⬡ HAVEN — Private Chat That Lives On Your Machine

Your server. Your rules. No cloud. No accounts with Big Tech. No one reading your messages.

Haven is a self-hosted Discord alternative. Run it on your machine. Invite friends with a code. No cloud. No email signup. No tracking. Free forever.

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Quick Start — Docker (Recommended)

git clone https://github.com/ancsemi/Haven.git
cd Haven
docker compose up -d

Open https://localhost:3000 → Register with username admin → Create a channel → Share the code with friends. Done.

Certificate warning is normal — click Advanced → Proceed. Haven uses a self-signed cert for encryption.

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Quick Start — Windows (No Docker)

1. Download and unzip this repository
2. Double-click Start Haven.bat — it handles everything automatically (Node.js install, dependencies, SSL, firewall, browser)
3. Register as admin — you're done

No Node.js? The script detects this and offers to install it for you with one keypress.

Quick Start — Linux / macOS (No Docker)

chmod +x start.sh
./start.sh

Or manually: npm install && node server.js

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Who Is This For?

• Small friend groups who want a private place to talk
• Self-hosters who run services on their own hardware
• Privacy-conscious communities done with Big Tech
• LAN gaming crews who need voice + screen share without Discord
• Homelab enthusiasts looking for a lightweight chat service

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Why Not Discord?

	Discord	Haven
Hosting	Their cloud	Your machine
Account	Email + phone required	No email, no verification
Your data	Stored by Discord Inc.	Never leaves your server
Cost	Nitro upsells, boosts	Free forever
Telemetry	Analytics, tracking	Zero telemetry
Source code	Closed	Open (MIT-NC)

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Features

Category	What You Get
Chat	Real-time messaging, image uploads (paste/drag/drop), typing indicators, message editing, replies, emoji reactions, @mentions with autocomplete, message pinning (admin)
Voice	Peer-to-peer audio chat, per-user volume sliders, mute/deafen, join/leave audio cues, talking indicators
Screen Share	Multi-stream screen sharing with tiled grid layout, per-user video tiles, one-click close
Channels	Hierarchical channels with sub-channels, private (invite-only) sub-channels with 🔒 indicator, channel topics
Join Codes	Per-channel invite codes with admin controls: public/private visibility, static/dynamic mode, time-based or join-based auto-rotation, manual rotation
Avatars	Upload profile pictures, choose avatar shape (circle/square/hexagon/diamond), per-user shapes visible to everyone
Formatting	Bold, italic, strikethrough, code, ||spoilers||, auto-linked URLs, fenced code blocks with language labels, blockquotes
Link Previews	Automatic OG metadata previews for shared URLs with title, description, and thumbnail
GIF Search	GIPHY-powered GIF picker — search and send GIFs inline (admin-configurable API key)
Direct Messages	Private 1-on-1 conversations — click 💬 on any user in the member list
User Status	Online, Away, Do Not Disturb, Invisible — with custom status text and auto-away after 5 min idle
File Sharing	Upload and share PDFs, documents, audio, video, archives (up to 25 MB) with inline players
Persistent Unread	Server-tracked read state — unread badges survive page refreshes and reconnects
Slash Commands	/shrug, /tableflip, /roll 2d20, /flip, /me, /spoiler, /tts, and more — type / to see them all
Search	Search messages in any channel with Ctrl+F
Themes	20+ themes with stackable visual effects: CRT, Matrix Rain, Cyberpunk Text Scramble, Snowfall, Campfire Embers, and more — configurable intensity/frequency sliders
Multi-Server	Add friends' Haven servers to your sidebar with live online/offline status
Notifications	5 notification sounds, per-channel volume controls
Moderation	Admin: kick, mute (timed), ban, delete users, delete channels, auto-cleanup. Role system with granular permissions.
Security	Bcrypt passwords, JWT auth, HTTPS/SSL, rate limiting, CSP headers, input validation
E2E Encryption	ECDH P-256 + AES-256-GCM encrypted DMs — private keys never leave the browser
Game	Shippy Container — Drew's shipment got hung up. Server-wide leaderboard.

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Letting Friends Connect Over the Internet

If your friends aren't on your WiFi, you need to open a port on your router.

Step 1 — Find Your Public IP

Go to whatismyip.com. That's the address your friends will use.

Step 2 — Port Forward

1. Log into your router (usually http://192.168.1.1 or http://10.0.0.1)
2. Find Port Forwarding (sometimes called NAT or Virtual Servers)
3. Forward port 3000 (TCP) to your PC's local IP
4. Save

Find your local IP: Open Command Prompt → type ipconfig → look for IPv4 Address (e.g. 192.168.1.50)

Step 3 — Windows Firewall

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Haven Chat" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 3000 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow

Step 4 — Share With Friends

Send them:

https://YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:3000

Tell them to click Advanced → Proceed on the certificate warning. It's normal.

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Configuration

Haven creates a .env config file automatically on first launch — you don't need to create or rename anything. It lives in your data directory:

OS	Data Directory
Windows	%APPDATA%\Haven\
Linux / macOS	~/.haven/

Setting	Default	What It Does
PORT	3000	Server port
SERVER_NAME	Haven	Your server's display name
ADMIN_USERNAME	admin	Register with this name to get admin powers
JWT_SECRET	(auto-generated)	Security key — don't share or edit this
SSL_CERT_PATH	(auto-detected)	Path to SSL certificate
SSL_KEY_PATH	(auto-detected)	Path to SSL private key
HAVEN_DATA_DIR	(see above)	Override the data directory location

After editing .env, restart the server.

