Hubbergram - Secure Telegram Clone

A lightweight, secure messaging server with CLI client built in C, featuring encrypted database storage, JWT authentication, and location sharing with explicit consent.

🚀 Features

Core Messaging

• User Registration & Authentication - Secure account creation with SHA256 password hashing
• Real-time Messaging - Send and receive messages between users
• Message History - View conversation history with timestamps
• JWT Token Authentication - Secure session management with 24-hour expiry

Privacy & Security

• Encrypted Database - SQLite database with custom encryption key
• Location Sharing - GPS coordinates sharing with explicit user consent
• Admin Panel - Administrative interface for user location monitoring
• Role-based Access - Regular users and admin roles with different permissions

Technical Features

• Multi-threaded Server - Handles multiple concurrent connections
• HTTP REST API - Clean API endpoints for all operations
• Cross-platform - Works on Windows (MSYS2), Linux, and macOS
• CLI Interface - Command-line client for easy interaction

🏗️ Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph "Client Layer"
        CLI["🖥️ CLI Client<br/>• Authentication<br/>• Message Send/View<br/>• Location Share"]
        API_Client["🌐 HTTP Client<br/>• REST API Calls<br/>• JWT Token Mgmt"]
    end

    subgraph "Security Layer"
        CORS["🛡️ CORS Protection"]
        JWT["🔐 JWT Authentication<br/>• 24h Expiry<br/>• Token Validation"]
        HASH["🔒 SHA256 Hashing<br/>• Password Security"]
    end

    subgraph "Server Layer"
        HTTP["⚡ Multi-threaded HTTP Server<br/>Port: 8080<br/>Max Connections: 100"]
        ROUTER["🔀 API Router<br/>• /api/register<br/>• /api/login<br/>• /api/message<br/>• /api/messages<br/>• /api/location<br/>• /api/locations"]
        AUTH["👤 Auth Controller<br/>• User Registration<br/>• Login/Logout<br/>• Role Management"]
        MSG["💬 Message Controller<br/>• Send Messages<br/>• Retrieve History<br/>• Real-time Processing"]
        LOC["📍 Location Controller<br/>• GPS Coordinates<br/>• Consent Management<br/>• Admin Monitoring"]
    end

    subgraph "Data Layer"
        ENCRYPT["🔐 Database Encryption<br/>• Auto-generated Key<br/>• Obfuscated Storage"]
        DB[("🗄️ Encrypted SQLite<br/>telegram_clone.db")]
        USERS["👥 Users Table<br/>• ID, Username, Email<br/>• Password Hash<br/>• Role, Location Consent"]
        MESSAGES["💭 Messages Table<br/>• ID, Sender, Target<br/>• Content, Timestamp<br/>• Message Type"]
        GROUPS["👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Groups Table<br/>• Group Management<br/>• Member Relations"]
    end

    subgraph "Admin Panel"
        ADMIN["👨‍💼 Admin Interface<br/>• User Management<br/>• Location Monitoring<br/>• System Overview"]
    end

    %% Client to Server Flow
    CLI --> API_Client
    API_Client --> CORS
    CORS --> JWT
    JWT --> HTTP

    %% Server Internal Flow
    HTTP --> ROUTER
    ROUTER --> AUTH
    ROUTER --> MSG
    ROUTER --> LOC
    ROUTER --> ADMIN

    %% Security Integration
    AUTH --> HASH
    AUTH --> JWT
    MSG --> JWT
    LOC --> JWT
    ADMIN --> JWT

    %% Database Flow
    AUTH --> ENCRYPT
    MSG --> ENCRYPT
    LOC --> ENCRYPT
    ADMIN --> ENCRYPT
    ENCRYPT --> DB
    DB --> USERS
    DB --> MESSAGES
    DB --> GROUPS

    %% Modernized Styling
    classDef client fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px       %% Light blue background, strong blue stroke
    classDef security fill:#fef9c3,stroke:#facc15,stroke-width:2px     %% Soft yellow bg, gold stroke
    classDef server fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#8b5cf6,stroke-width:2px       %% Light violet bg, rich purple stroke
    classDef data fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px         %% Soft green bg, vibrant green stroke
    classDef admin fill:#ffe4e6,stroke:#e11d48,stroke-width:2px        %% Light pink bg, strong rose stroke

    class CLI,API_Client client
    class CORS,JWT,HASH security
    class HTTP,ROUTER,AUTH,MSG,LOC server
    class ENCRYPT,DB,USERS,MESSAGES,GROUPS data
    class ADMIN admin

