Tactility/Documentation/chat.md

Chat App

ESP-NOW-based chat application with channel-based messaging. Devices with the same encryption key can communicate in real-time without requiring a WiFi access point or internet connection.

Features

• Channel-based messaging: Join named channels (e.g. #general, #random) to organize conversations
• Broadcast support: Messages with empty target are visible in all channels
• Configurable nickname: Identify yourself with a custom name (max 23 characters)
• Unique sender ID: Each device gets a random 32-bit ID on first launch for future DM support
• Encryption key: Optional shared key for private group communication
• Persistent settings: Sender ID, nickname, key, and current chat channel are saved across reboots

Requirements

• ESP32 with WiFi support (not available on ESP32-P4)
• ESP-NOW service enabled

UI Layout

+------------------------------------------+
| [Back] Chat: #general    [List] [Gear]   |
+------------------------------------------+
|  alice: hello everyone                   |
|  bob: hey alice!                         |
|  You: hi there                           |
|  (scrollable message list)               |
+------------------------------------------+
| [____input textarea____] [Send]          |
+------------------------------------------+

• Toolbar title: Shows Chat: <channel> with the current channel name
• List icon: Opens channel selector to switch channels
• Gear icon: Opens settings panel (nickname, encryption key)
• Message list: Shows messages matching the current channel or broadcast messages
• Input bar: Type and send messages to the current channel

Channel Selector

Tap the list icon to change channels. Enter a channel name (e.g. #general, #team1) and press OK. The message list refreshes to show only messages matching the new channel.

Messages are sent with the current channel as the target. Only devices viewing the same channel will display the message. Broadcast messages (empty target) appear in all channels.

First Launch

On first launch (when no settings file exists), the settings panel opens automatically so users can configure their nickname before chatting. A unique sender ID is also generated using the hardware RNG.

Settings

Tap the gear icon to configure:

Setting	Description	Default
Nickname	Your display name (max 23 chars)	Device
Key	Encryption key as 32 hex characters (16 bytes)	All zeros (empty field)

Settings are stored in /data/settings/chat.properties. The encryption key is stored encrypted using AES-256-CBC. The sender ID is stored as a decimal number.

When the key field is left empty, the default all-zeros key is used. All devices using the default key can communicate without configuration.

Changing the encryption key causes ESP-NOW to restart with the new configuration.

Wire Protocol v2

Compact variable-length packets broadcast over ESP-NOW:

Header (16 bytes)

Offset  Size   Field
------  ----   -----
0       4      magic (0x54435432 "TCT2")
4       2      protocol_version (2)
6       4      from (sender ID, random uint32)
10      4      to (recipient ID, 0 = broadcast/channel)
14      1      payload_type (1 = TextMessage)
15      1      payload_size (length of payload)

Text Message Payload (variable)

[nickname\0][target\0][message bytes]

• nickname: Null-terminated sender display name (2-23 chars + null; single-letter names rejected)
• target: Null-terminated channel or empty for broadcast (0-23 chars + null)
  • Empty string (\0): broadcast to all channels
  • Channel name (e.g. #general): visible only when viewing that channel
• message: Remaining bytes, NOT null-terminated, minimum 1 byte (length = payload_size - strlen(nickname) - 1 - strlen(target) - 1)

Minimum packet size for TextMessage: 16 (header) + 2 (min nickname) + 1 (null) + 0 (empty target) + 1 (null) + 1 (min message) = 21 bytes

Example calculation: If nickname is "Alice" (5 chars) and target is "#general" (8 chars):

• Overhead: 5 + 1 + 8 + 1 = 15 bytes
• Max message: 255 - 15 = 240 bytes

Example

"Alice" sends "Hi!" to #general:

• Header: 16 bytes
• Payload: Alice\0#general\0Hi! = 18 bytes
• Total: 34 bytes

Size Limits

Constraint	Min	Max
Header size	16 bytes	16 bytes
Payload (uint8_t)	5 bytes	255 bytes
Nickname	2 characters	23 characters
Channel/target	0 (broadcast)	23 characters
Message (wire)	1 byte	up to 251 bytes (varies by overhead)
Message (UI)	1 character	200 characters
Total packet (TextMessage)	21 bytes	271 bytes

Payload Types

Type	Value	Description
TextMessage	1	Chat message with nickname, target, and text
(reserved)	2+	Future: Position, Telemetry, etc.

Target Field Semantics

to Value	target Field	Meaning
0	"" (empty)	Broadcast - visible in all channels
0	#channel	Channel message - visible only when viewing that channel
non-zero	nickname	Direct message (future - requires address discovery protocol)

Messages with incorrect magic/version or invalid payload are silently discarded.

Note: Direct messaging (non-zero to) will require an address discovery mechanism, such as periodic broadcasts announcing nickname→sender_id mappings, before devices can address each other directly.

Architecture

ChatApp         - App lifecycle, ESP-NOW send/receive, settings management
ChatState       - Message storage (deque, max 100), channel filtering, mutex-protected
ChatView        - LVGL UI: toolbar, message list, input bar, settings/channel panels
ChatProtocol    - MessageHeader struct, serialize/deserialize, PayloadType enum
ChatSettings    - Properties file load/save with encrypted key storage, sender ID generation

All files are guarded with #if defined(CONFIG_SOC_WIFI_SUPPORTED) && !defined(CONFIG_SLAVE_SOC_WIFI_SUPPORTED) to exclude from P4 builds.

Message Flow

Sending

1. User types message and taps Send
2. serializeTextMessage() builds compact packet with sender ID, nickname, channel, message
3. Broadcast via ESP-NOW to nearby devices
4. Own message stored and displayed locally

Receiving

1. ESP-NOW callback fires with raw data
2. Validate packet:
   • Minimum size: 21 bytes (16 header + 2 min nickname + 1 null + 0 min target + 1 null + 1 min message)
   • Magic bytes: must be 0x54435432 ("TCT2")
   • Protocol version: must be 2
   • Payload size: header.payload_size must equal received_length - 16
3. Parse null-terminated nickname and target from payload
4. Validate minimum lengths: nickname >= 2 chars, message >= 1 byte
5. Extract message from remaining bytes (length derived from payload_size)
6. Store in message deque with sender ID
7. Display if target matches current channel or is broadcast (empty)

Limitations

• Maximum 100 stored messages (oldest discarded when full)
• Nickname: 23 characters max
• Channel name: 23 characters max
• Message text: 200 characters max (UI limit; actual wire limit varies by nickname/target length)
• No message persistence across app restarts (messages are in-memory only)
• All communication is broadcast; channel filtering is client-side only
• Sender ID collisions: 32-bit random IDs have ~50% collision probability at ~77,000 active devices (birthday paradox); no collision detection/resolution implemented

Security Considerations

The chat protocol relies on ESP-NOW's built-in encryption (when configured) but has additional security limitations:

• No message authentication: No MAC/HMAC to verify message integrity or sender authenticity beyond the sender ID
• No replay protection: No sequence numbers or timestamps; messages can be replayed
• Sender ID spoofing: Any device knowing the encryption key can forge messages with arbitrary sender IDs
• No forward secrecy: Compromise of the shared key exposes all past and future messages

These tradeoffs are acceptable for casual local communication but should be understood before using for sensitive applications.