BozoChat

Send images and videos to your friends' screens via Discord!

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Discord Bot + WebSocket Server  │  Node.js — src/bot/
└────────────────┬────────────────┘
                 │ WebSocket (ws://)
        ┌────────┴────────┐
        │  BozoChat Client │  ← src/client-rust/  (Rust, Windows)
        │  BozoChat Client │     system tray + transparent overlay
        │  BozoChat Client │     one per friend
        └─────────────────┘

Quick Start

1. Server Setup (Admin)

1. Create a Discord Bot

   • Go to https://discord.com/developers/applications
   • Create a New Application → Bot tab → Add Bot
   • Enable Message Content Intent
   • Copy the bot token

2. Configure the server

   copy .env.example .env
   # Edit .env — set DISCORD_TOKEN=your_token_here

3. Start the server

   start-bot.bat
   # or: npm run bot

4. Invite the bot to your Discord server

   • The console will print an invite URL — open it and authorize the bot

2. Client Setup (Friends)

Requirements: Windows 10/11 with WebView2 Runtime (pre-installed on Windows 11)

Build the executable:

cd src/client-rust
cargo build --release
# Output: src/client-rust/target/release/bozochat-client.exe

Share bozochat-client.exe with your friends — no installer needed, single file.

3. Configure the Client

1. Double-click bozochat-client.exe — it appears in the system tray
2. Right-click the tray icon → Settings
3. Enter the server URL: ws://your-server-ip:3001
4. (Optional) Set a username, overlay position, display monitor
5. Click Save

Usage

In Discord

/send [upload file] "Check this out!" 5

Parameter	Description
media	Image or video file (jpg, png, gif, webp, mp4, webm, mov)
message	Text to display alongside the media
duration	How long to show in seconds (default: 5)

What Happens

1. You run /send in Discord
2. Bot downloads the media and base64-encodes it
3. Bot broadcasts via WebSocket to all connected clients
4. Every connected client shows the overlay notification
5. Videos play to completion automatically, then the overlay closes

Client Settings

Setting	Description
Server URL	WebSocket address of the bot server (ws://ip:3001)
User ID	Optional identifier shown in logs
Display Monitor	Which screen to show the overlay on (multi-monitor support)
Overlay Position	Top-left / Top-right / Bottom-left / Bottom-right / Center
Default Duration	Auto-close time for images/text (ms)
Auto Start	Launch with Windows

File Structure

bozochat/
├── src/
│   ├── bot/
│   │   └── index.js                  # Discord bot + WebSocket server
│   └── client-rust/
│       ├── Cargo.toml
│       └── src/
│           ├── main.rs               # Entry point, event loop
│           ├── overlay.rs            # Overlay window + notification queue
│           ├── settings.rs           # Settings window
│           ├── tray.rs               # System tray icon + menu
│           ├── config.rs             # Config (load/save ~/.bozochat/config.json)
│           └── websocket.rs          # WebSocket client (tokio)
│   └── client/renderer/
│       ├── overlay.html              # Transparent overlay UI (embedded in binary)
│       └── settings.html             # Settings UI (embedded in binary)
├── bozoicon.ico                      # App icon (embedded in binary)
├── .env.example                      # Server environment template
├── package.json                      # Bot dependencies
├── start-bot.bat                     # Start the bot server
└── README.md

Building the Client

Requirements: Rust 1.75+, Windows 10/11

cd src/client-rust

# Debug build (shows console)
cargo build

# Release build (no console, optimized)
cargo build --release

The release binary at target/release/bozochat-client.exe is self-contained — the HTML/CSS/JS UI is embedded at compile time.

Port Forwarding (Home Hosting)

To let friends outside your network connect:

1. Forward port 3001 on your router to your PC's local IP
2. Find your public IP at https://whatismyipaddress.com/
3. Friends use ws://your-public-ip:3001 as the server URL

Troubleshooting

Server won't start

• Check .env exists with a valid DISCORD_TOKEN
• Verify port 3001 is not already in use
• Ensure the bot has Message Content Intent enabled

Client won't connect

• Confirm the server is running
• Use format ws://ip:3001 (not http://)
• Test locally first: ws://localhost:3001
• Check Windows Firewall isn't blocking port 3001

Overlay doesn't appear

• Check the tray icon status (green = connected)
• Try Test Notification from the tray right-click menu
• If behind a fullscreen app: the overlay uses HWND_TOPMOST but DirectX exclusive fullscreen apps cannot be overlaid (Windows limitation)

WebView2 missing

• Download from https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/
• On Windows 11 it is pre-installed

Security

This is designed for private use with trusted friends.

• All connected clients receive every notification broadcast
• No authentication is implemented — use on a trusted network or add a firewall rule
• Config is stored in plain JSON at ~/.bozochat/config.json

Credits

Built with:

• Rust — client runtime
• wry — WebView2 wrapper
• winit — window management
• tokio — async runtime
• Discord.js — Discord bot
• ws — WebSocket server

License

MIT