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📋 Prerequisites

Windows (MSYS2)

# Install MSYS2 from https://www.msys2.org/
# Then install dependencies:
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc mingw-w64-x86_64-sqlite3 mingw-w64-x86_64-json-c mingw-w64-x86_64-openssl mingw-w64-x86_64-make git

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libsqlite3-dev libjson-c-dev libssl-dev build-essential git

CentOS/RHEL

sudo yum install sqlite-devel json-c-devel openssl-devel gcc make git

macOS

brew install sqlite json-c openssl

🔧 Installation

1. Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/codehubbers/hubbergram
cd hubbergram

2. Build Server

# Automatic build with dependency management (preferred)
make all

# Or manual dependency installation
make install-libmingw32  # Downloads required networking library
make                     # Build server

3. Build CLI Client

make -f Makefile_cli

4. Database Setup

The server automatically:

• Generates a secure encryption key
• Creates encrypted SQLite database
• Sets up required tables (users, messages, groups)
• Creates default admin account

🚀 Usage

Start Server

./build/telegram_clone
# Server runs on http://localhost:8080

Run CLI Client

./cli_client

Default Admin Account

• Username: admin
• Password: admin123

📱 CLI Commands

For All Users

1. Register - Create new user account
2. Login - Authenticate with username/password
3. Send Message - Send message to specific user
4. View Messages - See received messages
5. Logout - End current session

Admin Only

• View Locations - Monitor user locations (requires consent)

🔌 API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth Required
POST	/api/register	User registration	No
POST	/api/login	User authentication	No
POST	/api/message	Send message	Yes
GET	/api/messages	Get user messages	Yes
POST	/api/location	Update location	Yes
GET	/api/locations	View all locations	Admin

Example API Usage

Register User

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username":"john","email":"john@example.com","password":"secret123"}'

Send Message

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -d '{"target_username":"jane","content":"Hello!"}'

🔒 Security Features

Database Security

• Encrypted Storage - All data encrypted at rest
• Auto-generated Keys - Unique encryption key per installation
• Secure Key Storage - Obfuscated key storage in headers

Authentication

• SHA256 Hashing - Secure password storage
• JWT Tokens - Stateless authentication
• Token Expiry - 24-hour automatic expiration
• Rate Limiting - Protection against brute force attacks

Privacy

• Explicit Consent - Location sharing requires user permission
• Data Minimization - Only necessary data collected
• Admin Separation - Clear role-based access control

🛠️ Configuration

Edit include/config.h to customize:

#define SERVER_PORT 8080              // Server port
#define MAX_CONNECTIONS 100           // Max concurrent clients
#define TOKEN_EXPIRY_HOURS 24         // JWT token lifetime
#define DEFAULT_LOCATION_DURATION 60  // Location sharing duration
#define REQUIRE_LOCATION_CONSENT 1    // Enforce location consent

📁 Project Structure

hubbergram/
├── include/          # Header files
│   ├── server.h      # Main server definitions
│   ├── config.h      # Configuration constants
│   └── db_security.h # Database encryption
├── source/           # Source code
│   ├── server.c      # HTTP server & routing
│   ├── api.c         # REST API endpoints
│   ├── database.c    # SQLite operations
│   ├── auth.c        # Authentication & JWT
│   └── db_security.c # Database encryption
├── build/            # Compiled objects & executable
├── cli_client.c      # Command-line client
├── Makefile          # Server build configuration
└── Makefile_cli      # Client build configuration

🐛 Troubleshooting

Build Issues

# Clean build
make clean && make all

# Check dependencies
make deps-msys2  # On MSYS2

Connection Issues

# Check if server is running
curl http://localhost:8080/

# Check port availability
netstat -an | grep 8080

Database Issues (!!! Important to not lose any message history !!!)

# Backup and rebuild database
./build_with_db_merge.sh

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

📞 Support

For issues and questions:

1. Check existing GitHub issues
2. Create new issue with detailed description
3. Include system information and error logs

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Built with ❤️ using C, SQLite, and JSON-C**

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Also credit for CoderRC(code>_hub profile) @CoderRC/libmingw32_extended**

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🫀Idea Credit: Ziqian-Huang0607(code>_hub profile)