> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.socketchat.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> End-to-end encrypted group chat for the terminal, on a server you run yourself.

Socketchat is a group chat that runs in your terminal on macOS, Linux and Windows. You run a small server, invite friends with a link, and talk in rooms that only the people inside can read. No phone number, email or ID is needed. These docs cover Socketchat 0.5.1.

## How it works

Every message is locked on your computer before it leaves, and only the people in the room hold the keys to open it. This is called end-to-end encryption. The server sits in the middle and passes sealed messages along. It stores them until each friend's app collects them, and it never holds a key that can open them.

```mermaid theme={"dark"}
flowchart LR
    A["Your computer<br/>locks the message"] -- "sealed message" --> S["Socketchat server<br/>stores and forwards it,<br/>cannot open it"]
    S -- "sealed message" --> B["Friend's computer<br/>opens it"]
    S -- "sealed message" --> C["Another friend<br/>opens it"]
```

One program, `socketchat`, does both jobs. On your own computer it opens the chat screen. On the machine you pick as the server, `socketchat server` runs the server, with all its data in one folder. Apps never connect to each other directly, so every group needs one server. [How Socketchat works](/how-it-works) explains who runs it and who only needs the app.

## Who it is for

* **Friends and small groups** who want a private room without handing their messages to a company.
* **People who like the terminal**, including over SSH. The chat screen fits an 80 by 24 window.
* **Scripts and AI agents**, which join rooms and send messages through the same command. See [Agents](/use/agents).

## What you get

* Rooms (group chats) and direct messages.
* Invite links, shown as text and as a QR code, that work once.
* Safety numbers, so you and a friend can check that nobody sits between you.
* Files, photos and videos. Photos lose their location and device data before they leave.
* Admins who can remove people and rename a room. A room closes for everyone once its admins agree.
* Protection against a future quantum computer, on by default.

## Where to start

> **[Install](/install)**
>
> One command on macOS, Linux or Windows.

> **[Quick start](/quickstart)**
>
> From nothing to a room with a friend.

> **[Host a server](/hosting/overview)**
>
> Pick how your friends will reach you.

> **[What the server sees](/security/what-the-server-sees)**
>
> What stays private, in plain words.


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