User Lifecycle

TNT solves one narrow problem: create a keyboard-first chat room that anyone with an SSH client can join without installing a custom client.

The product path should stay short:

Operator installs tnt, chooses a state directory, and starts the server.
User connects with ssh -p 2222 host.
User picks a display name or presses Enter for anonymous.
User lands in INSERT mode at the live tail and can type immediately.
User presses Esc to browse history with Vim-style movement.
User uses :help for the concise manual or ? for the full key reference.
User searches from NORMAL with /term, or uses commands when needed: :users, :msg, :reply, :inbox, :last, :search, :nick, :mute-joins, and :q.
Scripts and operators use tntctl or SSH exec commands for health, stats, users, tail, dump, and post.

TUI Experience Notes

The first screen should make the product legible without reading external docs: this is an SSH chat room, not a shell.
INSERT mode is the default because most users arrive to send a message.
NORMAL mode opens at the latest messages, not the oldest history. Users can move upward for older context and use G or End to return to live chat.
NORMAL mode accepts / as the fast path for history search, matching a common terminal-reader habit while reusing the existing :search command.
INSERT mode keeps a small per-session sent-message history on Up/Down and completes trailing @mention prefixes with Tab.
:help is a compact manual, while ? is a full key reference. Do not add parallel support commands for the same task.
Command syntax stays ASCII even in localized UI text. Translations explain; they do not change the command language.
Private messages are visible in each participant's in-memory :inbox: recipients see incoming messages, senders see local sent-message copies, newest first. They are not written to messages.log and do not survive a reconnect.
:inbox is live enough for normal chat use: it can be refreshed with r and refreshes automatically when a new private message arrives while the inbox is open.
:reply / :r keeps the private-message path keyboard-short: it answers the latest private-message peer in the current session without retyping a username.
Long command output uses a small pager so :last and :search are readable on small terminals.

make user-lifecycle-test runs a two-user SSH TUI journey:

second user joins and is visible through users --json
first user opens ?, checks :users, sends a public message, scrolls, uses :last and :search
first user toggles :mute-joins, sends two :msg messages, receives a :reply, confirms private-message copies in :inbox, changes nickname, sends /me, and exits
second user opens :inbox before the private messages arrive, sees it auto-refresh after delivery, newest first, and replies without retyping the sender's username
exec tail sees public messages
messages.log contains public history and excludes private-message content

This test is intentionally closer to a user story than a unit regression. Keep it focused on lifecycle guarantees, not every keybinding.