ChatCafe

ChatCafe is the fastest way to chat, share files, and play a game with the people right next to you. Everyone running it on the same Wi-Fi shows up automatically - just click a name and start talking.

Your messages and files go straight from your device to theirs over the local network, encrypted end to end - nothing is uploaded to a server or ever leaves the room.

Highlights

1. Everyone nearby, instantly - open the app and every person running ChatCafe on your Wi-Fi appears in the sidebar. No invites, no usernames, nothing to exchange. People you have talked to stay in the list even after they leave, so your history is always one click away.
2. Finds people that other apps miss - plenty of routers quietly block the usual discovery traffic, so ChatCafe also sends its own heartbeat across the network. Peers appear and stay online instead of flickering in and out, and a refresh button rescans the moment you need it.
3. Rich messages - send text, paste an image straight from your clipboard, drop in files and photo albums, and share code with proper formatting.
4. Files with no uploads or size limits - drag in documents, photos, or whole albums and they transfer peer to peer at full local-network speed. Everything you receive lands in a folder you can open straight from the message.
5. Reply, forward, search - quote a message and jump back to it, pass one along to someone else, and find anything in a conversation. Typing indicators, unread badges, and notifications keep you on top of the rest, and a side panel collects every photo and file you have swapped.
6. Board games with the person across the room - challenge a peer to Gomoku, Chess, Xiangqi, or Checkers. Full rules, played on its own board window while the chat stays open beside it.
7. Something to play on your own - when the room is quiet, the Games tab has Tetris, 2048, and Shepherd's Dog ready to go. All built in, all offline.
8. Private by design - every device has its own key, every conversation is encrypted, and your history stays on your machine, not on anyone's server.

How it works

Open ChatCafe and it immediately starts looking for others on your network. Anyone else with the app appears in the sidebar within seconds - click their name to message them or drop in files. Each person has a private key made on first launch, shown as a short fingerprint so you can confirm exactly who you are talking to.

Conversations are saved locally on your Mac, and files you receive land in a folder you can open any time. The gamepad button in a chat sends a game invite; the Games tab at the top of the sidebar is for playing on your own. Because everything runs over your local network, ChatCafe keeps working even when the internet is down.

Perfect for

1. Homes & roommates - share photos, links, and files with the people under the same roof.
2. Offices & teams - quick messages and instant file hand-offs without routing through the cloud.
3. Classrooms & workshops - hand a file to everyone in the room at once.
4. Cafes, trips & waiting around - a board game with whoever is at the table, or a quick solo round when nobody else is on.
5. Privacy-minded people - anyone who wants to talk and share without accounts, tracking, or servers.
6. Places with no reliable internet - stay connected on a local network alone.