hangups

Start hangups

$ hangups

$ hangups -h

$ hangups --token-path [path/to/token]

hangups [options]

-h, --help
    Show the help message and exit, displaying available options and usage.

-d, --debug
    Enable debug logging, providing more verbose output for troubleshooting.

-v, --version
    Show the program's version number and exit.

--log FILE
    Specify a file path to which all log messages will be written.

--json-output
    Output Hangouts messages in JSON format, useful for programmatic parsing.

--token-path PATH
    Define the path to the refresh token file used for authentication with Google.

--config-path PATH
    Specify the path to the configuration file used by hangups.

The hangups command is a non-standard, open-source Python application and library designed to interact with Google Hangouts. It provides a command-line interface (CLI) for users to chat and manage conversations directly from their Linux terminal. Beyond its CLI capabilities, hangups also serves as a robust Python library, allowing developers to build custom bots, scripts, and integrations that leverage Google Hangouts functionality programmatically. It gained significant popularity after Google deprecated its XMPP gateway, providing a much-needed alternative for automated and terminal-based Hangouts access.

It is crucial to note that hangups is not a standard Linux command bundled with most distributions. It is a third-party Python application that needs to be installed separately, typically via pip. Its functionality relies entirely on Google's Hangouts API, meaning changes to this API by Google could potentially break or alter hangups' behavior. Users must ensure they have Python and pip installed to use it.

To install hangups, ensure you have Python 3 and pip installed on your system. Then, you can install it using the following command:

pip install hangups

After installation, simply running hangups in your terminal will initiate the interactive command-line client. The first time, it will guide you through the authentication process with your Google account. Subsequent runs will directly connect and display your Hangouts conversations.

Developed by a community of open-source contributors, hangups emerged as a response to Google's decision to shut down the XMPP gateway for Google Talk/Hangouts, which many third-party clients and bots relied upon. Its development aimed to provide a stable and open-source alternative for accessing Hangouts functionality via the Google Hangouts API, ensuring continued programmatic and terminal-based access to the platform.

python(1), pip(1), curl(1)