[CL1B]

Convo App Dev Blog #1

The start of something!

Written for version: 1.0.0

The Backstory

Last summer, ttbr0 and I were having our daily convo and as usual the topic was: What can we do to + the user experience here on HF?
Over the weeks we were plotting on this idea of a HackForums group called HF Devs.

His first idea for the group? A desktop convo app.

We thought it was great, I think he started the repository for the project that day.
ttbr0 spent a few hours figuring out the auth pattern HF uses for both auth and the chat socket.
Not long after he wrote the first version of the Convo App.

It looked... Terrible but it sparked that spark with us big time.



Thread: https://hackforums.net/showthread.php?tid=6310986

Fast forward to now, I've had some more free time to work on it.
I had actually been doing a lot of web development prior, so I'm excited to work on this.
Timing couldn't be better as php told me about Tauri whilst I'm in the middle of learning Rust lang myself.
This is the exact fuel my brain needs: Passion (for HF) + Mastering new skills (Rust) = Joy

I started the Tauri project from scratch whilst using a fork of the convo.js client used in /convo.php that I ported into the project.
My goal was to keep the unique UX the original web version of Convo has whilst opening it up for new features.

The backend is in pure RUST and is written for Windows/Linux/MacOS.




Long story short, this project originates from the thinkers of this forum. The HF Devs.

Credits:
HF Community - Inspiration and input
Xerotic & Omniscient - Original Convo and API v2
ttbr0 - Original idea, auth handshake
itcorp - .NET implementation which was a huge jump forward
CL1B - Convo App Lead Developer

Login & How It Works

Step	What Happens
1	Your credentials go directly to HackForums - the app authenticates you the same way the website does
2	Session cookie is encrypted with AES-256 and stored locally on your device
3	WebSocket connection is established to HackForums' chat server

Cloudflare Challenge
If HackForums presents a Cloudflare challenge, click "Open Challenge Window", complete it, then try logging in again.

Stay Logged In
Check this box to save your encrypted session locally. Next time you open the app, it auto-loads your session.
If unchecked, you'll need to log in each time.

Login Source Code (Click to View)

Cloudflare Worker

For API features, I've set up a Cloudflare Worker that handles the OAuth flow:

Feature	Description
Zero Data Storage	The worker does NOT store, log, or save any of your data
Passthrough Only	Facilitates the OAuth handshake, passes your token back to your app, then forgets everything
HTTPS Only	All communication is encrypted in transit
Isolated Sessions	Each OAuth flow is unique, no cross-user data exposure

Additional Notes:
• Authorization codes expire in 5 minutes and are deleted after retrieval
• Access tokens are NEVER stored in the worker - received and immediately passed to your app
• No logging of request bodies or responses
• API usage is READ-ONLY - the app cannot modify anything on your account

API Permissions:
• Basic Info (READ) - Access public user data such as uid, username, avatar, etc for the current profile
• Posts (READ) - Access forums, threads, and posts
• Users (READ) - Access other public HF user profiles

CF Worker Code (Click to View)

New Commands

Commands that are new in Convo App:

Command	Description
/sizeembed 1-5	Scale embed/image sizes (1=small, 3=default, 5=large)
/afk <reason>	Set AFK status - auto-replies when mentioned
/askai <question>	Ask AI a question (requires API key in Settings)
/askai context <question>	Ask AI with recent chat context
/factcheck @username@	Fact-check a user's recent claims
@everyone <msg>	Mention all online users

@Username Autocomplete



Start typing @username and the app suggests matching users from the online list.
A ghost text preview appears - press Tab to complete the mention.

Works in both global chat (@username@ format) and private conversations (profile link format).

Supported Embeds

URLs are automatically embedded for these platforms:

Platform	What Embeds
YouTube	Video player (including shorts)
Twitter/X	Tweet content
Instagram	Posts, reels, TV
TikTok	Video embed
Spotify	Track, album, playlist, episode, show
SoundCloud	Audio player
Apple Music	Track embed
Vimeo	Video player
GitHub	Repository/profile card
Pastebin	Code embed
Truth Social	Post embed
Direct media	.mp4, .mp3, .wav, .flac files
Images	.jpg, .png, .gif, .webp auto-display

Use /sizeembed 1-5 to scale all embeds (1=smallest, 5=largest, 3=default).

Attachment and Emojis



Click the paperclip icon for upload options:

Option	Description
Image	Up to 3MB, embedded directly (max 3 at once)
Image+	Large images up to 200MB via Catbox
Audio	Up to 200MB via Catbox (MP3, WAV, OGG, etc.)
Video	Up to 200MB via Catbox (MP4, WebM, MOV, etc.)

Drag and drop also works - small images embed directly, large files go to Catbox automatically. W
Thumbnails appear in input area before sending, click X to remove.

Native OS Emojis use your native OS emoji picker - with gif support.

Thread Viewer & Previews

Thread Viewer



Click any HackForums thread link to open the Thread Viewer panel on the right side.
Shows full thread content with posts, requires API connection. If no API connected, links open in browser instead.

Thread Previews



Hover over HackForums thread links to see a preview card with thread title and info before clicking.

Profile Cards



Hover over any username (in messages or online list) to see their profile card with avatar, bio, join date, post count, and reputation (if API connected).

Chat Features

Reply Feature



Hover over a message and click the reply arrow.
Your message will quote the original with a preview bar above the input.

Censoring & Muting



Settings → Chat has several options to control what you see:

Blur Images - Blur images until clicked. First click reveals, second click opens fullscreen.
Only affects other users' images, not your own.

