devzat

SSH-based chat server you join with your existing SSH client

TLDR

Connect to the public Devzat server

$ ssh [devzat.hackclub.com]

Pick a display name by passing it as the SSH username

$ ssh [nickname]@[devzat.hackclub.com]

Connect over port 443 (useful behind restrictive firewalls)

$ ssh [devzat.hackclub.com] -p 443

Run your own Devzat server (binary built from source)

$ devzat

Run a server on a custom port

$ devzat --port [4242]

SYNOPSIS

ssh [user@]devzat-host [-p port]devzat [--port N] [--admin key] [options] (server-side)

Devzat is a custom SSH server that drops connecting clients into a real-time chat room instead of giving them a shell. Because the protocol is plain SSH, there is no client to install — every device with an SSH client (Linux, macOS, Windows, even mobile SSH apps) can join.The display name shown in chat is the username supplied during the SSH handshake (user@host); change it by reconnecting with a different name or by using the in-room /nick command. Servers identify users by their SSH public key, so the same key consistently maps to the same identity across reconnects.The devzat binary referenced on the command line is the server; end users almost never run it. Self-hosters use it to expose their own chat instance.

IN-ROOM COMMANDS

/users

List users currently in the room.

/dm user message (or /msg)

Send a private message to another user.

/nick name

Change your display name.

/rooms

List available chat rooms.

/join room

Switch to another room (creates it if missing).

/help

Show all available slash commands.

/exit

Leave the chat (Ctrl+C also works).

CAVEATS

The devzat package on most package managers installs the server, not a client. To chat, just use ssh — the previous "client CLI" usage documented in some places never existed. Server operators see all messages in plaintext (the SSH transport is encrypted hop-to-server only); do not share secrets in chat.

HISTORY

Devzat was created by Arjun Salyan / Ishan Goel (quackduck) to let developers chat over the SSH infrastructure they already trust. The flagship public instance runs at devzat.hackclub.com, sponsored by Hack Club.