⚡ DarkLine Messenger

A modern, secure, and blazing-fast local network messenger built with Python.

Crafted with passion by MRThugh.

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📖 About The Project

DarkLine Messenger is a fully-featured, decentralized LAN (Local Area Network) chat application. Designed with a sleek, modern, dark-themed UI using customtkinter, it allows users on the same network to host servers, connect as clients, create private chat rooms, share media, and communicate securely using real-time AES encryption.

Whether you're looking for a private communication tool for your office/home network or an excellent example of Python socket programming and GUI design, DarkLine is built to impress.

✨ God-Tier Features

• 🛡️ End-to-End Encryption: All messages and images are encrypted locally before transmission using AES (Advanced Encryption Standard via cryptography.fernet).
• 🎨 Modern Dark UI: Beautiful, responsive, and intuitive graphical interface powered by CustomTkinter with a custom "blue" color theme.
• 🏠 Dynamic Chat Rooms: Create custom chat channels on the fly. You can even lock rooms with passwords for private group conversations!
• 🖼️ Media Sharing & Profiles:
  • Set custom Profile Pictures (resized automatically and transmitted via Base64).
  • Send, receive, and download image messages directly within the chat.
• 🖥️ Built-in Server Hosting: No third-party servers required. Host a server directly from the client with one click.
• 📡 Smart Networking: Auto-detects your local IP address and displays real-time connection status and active user counts.
• 🕒 Live Dashboard: Integrated real-time clock, date display, and system event logging (connection drops, new rooms, etc.).

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📸 Screenshots

Login & Server Setup	Chat Room & Image Sharing	Private Rooms

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

You need Python 3.8 or higher installed on your machine. You will also need to install the required dependencies.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MRThugh/DarkLine-Messenger.git
   cd DarkLine-Messenger

2. Install required packages:

   pip install customtkinter Pillow cryptography

3. Run the application:

   python main.py

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🕹️ How to Use

Hosting a Server (Host)

1. Launch the app.
2. Enter your desired Username and click 📷 Set Profile Picture (optional).
3. The app will show your Local IP on the sidebar.
4. Enter a Port (default 5555) and click 🖥️ Host Server.
5. You are now hosting the chat! Tell your friends your Local IP and Port.

Connecting to a Server (Client)

1. Launch the app on another computer on the same network.
2. Enter your Username and set a Profile Picture.
3. Under Connection, enter the Host IP (the IP of the person hosting) and the Port.
4. Click 🔗 Connect.
5. Start chatting in the "General" room, or create your own locked rooms!

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🧠 Under the Hood (Architecture)

• Networking: Pure Python socket library utilizing TCP streams (SOCK_STREAM).
• Concurrency: Utilizes Python threading to keep the UI responsive while simultaneously listening for incoming network packets.
• Data Serialization: Payloads (text, timestamps, Base64 images) are packaged into JSON formats before transmission.
• Security: Fernet symmetric encryption ensures that any packet intercepted on the network is completely unreadable without the secret key.

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🛠️ Future Roadmap

• Add Emojis / Sticker support.
• Implement file sharing (PDFs, ZIPs).
• Add a global configuration file (config.json) for custom encryption keys.
• Notification sounds for new messages.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome! Feel free to check the issues page.