_terminal_size, tnt_state_*
main.c 109 process entry
Total: ~4 000 lines of C across 13 files, no file over 650 lines, every
file is single-purpose. Behaviour is preserved: the migrated code is
byte-for-byte identical.
Move the interactive session — username read, vim-style key dispatcher,
main poll/redraw/keepalive/idle-timeout loop, the @mention bell, and
the tear-down path — out of ssh_server.c into a dedicated module.
New API (include/input.h):
- input_init() -- read TNT_IDLE_TIMEOUT once at startup
- input_run_session(client_t*) -- run the interactive session for an
already-bootstrapped client_t,
including exec_dispatch() short-circuit
when client->exec_command is set
- notify_mentions(content, sender) -- moved from ssh_server.h since
the INSERT-mode send path lives here
too
Renamed: client_handle_session(void *arg) -> input_run_session(client_t *).
The old void* signature was a fossil from when this was a pthread entry;
bootstrap.c calls it synchronously inside its own detached thread.
bootstrap_run() now ends with `input_run_session(client); return NULL;`.
g_idle_timeout is now private to input.c; ssh_server_init() calls
input_init() instead of reading the env directly.
ssh_server.c shrinks from 1026 to 402 lines (-624) -- now down to just
the accept loop, ssh_server_init / ssh_server_start, host-key setup,
client_t I/O API (send/printf/addref/release), and the post-bootstrap
client_channel_* callbacks. M6 will give those a proper home.
Behaviour is preserved: all moved code is byte-for-byte identical.
Move the per-connection SSH bootstrap pipeline -- key exchange, auth,
channel open + PTY/shell-or-exec request, and the hand-off into a
client_t -- out of ssh_server.c into a dedicated module.
Migrated to bootstrap.{c,h}:
- session_context_t (now private to bootstrap.c)
- accepted_session_t (declared in bootstrap.h, the IPC envelope from
the accept loop into the bootstrap thread)
- TNT_ACCESS_TOKEN handling: g_access_token + bootstrap_init()
- constant_time_strcmp (auth-only utility)
- bootstrap_peer_ip (peer IP read from libssh fd)
- auth_password / auth_none / auth_pubkey
- destroy_session_context, cleanup_failed_session
- channel_open_request_session, channel_pty_request,
channel_pty_window_change, channel_shell_request, channel_exec_request
- setup_session_channel_callbacks
- bootstrap_run (formerly bootstrap_client_session, the pthread entry)
Stayed in ssh_server.c:
- accept loop in ssh_server_start (now calls bootstrap_peer_ip and
pthread_create(bootstrap_run))
- ssh_server_init (now calls ratelimit_init() + bootstrap_init() +
reads only g_idle_timeout / TNT_BIND_ADDR / TNT_SSH_LOG_LEVEL)
- client_send/printf/addref/release, notify_mentions
- client_channel_window_change/eof/close (post-bootstrap, target client_t)
- client_install_channel_callbacks (renamed from
install_client_channel_callbacks, now non-static and exposed via
ssh_server.h so bootstrap.c can install them on the new client_t)
- read_username, handle_key, client_handle_session (will move to
input.c in PR2-M5)
- setup_host_key, ssh_server_start_time
Two helpers also lifted: sanitize_terminal_size moved to common.c (used
by the bootstrap PTY callback and the post-bootstrap window-change
callback), and is_valid_username already lived there from M2.
ssh_server.c shrinks from 1513 to 1026 lines (-487).
Behaviour is preserved: implementations are byte-for-byte the same.
Move the vim-mode `:` command dispatcher (`:list`, `:nick`, `:msg`,
`:last`, `:search`, `:mute-joins`, `:help`, `:clear`, `:q`, …) out of
ssh_server.c into a dedicated module.
New API (include/commands.h):
- commands_dispatch(client_t *) -- single entry point invoked from
handle_key when Enter is pressed in MODE_COMMAND.
ssh_server.c shrinks from 1769 to 1513 lines (-256).