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Slash Commands

Type / in the message box to see the full list. Here are some highlights:

Command	What It Does
/shrug	¯\(ツ)/¯
/tableflip	(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
/unflip	┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)
/roll 2d20	Roll dice (any NdN format)
/flip	Flip a coin
/me does something	Italic action text
/spoiler secret text	Hidden spoiler text
/tts hello	Text-to-speech
/nick NewName	Change your username
/clear	Clear your chat view
/bbs	"Will be back soon"
/afk	"Away from keyboard"

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Themes

25 themes, switchable from the sidebar:

Haven · Discord · Matrix · Tron · HALO · Lord of the Rings · Cyberpunk · Nord · Dracula · Bloodborne · Ice · Abyss

Your theme choice persists across sessions.

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Voice Chat

1. Join a text channel
2. Click 🎤 Join Voice
3. Allow microphone access
4. Adjust anyone's volume with their slider
5. Click 📞 Leave when done

Voice is peer-to-peer — audio goes directly between users, not through the server. Requires HTTPS.

• Join / leave cues — synthesized audio tones when users enter or leave voice.
• Talking indicators — usernames glow green when speaking (300 ms hysteresis for smooth animation).
• Screen sharing — click 🖥️ Share Screen to broadcast your display. Multiple users can share simultaneously in a tiled grid.

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Admin Guide

If you registered with the admin username, you can:

• Create / delete channels
• Kick users — disconnects them (they can rejoin)
• Mute users — timed mute (can't send messages)
• Ban users — permanent ban (can't connect)
• Delete users — remove banned accounts (frees up their username)
• Auto-cleanup — configure automatic deletion of old messages (Settings → Admin)
• Server settings — EULA, max message age, DB size limits

Access admin controls in the Settings panel (⚙️ gear icon in the sidebar).

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
"SSL_ERROR_RX_RECORD_TOO_LONG"	Your browser is using https:// but the server is running HTTP. Change the URL to http://localhost:3000, or install OpenSSL and restart to enable HTTPS (see below).
"Node.js is not installed"	The launcher offers to install it automatically. Or run winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS in a terminal, restart, and try again.
Browser shows blank page	Clear cache or try incognito/private window
Friends can't connect	Check port forwarding + firewall. Make sure server is running.
"Error: EADDRINUSE"	Another app is using port 3000. Change PORT in .env.
Voice chat echoes	Use headphones
Voice doesn't work remotely	Must use https://, not http://
Certificate error in browser	Normal — click Advanced → Proceed

HTTPS / SSL Details

Haven automatically generates self-signed SSL certificates on first launch — but only if OpenSSL is installed on your system.

How to tell which mode you're in: Look at the startup banner in the terminal window. If the URL shows http:// — you're on HTTP. If it shows https:// — you're on HTTPS.

If Haven falls back to HTTP (no OpenSSL, or cert generation failed):

• Everything works fine for local use — just use http://localhost:3000
• Voice chat will only work on localhost, not for remote friends
• To enable HTTPS:
  1. Install OpenSSL: slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html (the "Light" version)
  2. During install, choose "Copy OpenSSL DLLs to the Windows system directory"
  3. Restart your PC
  4. Delete %APPDATA%\Haven\certs and re-launch Start Haven.bat

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
Shift+Enter	New line
Ctrl+F	Search messages
@	@mention autocomplete
/	Slash command autocomplete
Tab	Select autocomplete suggestion

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Backing Up Your Data

All your data lives in a dedicated directory outside the Haven code folder:

OS	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\Haven\
Linux / macOS	~/.haven/

Inside you'll find:

• haven.db — all messages, users, and channels
• .env — your configuration
• certs/ — SSL certificates
• uploads/ — uploaded images

Copy the entire folder somewhere safe to back up everything. The Haven code directory contains no personal data.

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GIF Search — GIPHY API Setup

Haven has a built-in GIF picker powered by GIPHY. To enable it you need a free API key.

1. Create a GIPHY Developer Account

1. Go to developers.giphy.com
2. Sign up for an account (or sign in)

2. Create an App

1. Click Create an App
2. Choose API (not SDK)
3. Give it any name (e.g. "Haven Chat") and a short description
4. Copy the API Key shown on the next page

3. Add the Key in Haven

1. Log into Haven as your admin account
2. Click the GIF button (🎞️) in the message input area
3. You'll see a setup prompt — paste your API key and save
4. The key is stored server-side in the database — only admins can see or change it

That's it. All users can now search and send GIFs.

Free tier: GIPHY's free tier allows plenty of requests for a private chat server — you'll never come close to the limit.

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Roadmap

Planned features — roughly in priority order:

Feature	Status	Description
Sub-channels	✅ Done	Hierarchical channels with auto-membership inheritance and private (invite-only) sub-channels
Join code management	✅ Done	Admin controls: public/private visibility, static/dynamic mode, time/join-based rotation
Role system	✅ Done	Role-based access with granular per-channel permissions
Avatar system	✅ Done	Profile picture uploads with selectable avatar shapes (circle, square, hexagon, diamond)
Effect system	✅ Done	15+ stackable visual effects with configurable intensity/frequency
Webhook / Bot support	✅ Done	Incoming webhooks and a lightweight bot API for external integrations
Thread replies	📋 Planned	Threaded conversations that branch off a message
End-to-end encryption	✅ Done	ECDH P-256 + AES-256-GCM encryption for DMs — private keys stay in the browser
Android App	🚧 In Progress!	https://github.com/ancsemi/Haven-App

Want something else? Open an issue — PRs are always welcome.

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License

MIT-NC — free to use, modify, and share. Not for resale. See LICENSE.

Original project: github.com/ancsemi/Haven

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⬡ Haven — Because your conversations are yours.