Muted Members - Add members to your mute list:
• Level 1 - Blur their messages (click to reveal)
• Level 2 - Hide completely
Both levels censor their profile picture.

Censored Words - Add words to blur. Click to reveal.

Auto Replace



Settings → Chat → Auto Replace. Add words and their replacements.
When you type the word and press space, it automatically replaces with the replacement text.

Hide Messages



Ctrl+Shift+Click (or Cmd+Shift+Click on Mac) on any message to hide it from your view (session only).

Translator
Settings → Tools → Translator. Right-click selected text in chat to translate to your chosen language.

Desktop Notifications



Settings → Tools → Notifications. Get notified for mentions.

Custom Sounds
Settings → Tools → Sounds. Set custom notification sounds for messages and inbox.

Wiki Lookup



If enabled in Settings → Tools, profile cards show a Wiki button to look up user wiki information.

External Link Safety
Clicking external links shows a confirmation modal with the full URL before opening in your browser.

Group Chat Avatars



Multi-user conversations show stacked profile pictures.

Settings Overview

Open with the wrench icon in the left sidebar.

Tab	What's There
Account	Username, UID, API connection, logout
Chat	Muted members, censored words, image censoring
Theme	Colors, background, app styling, saved themes
Tools	Translator, notifications, custom sounds, wiki, AI settings

Theme Customization
Settings → Theme tab. Customize colors, backgrounds, fonts, and save/share/import themes.

Privacy & Security

Stored Locally (Encrypted)
• Session cookie (AES-256)
• API token (AES-256)

Stored Locally (Unencrypted)
• Settings and preferences

Never Stored
• Your password
• Your messages

iOS/Android

I've tested the app on iOS and it works, but needs a lot in depth of tweaking and it's extremely time consuming for me.
If there is a real desire for this to be released on iOS/Android you'd have to pay the developers for their time (which currently is only me, but will expand).

What's Next?

This is the first in hopefully (or not) many more dev blogs.
This first one is more like a mini documentation but in the future these will be used to talk about updates, developer insights and more.

Right now, my energy is somewhat declining again. I can feel it..
I'll be looking at serious bug reports with high urgency but anything other than that may take a while.

For suggesting new features for the app make a post about your suggestion here:

https://hackforums.net/showthread.php?tid=6318749

To report bug(s) make a bug report post here:

https://hackforums.net/showthread.php?tid=6318748

To view, download or share themes check out the themes thread here:

https://hackforums.net/showthread.php?tid=6318751

Please respect these threads, do not post suggestions in the bug report thread and do not post bug reports in the suggestions thread.

[RangoWorld]

That's incredible. I was honestly not aware that this was in the making. Looks damn good with all those features. Mouthwatering stuff.

[Omniscient]

Lots of work. Well done.

Was the intent to make Convo appear more like Discord?

[CL1B]

Lots of work. Well done.

Was the intent to make Convo appear more like Discord?

Thanks.

Not really, it looks a lot like discord with the left sidebar minimized. All the screenshots show that state in order to protect my private convos.

This is how it looks expanded:

[Omniscient]

Well it looks very cool. I hope it's a big hit. Fine tune it and I'll help you promote it here and on X.

[php]

What a journey this was an awesome read, great work also btw you can use Node.js as a sidecar instead of rust for everything

https://v2.tauri.app/learn/sidecar-nodejs/

[Cooligan]

CL1B
This is awesome! All of your recent testing has been for a good purpose I see.

I love some of these features, especially the navigation related ones. The thread preview, Wiki Lookup, Desktop Notifications (push), and that Settings panel all look great.

Not sure if it's possible, but if you could somehow add Convo Push Notifications, that would be amazing and I already know half of the site would be thanking you.

One thing I'd suggest is replacing the Convo Suggestion thread you recently made as we already have one for Convo Suggestions with existing activity, here:
https://hackforums.net/showthread.php?tid=6281607

I've already typed out the update that has all of Convo updates post 10/21/24 and I'll be keeping it updated of course. Convo has always been my favorite onsite feature, so I definitely understand this passion project.

Oh, and the External Thread Safety feature. Discord has had this implemented almost since its inception iirc, and it is beyond useful. There are many times in chats when you accidentally click a link that was just sent, and it opens up to a random site you never intended. Any of these could be malicious links and many of us know just how dangerous that can be, so I applaud that feature especially. Should absolutely help protect the newer members as well.

Curiosity question - does it work for reading markdown links? As in, does it also have a built-in redirect checker to see where the final URL destination is for a shortened URL for example? Also is there a Standard or Strict implemented to auto upgrade the protocol to HTTPS from HTTP?

[Jamika]

Excellent work, will be perfect to see the mobile version

[itcorp]

You did a great job,well done bud!!

[Dystortion]

Fantastic work to all involved, on a sidenote: Do you think it could bypass the UK block of visiting sites like this until after 9pm unless on a VPN? I'm guessing it won't because you're still authenticating through HF CL1B

[StuffSneak]

Great initiative & work by the team! Kudos & Good luck!

[Terry A. Davis]

Ayyyy, my name is in the auto complete list. Go me! I'm popular!

[CL1B]

Convo App project has been cancelled. The main drive for the app was the public convo, which has been filled with pedo jokes, racism and NSFW stuff in the last 3 days. Huge lack of moderation, members not respecting request to better themselves.

I've requested a permanent ban from Convo as well.

[Omniscient]

Strange turn of events but so it's clear about Convo....




The rules are simple and they are posted.