scar-chat7/QUICKSTART.md

SCAR Chat - Quick Start Guide

Initial Setup

1. Install Dependencies

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
    build-essential cmake git \
    qt6-base-dev libboost-all-dev \
    libssl-dev libsqlite3-dev \
    libpipewire-0.3-dev \
    libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libavutil-dev \
    libdbus-1-dev

Fedora

sudo dnf install -y \
    gcc-c++ cmake git \
    qt6-qtbase-devel boost-devel \
    openssl-devel sqlite-devel \
    pipewire-devel \
    ffmpeg-devel \
    dbus-devel

Windows

1. Install Visual Studio 2022 with C++ support
2. Install CMake from https://cmake.org/
3. Install Qt6 from https://www.qt.io/
4. Install Boost via vcpkg:

   vcpkg install boost-asio boost-system boost-thread openssl sqlite3 ffmpeg
   

2. Clone and Build

# Clone repository
cd /home/ganome/Projects/SCAR-719/repos/scar-chat7

# Build server and client
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)

3. Generate SSL Certificates

For testing purposes, generate self-signed certificates:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 \
    -keyout server.key -out server.pem \
    -days 365 -nodes \
    -subj "/C=US/ST=State/L=City/O=SCAR/CN=localhost"

Place server.key and server.pem in the project root.

4. Create Test User

Use the dbmanager tool to create users with proper Argon2 password hashing:

# Create a test user
./build/dbmanager/dbmanager adduser testuser testpass

# Create admin user with avatar
./build/dbmanager/dbmanager adduser admin adminpass /path/to/avatar.jpg
./build/dbmanager/dbmanager modifyrole admin admin

# List all users
./build/dbmanager/dbmanager list

The database will be automatically created in the current directory as scarchat.db.

See dbmanager/README.md for complete documentation.

Better approach: Add a --create-user command-line option to the server (TODO).

5. Run Server

cd /home/ganome/Projects/SCAR-719/repos/scar-chat7
./build/server/scarchat-server

# Or with custom paths:
./build/server/scarchat-server \
    --db ./scarchat.db \
    --cert ./server.pem \
    --key ./server.key

Expected output:

SCAR Chat Server v1.0.0
=======================

Configuration:
  Database: scarchat.db
  SSL Cert: server.pem
  SSL Key:  server.key
  Host:     0.0.0.0
  Port:     8443

Server listening on 0.0.0.0:8443

6. Run Client

./build/client/scarchat

1. Login dialog will appear
2. Enter:
   • Username: testuser
   • Password: password123
   • Server: localhost
   • Port: 8443
3. Click Connect

Current Capabilities

Working Features ✅

• Server accepts SSL connections
• Client connects with exponential backoff
• User authentication (username/password → argon2 → JWT)
• Text messaging with chat history
• User list display
• Dark Discord-inspired UI
• Status bar with connection status, user count, clock
• Typing indicators

TODO Features 🔄

• Media capture implementation:
  • Pipewire camera integration
  • Screen capture (X11/Wayland/Windows)
  • DBus portal for Wayland
• Video streaming protocol:
  • Video stream message types
  • Server-side stream routing
  • Client video decoder/display
• User management:
  • Server command to create/delete users
  • User registration endpoint
  • Avatar upload/download
• Enhanced features:
  • Voice chat
  • File sharing
  • Emoji/reactions
  • User roles/permissions

Testing

Manual Testing Checklist

1. Server Startup

   • Server starts without errors
   • Database is created if missing
   • SSL certificates load correctly

2. Client Connection

   • Client shows login dialog
   • Connection succeeds with valid credentials
   • Connection fails gracefully with invalid credentials
   • Reconnect works after server restart

3. Messaging

   • Send text messages
   • Receive messages from other clients
   • Chat history persists across restarts
   • Typing indicators appear

4. UI

   • Dark theme renders correctly
   • User list updates when users join/leave
   • Status bar shows connection state
   • Clock updates every second
   • Video grid shows placeholder when empty

Multi-Client Test

1. Start server
2. Run client #1, login as user1
3. Run client #2, login as user2
4. Send messages between clients
5. Verify both see each other in user list

Troubleshooting

"Cannot open database"

• Ensure write permissions in current directory
• Check --db path is valid

"Cannot open certificate file"

• Run openssl req ... command above
• Ensure server.pem and server.key exist
• Use --cert and --key options

"SSL handshake error"

• Client may need to trust self-signed cert
• Check OpenSSL versions match
• Verify certificate is valid

Client won't connect

• Check server is running: netstat -tlnp | grep 8443
• Verify firewall allows port 8443
• Check server host/port in client config

Qt platform plugin error

export QT_QPA_PLATFORM_PLUGIN_PATH=/path/to/qt6/plugins/platforms

Development Workflow

Adding a New Feature

1. Update PROGRESS.md with feature status
2. Implement in appropriate module (client/server/shared)
3. Add to CMakeLists.txt if new files
4. Build and test
5. Update README/docs

Code Style

• C++20 standard
• Use snake_case for variables/functions
• Use PascalCase for classes
• Include guards: #pragma once
• Namespace: scar

Next Steps

See PROGRESS.md for detailed implementation status.

Priority tasks:

1. Add --create-user command to server
2. Implement Pipewire camera capture
3. Implement screen capture backends
4. Add video streaming protocol
5. Test on multiple platforms