CLI Chat Application for Linux

A simple, lightweight, and easy-to-use Command Line Interface (CLI) chat application built in C++ and optimized for Linux.
This project allows users to connect to a central server and communicate with each other in a real-time terminal-based environment.

---

🚀 Features

• Real-time Communication: Instantly send and receive messages.
• Client-Server Architecture: A robust model with a central server managing connections.
• Linux Optimized: Built and tested for Linux environments, specifically Ubuntu.
• Lightweight: Minimal resource footprint, runs smoothly in any standard terminal.

---

🛠️ Getting Started

Follow these instructions to get a copy of the project up and running on your local machine for development and testing purposes.

✅ Prerequisites

You will need:

• A C++ compiler (g++)
• The make build tool

For Ubuntu/Debian-based systems, install with:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install build-essential

Verify the installation:

g++ --version
make --version

---

⚙️ Installation & Running

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/ChatApplication.git
cd ChatApplication

2. Compile the source code:

Use the provided Makefile to compile the server and client executables.
The binaries will be placed in the ./build/ directory.

make

3. Run the Server:

Open a terminal window and start the server application:

./build/server

The server will start listening for incoming client connections.

4. Run the Client(s):

Open one or more new terminal windows to run the client application(s):

./build/client

Each client will connect to the server, and you can start sending messages.

---

💻 Usage

• Server:

  • The server listens for new clients and relays messages between them.
  • It must be started first and remain running for clients to connect.
  • By default, it listens on a predefined port.

• Client:

  • Once connected, type your message and press Enter to send it to all other connected clients.
  • Incoming messages will appear in your terminal in real time.

---

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are what make the open-source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.

1. Fork the Project
2. Create your Feature Branch

   git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature

3. Commit your Changes

   git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature'

4. Push to the Branch

   git push origin feature/AmazingFeature

5. Open a Pull Request

---

📜 License

This project is distributed under the MIT License.
See LICENSE for more information.