BHCLI

A sophisticated terminal client for le-chat-php based chat systems. Built for the darknet, optimized for Tor, works everywhere.

What is this?

BHCLI is a CLI chat client designed for anonymous communication over Tor. It connects to any le-chat-php chat server with full feature parity plus advanced capabilities like AI integration, bot automation, and developer tools.

Officially supported:

• 404 Chatroom Not Found
• Black Hat Chat
• PopPooB's Chat

Getting Started

Quick Install

Pre-built binaries:

# Download from latest release
https://github.com/d-a-s-h-o/bhcli/releases/latest

Build from source:

# Install Rust if you don't have it
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

# Clone and build
git clone <repo>
cd bhcli
cargo build --release

# Binary will be at target/release/bhcli

Linux dependencies:

apt-get install -y pkg-config libasound2-dev libssl-dev cmake libfreetype6-dev libexpat1-dev libxcb-composite0-dev libx11-dev

First Run

# Just run it, it will prompt you
./bhcli

# Or specify credentials
./bhcli -u yourusername -p yourpassword

# Through Tor (default)
./bhcli -s socks5h://127.0.0.1:9050

# Direct connection (not recommended for darknet chats)
./bhcli --no-proxy

On first run, a man page gets installed automatically. Access it with man bhcli anytime.

Core Features

The Basics

• Private messaging with /pm username message
• Sound notifications when tagged or PM'd (can be disabled with m)
• File uploads with /u /path/to/file.png @username optional message
• Captcha rendering directly in terminal at 10x size
• Tab completion for usernames
• Message history with up/down arrows
• Copy to clipboard with ctrl+c or y

Views and Filters

Toggle between different chat views:

• shift+G for guest view (filter out members chat and PMs)
• shift+M for members view (filter out guest chat and PMs)
• /f terms to filter messages by content
• /ignore username to hide someone's messages
• backspace to hide individual messages, ctrl+H to view hidden ones

Message Navigation

j / down arrow    Move down one message
k / up arrow      Move up one message
J (shift)         Jump down 5 messages
K (shift)         Jump up 5 messages
gg               Jump to top
ctrl+d           Page down
ctrl+u           Page up

Quick Actions

t                Tag author of selected message (@username)
p                Start PM to author (/pm username)
y                Copy selected message
shift+Y          Copy first link in message
d                Download embedded file
D                Download and open file

Power Features

ChatOps Commands (30+ tools)

BHCLI includes a full developer toolbox accessible via slash commands:

/help                    List all ChatOps commands
/man curl               System manual pages
/doc rust HashMap       Language documentation
/hash sha256 text       Cryptographic hashing
/uuid                   Generate UUIDs
/base64 encode data     Encoding utilities
/github user/repo       Repository info
/ping google.com        Network diagnostics
/translate spanish Hi   AI translation

See MANUAL.md or man bhcli for the complete command reference.

AI Integration

When OPENAI_API_KEY is set:

• Real-time translation across 100+ languages
• Sentiment analysis of conversations
• Code review and debugging assistance
• Chat summarization and insights
• Smart moderation (configurable strictness)

Control AI features:

/ai off              Disable AI completely
/ai mod              Moderation only
/ai reply all        Reply to all messages
/ai reply ping       Reply when mentioned
/ai strict           Strict moderation
/ai balanced         Balanced moderation (default)
/ai lenient          Lenient moderation

Background Bot System

Run a persistent bot alongside your client:

./bhcli --bot BotName --bot-admins alice,bob

Bots provide:

• Perfect memory of all chat history
• Message search and recall
• User statistics and analytics
• Data export capabilities
• Message restoration for deleted content

Interact with bots by mentioning them:

@BotName help
@BotName stats alice
@BotName search "rust error"
@BotName recall 14:30
@BotName export alice 7

Configuration

Profiles

Store credentials in ~/.config/bhcli/bhcli.toml:

[profiles]

[profiles.default]
username = "yourusername"
password = "yourpassword"

[profiles.work]
username = "workaccount"
password = "differentpassword"

Switch profiles with bhcli -c work

Custom Commands

Create personal shortcuts:

[commands]
hello = "hey everyone, how's it going?"
afk = "stepping away for a bit, ping me if needed"
rules = "1. Be cool 2. No spam 3. Stay anonymous"

Use them by typing !hello, !afk, etc.

Environment Variables

export BHC_USERNAME="myuser"
export BHC_PASSWORD="mypass"
export BHC_PROXY_URL="socks5h://127.0.0.1:9050"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."  # For AI features

Advanced Usage

Editing Mode

The input bar supports Vim-like editing:

ctrl+a           Start of line
ctrl+e           End of line
ctrl+f           Word forward
ctrl+b           Word backward
ctrl+l           Toggle multiline mode
ctrl+.           Open external editor (nvim/vim/nano)

In multiline mode, enter adds newlines, ctrl+enter sends.

Moderation Tools (Members+)

For moderators and admins:

/kick username reason       Boot someone
/ban username              Ban user (fuzzy match)
/ban "exact username"      Ban exact match
/filter spamtext           Auto-filter messages
/banlist                   Show banned users
/filterlist                Show filtered terms
/unban username            Remove ban
/unfilter text             Remove filter

Quick keyboard shortcuts:

ctrl+k           Prefill kick command for selected message
ctrl+b           Prefill ban command
ctrl+a           Prefill members group message
ctrl+w           Send warning message

Multiple Accounts (Members+)

Link alt and master accounts for delegation:

/set alt AltAccountName
/set master MasterAccountName

This enables command forwarding and cross-account operations.

Building and Distribution

Standard Build

make build          # Debug build
make release        # Optimized release
make test           # Run tests
make check          # Quick compile check

Cross-Platform

make build-linux-musl      # Static Linux binary
make build-macos           # macOS binary
make build-windows         # Windows binary
make build-all             # All platforms

Optional Features

# Build without audio (for headless servers)
make build-no-audio

# Or with cargo directly
cargo build --release --no-default-features

Documentation

• MANUAL.md for detailed guides and full command reference
• man bhcli for quick terminal reference (installed on first run)
• OPTIMIZATION_REPORT.md for technical details and performance info

Performance Notes

BHCLI is optimized for low resource usage:

• 500ms tick rate keeps CPU usage minimal
• Optional audio works on headless systems
• Lazy loading defers expensive operations
• LTO and strip produces compact binaries (~28MB release)

No fan spin-up, no excessive polling, just efficient terminal communication.

Contributing

Built with Rust 2021 edition. Clean codebase, zero compiler warnings, comprehensive error handling. Pull requests welcome.

Development:

make fmt            # Format code
make clippy         # Run linter
make check          # Fast compilation check
cargo doc --open    # Generate and view docs

Security Notes

BHCLI is designed for anonymous communication:

• Tor-first architecture with SOCKS5 support
• No telemetry or external phone-home
• Local storage only (config and bot data)
• Optional features minimize attack surface

For darknet usage, always route through Tor. Never use --no-proxy with .onion addresses unless you know what you're doing.

License

MIT See LICENSE.md file for details.