KouChat

Christian Ihle

About this app

KouChat is an open source, serverless, LAN chat application for the desktop and Android.

With KouChat you can chat and send files to other KouChat users on the same local area network. It's intended to be used on your wireless network at home, the coffee shop, work place or similar, and does not require any setup, Internet connection or servers to function.

See http://www.kouchat.net/help/user-guide/android/ for more information about how to use KouChat.

Notes:
* KouChat does not see users across the Internet or the cellular network.
* Some devices have unreliable network when the screen is off.
* Not all networks have multicast enabled, which is a technology required for KouChat to work.
* See at the bottom for tips if you are having problems.

Any feedback, bug reports or feature requests you may have is welcome :)

Features:

* Group chat with all the connected users
* Private chat with any user
* Choose your own nick name
* Set the topic of the group chat
* Rich notifications
* See who is currently writing
* Send and receive files
* Use away mode when you don't want to be disturbed
* Choose the color to use for your own messages, and info messages
* Send messages in any language supported by Unicode.

Supported smileys: :) :( :p :D ;) :O :@ :S ;( :$ 8)

KouChat is also available for Windows, Linux and Mac.

Certain permissions are requested during installation. Here is a description of what they are used for:

* Prevent device from sleeping - Needed by the WiFi lock, as well as the optional wake lock in the settings.
* Modify or delete the contents of your SD card - Needed for file transfers.
* Full network access - Needed for any kind of network communication. Only used between KouChat clients. No connection to the Internet is made.
* View WiFi connections - Needed to be able to use the next permission.
* Allow WiFi multicast reception - Needed because this is the kind of network communication used by the group chat.
* Test access to protected storage - This is not requested directly, but is automatically added on Jelly Bean devices. It has no effect yet.

Troubleshooting:

1. Your devices are unable to find each other

Some devices just don't support multicast. I believe that's mostly an issue with old devices though.
Also, some networks are configured to disallow multicast traffic. You might be able to activate multicast in your wireless access point settings if that's the case.

2. You experience loss of messages between devices

Try enabling the wake lock to minimize message loss when your device is idle.
Turning off "WiFi optimization" in the advanced WiFi settings can also help keep the loss to a minimum.

3. KouChat crashes

If you get the crash report dialog, please add a short description of how the crash can be reproduced. Much appreciated :)

Ratings and reviews

I originally gave this a bad rating because the only way to enter content was by voice and that was not working. Turns out the error was with my phone not having the correct keyboard installed. It has always been great on my PC and now is great on the phone too.

Thank you for this open source app. Sadly, doesn't work for my redmi 2. This app can share files only and not folders and that too from things like gallery as i was unable to share from Amaze file explorer. Chat feature present. Good for offices.

One of the tablet is not able to see other users. I even power cycle and reinstall it. Still not able to see everyone. It was on Samsung Galaxy Tab lite SM-T113. Other devices are fine.

What's new

* Added notification channels for Android Oreo and newer.
* Added button in settings to open system-provided notification settings on Android Oreo and newer.
* Added adaptive launcher icon for Android Oreo and newer.
* Migrated to material design for all versions of Android.
* Fixed bug where file transfer notifications would get stuck in progress while actually completed.