ehiniumChat

ehiniumChat is a lightweight, private group chat system designed for Linux servers. It uses only system packages, stores data in SQLite, and provides a clean Telegram-like UI with realtime messaging.

This project is intentionally simple, auditable, and self-hosted.

Features

• Private login (no public signup)
• User-defined groups and memberships
• Realtime messaging via WebSocket
• Message pagination (loads latest 10, loads older on scroll)
• Unread message dots and counters
• Group info panel (members + last seen)
• File upload with image preview
• Mobile responsive UI
• SQLite database (single file)
• No external services, no pip, no npm

Requirements

• Linux server (Ubuntu recommended, any version)
• Root or sudo access
• Ability to install packages using apt
• Optional: domain + CDN (for HTTPS on client side)

Used system packages only:

• python3
• python3-aiohttp

Important note for Iran access servers

If your server is Iran-access (زمان قطعی اینترنت):

1) DNS resolution

Public resolvers like 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 usually do not work.

Make sure your server:

• Uses datacenter-provided DNS, or
• Uses Iranian DNS resolvers

2) Use Iranian apt mirrors

Default Ubuntu mirrors may fail.
Recommended tools to switch mirrors automatically:

https://github.com/mexenon/syshelper
https://github.com/GeeDook/mirava

After fixing mirrors:

sudo apt update

Download project without GitHub access

If GitHub is blocked, download the packaged file from this mirror:

https://uploadkon.ir/uploads/3cfb13_26ehiniumChat-tar.gz

Installation

1) Install dependencies

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3 python3-aiohttp

2) Create application directory

sudo mkdir -p /opt/ehiniumChat/uploads

3) Get the code

Option A: using GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/ehinium/ehiniumChat.git
sudo mkdir -p /opt/ehiniumChat
sudo cp -a ehiniumChat/* /opt/ehiniumChat/

Option B: using the Iranian mirror:

wget https://uploadkon.ir/uploads/3cfb13_26ehiniumChat-tar.gz
sudo tar -xzf ehiniumChat-tar.gz -C /

Ensure files exist:

ls /opt/ehiniumChat

Make executable:

sudo chmod +x /opt/ehiniumChat/app.py
sudo chmod +x /opt/ehiniumChat/admin_cli.py || true

4) Create secret key (required)

This key signs login cookies.

Generate:

python3 - <<'PY'
import secrets
print(secrets.token_hex(32))
PY

Create file:

sudo nano /opt/ehiniumChat/secret.key

Paste the generated hex string and save.

5) First run (manual test)

sudo python3 /opt/ehiniumChat/app.py

App starts on:
http://0.0.0.0:8080

Open in browser:
http://SERVER_IP:8080

Stop with Ctrl+C after confirming it works.

Run as a system service (recommended)

1) Create systemd service

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/ehiniumchat.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=ehiniumChat (aiohttp + sqlite)
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
WorkingDirectory=/opt/ehiniumChat
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /opt/ehiniumChat/app.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=2
User=root
Environment=PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

2) Enable and start

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable ehiniumchat
sudo systemctl restart ehiniumchat
sudo systemctl status ehiniumchat --no-pager

Logs:

sudo journalctl -u ehiniumchat -n 200 --no-pager

CDN / HTTPS setup (optional)

Common setup:
Browser to CDN is HTTPS, CDN to server is HTTP.

Requirements:

• CDN must support WebSocket proxying
• Paths:
  • UI: /chat
  • WebSocket: /ws
  • Uploads: /uploads/

If CDN terminates HTTPS, browser uses wss automatically.

Admin management (users, groups, members)

If admin_cli.py is present:

List users:

sudo /opt/ehiniumChat/admin_cli.py list-users

Add user (default password = username123):

sudo /opt/ehiniumChat/admin_cli.py add-user ali

Set password:

sudo /opt/ehiniumChat/admin_cli.py set-pass ali NewPassword

Add group:

sudo /opt/ehiniumChat/admin_cli.py add-group "My Group"

Add member to group:

sudo /opt/ehiniumChat/admin_cli.py add-member "My Group" ali

Rename group:

sudo /opt/ehiniumChat/admin_cli.py rename-group "Old Name" "New Name"

Backup and migration

Move to another server (keep data)

On old server:

sudo systemctl stop ehiniumchat
sudo tar -czf /root/ehiniumChat_backup.tgz -C /opt ehiniumChat

Copy archive to new server and extract:

sudo tar -xzf ehiniumChat_backup.tgz -C /

Reinstall packages and start service.

Share with someone else (code only)

To give the software without your users/messages:

sudo tar -czf ehiniumChat_clean.tgz \
  /opt/ehiniumChat/app.py \
  /opt/ehiniumChat/admin_cli.py

Do not share:

• ehiniumchat.db
• uploads/
• secret.key

Recipient must create their own secret.key.

Security notes (important)

• ISP cannot read messages if client to CDN is HTTPS
• CDN can read messages if origin is HTTP
• Datacenter network can read messages if origin is HTTP
• Messages are stored in plaintext in SQLite
• Passwords are stored in plaintext (by design)

This system is suitable for private groups and internal teams.

It is not end-to-end encrypted.