💬 LocalChat — P2P Terminal Messenger

A zero-dependency, two-person terminal chat app for local networks.
Pure Rust standard library only — no external crates needed.

---

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Rust installed (curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh)

Build & Run

cargo run --release

---

How It Works

Person A (HOST)                    Person B (JOIN)
─────────────────                  ─────────────────
cargo run                          cargo run
Enter name: Alice                  Enter name: Bob
Choose role: 1 (HOST)              Choose role: 2 (JOIN)
→ Shows your LAN IP                Enter Alice's IP: 192.168.1.42
→ Waits for connection...          → Connects instantly
          ↕  TCP socket on port 7777  ↕
             Full-duplex messaging

Step by step

1. Person A runs cargo run, picks 1 (HOST). The app prints their local IP.
2. Person A shares that IP with Person B (verbally, phone, whatever).
3. Person B runs cargo run, picks 2 (JOIN), enters Person A's IP.
4. Chat opens — both can type freely and simultaneously.
5. Type /quit to disconnect gracefully.

---

Features

• 🎨 Coloured terminal UI (ANSI — works on macOS, Linux, Windows Terminal)
• 🕒 Timestamps on every message
• ↕ Full-duplex: both people can type at the same time
• 🔌 Graceful /quit command
• 📡 Auto-detects your LAN IP
• 🚫 Zero external dependencies

---

Network Notes

• Uses TCP port 7777. Make sure it's not blocked by a firewall.
• Both machines must be on the same local network (same Wi-Fi / LAN).
• If you're on separate networks, you'd need port forwarding (out of scope here).

---

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
"Connection refused"	Make sure HOST has started and is waiting before JOIN connects
"Cannot bind"	Port 7777 is in use — kill the other process or change PORT in main.rs
Can't find your IP	Run ip route get 1 (Linux) or ipconfig (Windows) manually