Behaviour preserved: implementation is byte-for-byte the same.
Move the SSH exec subcommand interface (help, health, users, stats,
tail, post) and the dispatcher out of ssh_server.c into a dedicated
module.
New API (include/exec.h):
- exec_dispatch(client_t *) -- single entry point invoked from the
bootstrap path when client->exec_command[0] != '\0'.
Helpers that travel with the exec subcommands:
- format_timestamp_utc, trim_ascii_whitespace, json_append_string,
resolve_exec_username, parse_tail_count
Two cross-module bridges:
- is_valid_username() lifted into common.c/h since exec, the input
read path, and the :nick command all need it.
- ssh_server_start_time() added to ssh_server.h as a read-only
accessor; exec_command_stats no longer reaches into the global.
- notify_mentions stays in ssh_server.c for now and is exposed via
ssh_server.h. Will move to a dedicated client.c during PR2-M6.
ssh_server.c shrinks from 2200 to 1769 lines (-431).
Behaviour is preserved: implementations are byte-for-byte the same.
Move IP rate-limiting, auth-failure tracking, and global connection
counting out of ssh_server.c into a dedicated module.
New API (include/ratelimit.h):
- ratelimit_init()
- ratelimit_check_ip() / ratelimit_release_ip()
- ratelimit_record_auth_failure()
- ratelimit_check_and_increment_total() / ratelimit_decrement_total()
- ratelimit_get_active_total() (replaces the direct g_total_connections
read that exec_command_stats was doing under g_conn_count_lock)
env_int() also moves up to common.{c,h} since multiple modules need it.
ssh_server.c drops from 2469 to 2200 lines. Behaviour is preserved:
the new functions are byte-for-byte the same implementations, only the
file boundary moved.
g_idle_timeout and g_access_token reads stay inline in ssh_server_init()
for now; they will follow the auth.c and input.c extractions later.
Fixes:
- message_load() now holds g_message_file_lock for the read, so :last [N]
can no longer observe a half-written line while message_save() is
flushing.
- constant_time_strcmp() accumulates the length difference in size_t.
The old code truncated to unsigned char, which collapsed pairs whose
lengths differed by a multiple of 256 down to 0 and lost the signal.
Refactor:
- buffer_appendf() / buffer_append_bytes() moved to common.c; the two
identical copies in ssh_server.c and tui.c have been removed.
Docs / cleanup:
- README clarifies that exec 'post' uses the SSH login name as the
author and that anonymous mode performs no identity check.
- Removed TODO.md (both items completed) and docs/README.old.
- Trimmed the auto-generated 2025 entry block from docs/CHANGELOG.md
and added a 2026-05-16 entry summarising this change.
- :last [N]: show last N messages from log (max 50, default 10)
- :search <keyword>: case-insensitive full-text search across log history
- :mute-joins: per-client toggle to silence join/leave system messages,
indicated by [静音] in the title bar
- MOTD: display motd.txt from state directory on connect before entering chat
- Add message_search() to message.c/h for log file scanning
- Update :help and tui help screen (EN/ZH) with new commands
- @mention: typing @username in a message sends bell char to that user
and highlights the message content in bold yellow for them
- Idle timeout: disconnect inactive clients after TNT_IDLE_TIMEOUT
seconds (default 1800 = 30min, 0 to disable)
- :list now shows connection duration per user (e.g. "alice (12m)")
- Document all three features in help text, manpage, and README
Closes#46
- Whisper: copy target client ref out of room lock before calling
client_send, preventing lock-ordering inversion deadlock
- Channel callbacks: call ssh_remove_channel_callbacks before releasing
refs to prevent use-after-free if a callback fires during cleanup
- Log rotation: rotate messages.log to messages.log.1 when it exceeds
10 MiB, preventing unbounded growth on public servers
- tail -nN: accept both "tail -n5" and "tail -n 5" forms, matching
standard Unix tail behavior
Closes#36
