TapChat is mobile IRC done right

http://codebutler.com/tapchat-is-mobile-irc-done-right

by davepeck • 14 years ago

54 20 14 years ago

tallowen• 14 years ago

I would pay for this if I could use my own ZNC bouncer.

tdavis• 14 years ago

That was my immediate reaction, too. Though it sounds like the node.js server is doing more than your standard bouncer; ZNC support seems unlikely.

EricButler5• 14 years ago

Hi, I'm the author of TapChat.

I recommend connecting the TapChat server to ZNC, this works quite well.

nuclear_eclipse• 14 years ago

If you just want push notifications from ZNC, I wrote a plugin called ZNC Push [1] that can interface with many popular push notification services. I personally use NMA, and have a full writeup about my setup [2]. If there's a service you use that isn't supported, I would gladly accept requests if it's something I can test on my own Android devices.

1: https://github.com/jreese/znc-push 2: http://noswap.com/articles/irc/

a3_nm• 14 years ago

I'm curious about why you need a specific bouncer for this. I can't see any doc about what it does that usual bouncers don't do (except for "[existing bouncers] have many limitations such as not being able to sync private conversations across all of your devices", which I don't get: the bip bouncer which I use syncs private conversations in a very reasonable way).

tobylane• 14 years ago

Is this (irc bouncer) the sort of thing that should work with Jabber? Keep the parts interchangeable?

EricButler5• 14 years ago

Hi, I'm the author of TapChat.

There are very few things about the protocol that are IRC-specific, so this could likely be added in the future. In the meantime, I've had success using Jabber in TapChat via Bitlbee.

spindritf2• 14 years ago

I use irssi on the server with Irssi ConnectBot https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.woltage.ir... and Hacker's Keyboard https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketwork... . Why is SSHing from a phone no fun? Honest question, what am I missing out on?

EricButler5• 14 years ago

Hi! I'm the author of TapChat.

Scrolling and switching between windows is quite slow and unpleasant with Irssi+Screen+ConnectBot on a phone. TapChat has a native UI and is much more responsive regardless of your connection quality. It also sends push notifications to your phone when someone mentions or messages you.

lzm• 14 years ago

There's an app called "Irssi ConnectBot" that adds support for scrolling and switching windows with touch gestures.

mandarkk• 14 years ago

No it isn't.

- The only way to stop receiving notifications is to uninstall the app, there is no disconnect/detach option.

- It doesn't have support for identd (necessary for old ZNC bouncers, and for some bitlbee builds).

- The UI is very young, not comfortable to use, no easy channel switchers, etc.

- No buddy/friends list.

- Install fails in "supported' nodejs versions, almost works only on v.0.8.0

- Complete lack of settings, including what I said about the most basic thing, connecting/disconnecting.

I had a lot of hopes for this, I use IRC with a few servers and a personal IM gateway (bitlbee), and for now I'm using AndChat which is a very good Android client but the permanent connection makes the battery drain very fast.

After having trouble getting the server up (nodejs version and such), I had trouble setting up the servers to connect to, as the settings for creating a new server were different with those of editing the new server, and the password was not even remembered when creating one, so I had to put it again after creating it in the edit mode.

But still, no support for identd had me update ZNC and bitlbee to support only server password with "user:pass".

After I finally got it up, for the first few minutes it was a dream, notifications came very fast, the app was good looking. And then I tried detaching from the server, no way to do that, after I kill the process, notifications still came up, and after "logging off" from my server I would still get them!!!! only way to stop was uninstalling the App.

Which I did. Hopefully I'll reinstall it when these problems get fixed.

EricButler5• 14 years ago

Hi again. We spoke about all this a few days ago. Sorry to hear you're disappointed with the app.

- The only way to stop receiving notifications is to uninstall the app, there is no disconnect/detach option.

This is a reasonable request and is on my list.

- It doesn't have support for identd (necessary for old ZNC bouncers, and for some bitlbee builds).

As I mentioned, you don't need "identd" for ZNC. TapChat supports password-protected servers and works just fine with ZNC.

- The UI is very young, not comfortable to use, no easy channel switchers, etc. - No buddy/friends list.

- Install fails in "supported' nodejs versions, almost works only on v.0.8.0

There was an issue with certain versions of nodejs, this has been fixed.

- Complete lack of settings, including what I said about the most basic thing, connecting/disconnecting.

You can connect/disconnect from IRC networks in Settings > Manage IRC Networks.

zschallz• 14 years ago

Something I've wanted to build someday but never did is exactly this but for xmpp, etc. I'd love to have a central place with my chat logs, etc.

Someone go build it, please!

sirn• 14 years ago

I don't know about its Node.JS implementation, but I think TapChat works great as a lightweight client to IRCCloud[1] (which is kind of like a bouncer on its own and don't have much option to configure to begin with). It simply Just Works™.

Some customization and a little bit of visual improvement for message would be welcome, though. Especially colors, I understand they want to keep it monochrome-ish, but trying to find message burying with joins/leaves is not really fun since everything looked the same. I wish it has IRCCloud-like join/leave grouping.

[1] https://irccloud.com/

tomflack2• 14 years ago

I sent you an email and this is just me being impatient but.. unavailable in the android market for Chinese users?

EricButler5• 14 years ago

Hey, I just replied to your email. Paid apps are not currently available in China, it seems. You should be able to purchase the app from the web through a VPN or proxy and have it pushed to your phone. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tapchatapp...

tomflack2• 14 years ago

Ah I didn't realize! This would also explain a lot of other things. Thanks!

Xuzz• 14 years ago

This has been supported with Colloquy on iOS for years — even using ZNC as the bouncer with the Colloquy plugin. I'm glad there's now a solution for Android that looks like it might be approaching the same awesomeness level!

More info: http://colloquy.info/project/wiki/PushNotifications

Xyzodiac• 14 years ago

I'm so glad there's finally a good option for Android users!

TapChat is mobile IRC done right

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