$ matterbox welcome
The first-run wizard — that is it running behind this page. Install →
▼ scroll
Chat in a terminal sounds like a trade. Images preview inline, reactions render, threads open beside the conversation, drafts follow you to the webapp — none of it is missing, all of it is text.
╭─────╮╭─────────╮╭────────╮╭───────────╮╭─────────╮ │ DMs ││ Feed 1! ││ Search ││ Orbit [1] ││ Lab [2] │ ├─────┴┴─────────┴┴───────┬┴┘ └┴─────────┴───────────────────────────────────┬┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │Channels │#releases ││Thread · 4 replies │ │ #general 3 │ ││sofie 07:49 · root │ │ #random 1 │ ││ Cutting 0.9 tomorrow — anything still open? │ │> #releases │ ▾ 🖼️ DSCF5311.jpg (4416×2944, 6.1MB) ││teun 07:57 │ │ #terminal │jonas 07:53 ││ Only the docs pass, and that is not a blocker. │ │ │ The octant fallback for terminals without the new block ││ mira 08:03 │ │ │ glyphs — small, up in an hour. ││ It is if the rules examples are wrong — people copy │ │ │ 👍 2 ││ those verbatim. │ │ │mira 08:16 ││ teun 08:07 │ │ │ Semantic search reindexes on every start since the ││ Fair. I'll take the rules page then. │ │ │ embedding-dim change: ││corne 09:15 │ │ │ ││ Fixed in docs/rules.md — every: 15m. │ │ │ ```sh ││ │ │ │ matterbox embed --reset ││ │ │ │ ``` ││ │ │ │teun 08:25 ││ │ │ │ Confirmed on a cold cache: 12k messages, ~40s on CPU. ││ │ │ │ Fine, just quiet about it. ││ │ │ │ 👀 1 ││ │ │ │deploybot 08:33 ││ │ │ │ pipeline #4812 passed on main — linux/amd64, linux/arm64, ││ │ │ │ darwin/arm64 built in 2m18s ││ │ │ │sofie 08:44 ││ │ │ │ Nice. @corne did drag-and-drop get the macOS paste-is-a- ││ │ │ │ path check? ││ │ │ │corne 08:48 ││ │ │ │ Both now. A paste that is nothing but existing file paths ││ │ │ │ becomes an attachment; attach_on_drop: false opts out. ││ │ │ │ 🎉 3 ││ │ │ │jonas 08:59 ││ │ │ │ Then we're good. I'll tag once the octant patch lands. ││ │ │ │mira 09:11 ││ │ │ │ One more: the rules docs still say every: takes seconds. ││ │ │ │▎ ↳ corne 09:15 ││ │ │ │▎ Fixed in docs/rules.md — every: 15m. │├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ ││> message… │ └─────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ i compose • ↵ open thread • / search channel • f filter • ? help • f1 command palette • I channel info • R react • alt+1…9 go to team ◦ corne
╭─────╮╭─────────╮╭────────╮╭───────────╮╭─────────╮ │ DMs ││ Feed 1! ││ Search ││ Orbit [1] ││ Lab [2] │ ├─────┴┴─────────┴┴───────┬┴┘ └┴─────────┴───────────────────────────────┐ │Channels │#releases │ │ #general 3 │teun 08:25 │ │ #random 1 │ Confirmed on a cold cache: 12k messages, ~40s on │ │> #releases │ CPU. Fine, just quiet about it. │ │ #terminal │ 👀 1 │ │ │deploybot 08:33 │ │ │ pipeline #4812 passed on main — linux/amd64, │ │ │ linux/arm64, darwin/arm64 built in 2m18s │ │ │sofie 08:44 │ │ │ Nice. @corne did drag-and-drop get the macOS paste- │ │ │ is-a-path check? │ │ │corne 08:48 │ │ │ Both now. A paste that is nothing but existing file │ │ │ paths becomes an attachment; attach_on_drop: false │ │ │ opts out. │ │ │ 🎉 3 │ │ │jonas 08:59 │ │ │ Then we're good. I'll tag once the octant patch │ │ │ lands. │ │ │mira 09:11 │ │ │ One more: the rules docs still say every: takes │ │ │ seconds. │ │ │▎ ↳ corne 09:15 │ │ │▎ Fixed in docs/rules.md — every: 15m. │ │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │> message… │ └─────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ i compose • ↵ open thread • / search channel • f filter • ? help … ◦ corne
Everything unread across every team and DM in one list, newest first, each channel with a couple of already-read messages above the divider so you know what you are walking into. Muted channels stay out unless you ask.
