CLI Client Guide (arthas-cli)

Download

Platform	Command
Windows	`curl.exe -L -o arthas-cli.exe https://github.com/michaelwang123/arthas/releases/latest/download/arthas-cli-windows-amd64.exe`
Linux (x86_64)	`curl -L -o arthas-cli https://github.com/michaelwang123/arthas/releases/latest/download/arthas-cli && chmod +x arthas-cli`
Linux (ARM64)	`curl -L -o arthas-cli https://github.com/michaelwang123/arthas/releases/latest/download/arthas-cli-linux-arm64 && chmod +x arthas-cli`
macOS (Intel)	`curl -L -o arthas-cli https://github.com/michaelwang123/arthas/releases/latest/download/arthas-cli-darwin-amd64 && chmod +x arthas-cli`
macOS (Apple Silicon)	`curl -L -o arthas-cli https://github.com/michaelwang123/arthas/releases/latest/download/arthas-cli-darwin-arm64 && chmod +x arthas-cli`

Or download manually from GitHub Releases.

A free public server is available at wss://arthas100-arthas-server.hf.space/ws — no setup needed.

Quick Start

1. Create a room

# Linux/macOS
./arthas-cli create --server wss://arthas100-arthas-server.hf.space/ws --name "Alice"

# Windows
.\arthas-cli.exe create --server wss://arthas100-arthas-server.hf.space/ws --name "Alice"

Output:

✓ Room created! Share code:
QYEq9uxfKP9h-KCUsPUay:NlZezXoUErYr92grhif3Y-Hy3FOOK1ocb3WocCJJrQM

Share this code with others to join.

Keep this terminal open — the room exists only while at least one participant is connected.

2. Join a room (in another terminal)

# Linux/macOS
./arthas-cli join QYEq9uxfKP9h-KCUsPUay:NlZezXoUErYr92grhif3Y-Hy3FOOK1ocb3WocCJJrQM \
  --server wss://arthas100-arthas-server.hf.space/ws --name "Bob"

# Windows
.\arthas-cli.exe join QYEq9uxfKP9h-KCUsPUay:NlZezXoUErYr92grhif3Y-Hy3FOOK1ocb3WocCJJrQM --server wss://arthas100-arthas-server.hf.space/ws --name "Bob"

Now type messages — they are encrypted end-to-end. The server only sees ciphertext.

3. Send a message

Just type and press Enter. Messages are encrypted with AES-256-GCM before being sent.

4. Exit

Press Ctrl+C to leave the room. If you’re the last participant, the room is destroyed.

Command Reference

create

Create a new encrypted room and stay connected.

arthas-cli create --server <URL> --name <DISPLAY_NAME>

Flag	Required	Description
`--server`	Yes	WebSocket URL of the Arthas server
`--name`	Yes	Your display name in the room

join

Join an existing room using a share code.

arthas-cli join <SHARE_CODE> --server <URL> --name <DISPLAY_NAME>

Argument/Flag	Required	Description
`<SHARE_CODE>`	Yes	The share code from the room creator
`--server`	Yes	WebSocket URL (same server as creator)
`--name`	Yes	Your display name

roomId:base64Key[:ephemeralFlag[:expiresAt]]

Segment	Length	Description
`roomId`	21 chars	Room unique identifier (NanoID)
`base64Key`	43 chars	AES-256 encryption key (base64url, no padding)
`ephemeralFlag`	1 char	Optional. `0` = persistent, `1` = ephemeral
`expiresAt`	variable	Optional. Unix timestamp (0 = no expiry)

The encryption key never leaves your device. It’s embedded in the share code and transmitted only through your chosen side channel (copy-paste, QR code, in-person).

Important Notes

Rooms are ephemeral — when all participants disconnect, the room is immediately destroyed. There is no persistent chat history.
Share code = full access — anyone with the share code can read all messages. Treat it like a password.
Creator must stay online — if the room creator disconnects before anyone else joins, the room is gone. Join from another terminal while the creator is still connected.
room not found error — the room was already destroyed (all participants left). Create a new room.
Cross-platform — the CLI client (Go) and web client (React) are fully interoperable. You can create a room in the web UI and join it from the CLI, or vice versa.

Using with Self-Hosted Server

If you’re running your own Arthas server:

# Local development
./arthas-cli create --server ws://localhost:8080/ws --name "Alice"

# Production (with TLS)
./arthas-cli create --server wss://arthas.yourdomain.com/ws --name "Alice"

See the Self-Hosting Guide for server deployment instructions.

Build from Source

Requires Go 1.23+:

cd arthas-cli
go build -o arthas-cli ./cmd/arthas-cli

# Or cross-compile for other platforms
GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -o arthas-cli-linux ./cmd/arthas-cli
GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 go build -o arthas-cli.exe ./cmd/arthas-cli