⬡ HAVEN — Private Chat That Lives On Your Machine

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

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What Is This?

Haven is a private chat server you run on your own computer. Think Discord, but:

• You own everything — messages, data, the server itself
• Nothing leaves your machine — no cloud, no telemetry, no analytics
• No account with anyone — no email, no phone number, no verification
• Free forever — no subscriptions, no Nitro, no ads

You launch it, your friends connect to your IP address, and you have a private group chat with voice, images, streaming, music, themes, and games. That's it.

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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
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
Channel Topics	Admin-settable topic line below the channel header — click to edit
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	12 built-in themes: Haven, Discord, Matrix, Tron, HALO, LoTR, Cyberpunk, Nord, Dracula, Bloodborne, Ice, Abyss
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
Security	Bcrypt passwords, JWT auth, HTTPS/SSL, rate limiting, CSP headers, input validation
Game	Shippy Container — Drew's shipment got hung up. Server-wide leaderboard.

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Quick Start (Windows)

1. Install Node.js

Download and install from nodejs.org (LTS version). Restart your PC after installing.

2. Download Haven

Download this repository and unzip it anywhere. Desktop is fine.

3. Launch

Double-click Start Haven.bat

A terminal window opens. When you see HAVEN is running, it's ready.

4. Open the App

Your browser should open automatically. If not, go to:

https://localhost:3000

You'll see a certificate warning — that's normal. Click Advanced → Proceed. Haven uses a self-signed certificate for encryption.

5. Create Your Admin Account

1. Click Register
2. Use the username admin (or whatever you set in your data directory's .env)
3. Pick a password
4. You're now the admin — you can create channels

6. Create a Channel & Invite Friends

1. Type a channel name in the sidebar and click Create
2. A channel code appears (8 characters like a3f8b2c1)
3. Send this code + your IP address to your friends
4. They go to https://YOUR_IP:3000, register, and enter the code

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Quick Start (Linux / macOS)

chmod +x start.sh
./start.sh

The script handles everything: checks Node.js, installs dependencies, generates SSL certs, and launches.

Or manually:

npm install
node server.js

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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

Settings are in the .env file, stored in your data directory (created automatically on first launch):

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

12 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"	Install from nodejs.org. Restart PC.
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
Enter	Send message
Shift+Enter	New line
Ctrl+F	Search messages
Escape	Close search / modals
@	@mention autocomplete
/	Slash command autocomplete
↑ ↓	Navigate 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	Description
Webhook / Bot support	Incoming webhooks and a lightweight bot API so external services can post messages and respond to events.
Permission levels	Role-based access (Admin → Moderator → Member → Guest) with granular per-channel overrides.
Thread replies	Threaded conversations that branch off a message without cluttering the main chat.
File sharing improvements	Drag-and-drop multi-file uploads, file previews, and a searchable file history per channel.
End-to-end encryption (E2EE)	Optional per-channel E2EE using client-managed keys for maximum privacy.

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.