╭─────╮╭─────────╮╭────────╮╭───────────╮╭─────────╮ │ DMs ││ Feed 1! ││ Search ││ Orbit [1] ││ Lab [2] │ ├─────┴┘ └┴────────┴┴───────────┴┴─────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │Unread Feed 3 channels · ↵ open · R reply · m mark read · r refresh Mark all read (A) │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │┌─ Orbit › #general · 3 new ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ││ teun 07:42 Coffee machine is fixed. That is the whole announcement. │ │ ││ mira 08:06 Heroic. Who do we thank? │ │ ││ ─ new ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │ │ ││ teun 08:53 Whoever left the descaling kit on my desk, anonymously. │ │ ││ sofie 09:05 Heads up: the office router reboots at 19:00, so `listen` drops its socket for a minute. │ │ ││ jonas 09:14 It reconnects on its own — you lose the WebSocket, not the cache. │ │ │└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ │┌─ DMs › @sofie · 2 new · 1 mention ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ││ corne 06:17 Sent you the branch — the octant table is the only interesting part. │ │ ││ ─ new ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │ │ ││ sofie 09:08 Read it. One question about the tie-breaking and then I am happy. │ │ ││ sofie 09:13 @corne why keep the earlier family on an exact tie? │ │ │└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ │┌─ Orbit › #random · 1 new ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ││ mira 04:17 My terminal now has more fonts than my laptop has RAM. │ │ ││ ─ new ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │ │ ││ teun 08:30 That is not a problem, that is a hobby. │ │ │└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↑/k up • ↓/j down • ↵ open • m mark read • ? help • R reply in thread • r refresh • M show/hide muted channels • tab focus next … ◦ corne
Everything below runs against a stock Mattermost server. Nothing here needs a plugin, an admin, or anyone else to install anything.
Teams, channels, DMs, threads, reactions, attachments, image and video previews, per-channel drafts synced with the webapp — live over WebSocket, in a client that starts instantly and never asks you to wait for a spinner.
send, read, search, react,
unread, digest — most with --json, all with
shell completion. Chat becomes something cron and pipes can reach.
Every message you see lands in a local SQLite database, so reopening a channel is instant and history stays searchable with the network off. There is a read-only SQL tab if you would rather ask it yourself.
FTS5 keyword search over the cache, optionally blended with vector search from a
local embeddings model. End a query with ? and a local model digs
through your channels to answer it. Nothing leaves the machine.
The listen daemon reacts to what happens on your server: match on team,
channel, author, text or mention and notify, run a command, POST a webhook, post
back, react — or fire on a cron. It stays quiet about whatever you are reading.
Press v on an issue link or a merge request and a side panel opens.
Edit status, priority, points and assignee; check the pipeline; approve or merge —
without leaving the terminal.
Pure Go. Two commands from a clone to a running client.
$ git clone https://github.com/cornedor/matterbox
$ cd matterbox
$ make install # builds, installs to ~/.local/bin, sets up completionOptional extras need C libraries; make compiles in whatever your
machine already has and make tags says what it picked. Plain Go works
too, without them:
$ go build -o matterbox .Releases ship prebuilt Linux and macOS binaries for amd64 and arm64 on the
releases page
— pure Go, so they need no toolchain, but they carry neither optional feature.
Drop one in ~/.local/bin.
Point it at your server and log in. Running matterbox with no arguments
launches this wizard on first run — it is the screen behind this page.
$ matterbox welcomeOr write ~/.config/matterbox/config.yaml yourself; the only required
key is server_url. Then matterbox login opens your browser
for SSO and saves the token.
Run matterbox with no arguments for the TUI. The subcommands
are for scripts. Channels are addressed as team/channel, or
@username for a DM.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| matterbox send <channel> [msg] | Post a message (--file to attach, repeatable) |
| matterbox reply <post-id> [msg] | Reply in a thread, recording which message you answered |
| matterbox read [channel] | Print recent messages (--since, --from, --thread, --wait, --json) |
| matterbox unread | List unread messages grouped by channel |
| matterbox search <query> | Search the local cache (--semantic, --channel, --context) |
| matterbox channels | List every team and channel with its address |
| matterbox listen | Background daemon: keeps the cache warm, runs your rules |
| matterbox rules test | Say which rules a message fires, and why the rest do not |
| matterbox keys | Every keyboard action, its default key, and your overrides |
Summaries, semantic search and agentic search talk to any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Point them at a local llama.cpp server and nothing leaves your machine — or leave them off entirely and matterbox never asks again.
The listen daemon is optional too. It holds a WebSocket open, writes
every message into the cache, and — if you configure it — bridges your mentions and
DMs to Telegram, quietly skipping anything you are already reading on screen.