Server installation

This page covers installing the rChat server on every supported platform.

Available binaries

Platform	Binary	Notes
Linux x86_64 (glibc)	`rchat-server-x86_64-linux-gnu`	Most common
Linux x86_64 (static)	`rchat-server-x86_64-linux-static`	Alpine, older distros
Linux ARM64	`rchat-server-aarch64-linux-gnu`	ARM64 servers
Linux ARM64 (static)	`rchat-server-aarch64-linux-static`	ARM64 Alpine
FreeBSD x86_64	`rchat-server-x86_64-freebsd`	FreeBSD servers
macOS Apple Silicon	`rchat-server-macos-arm64`	M1/M2/M3 Macs
macOS Intel	`rchat-server-macos-x86_64`	Intel Macs
macOS Universal	`rchat-server-macos-universal`	Works on both

If you are unsure which to use on Linux, start with x86_64-linux-gnu. Use the -static variant if you encounter glibc version errors.

Linux (x86_64)

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/rchat-server-x86_64-linux-gnu
chmod +x rchat-server-x86_64-linux-gnu
sudo mv rchat-server-x86_64-linux-gnu /usr/local/bin/rchat-server

Linux (x86_64, static)

For Alpine Linux, older distributions, or any system with an incompatible glibc:

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/rchat-server-x86_64-linux-static
chmod +x rchat-server-x86_64-linux-static
sudo mv rchat-server-x86_64-linux-static /usr/local/bin/rchat-server

Linux (ARM64 / aarch64)

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/rchat-server-aarch64-linux-gnu
chmod +x rchat-server-aarch64-linux-gnu
sudo mv rchat-server-aarch64-linux-gnu /usr/local/bin/rchat-server

Linux (ARM64 static)

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/rchat-server-aarch64-linux-static
chmod +x rchat-server-aarch64-linux-static
sudo mv rchat-server-aarch64-linux-static /usr/local/bin/rchat-server

FreeBSD (x86_64)

fetch https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/rchat-server-x86_64-freebsd
chmod +x rchat-server-x86_64-freebsd
sudo mv rchat-server-x86_64-freebsd /usr/local/bin/rchat-server

macOS (Apple Silicon — M1/M2/M3)

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/rchat-server-macos-arm64
chmod +x rchat-server-macos-arm64
sudo mv rchat-server-macos-arm64 /usr/local/bin/rchat-server

macOS (Intel)

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/rchat-server-macos-x86_64
chmod +x rchat-server-macos-x86_64
sudo mv rchat-server-macos-x86_64 /usr/local/bin/rchat-server

macOS (Universal)

Works on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs:

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/rchat-server-macos-universal
chmod +x rchat-server-macos-universal
sudo mv rchat-server-macos-universal /usr/local/bin/rchat-server

Verify the installation

rchat-server --help

You should see usage information and available flags.

Checksum verification

Each release includes a SHA256SUMS.txt file. Verify your download:

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/SHA256SUMS.txt
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS.txt

On macOS:

curl -LO https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/SHA256SUMS.txt
shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS.txt

On FreeBSD:

fetch https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat/releases/latest/download/SHA256SUMS.txt
sha256 -c SHA256SUMS.txt

System requirements

Port access

rChat listens on port 443 by default:

# UFW
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

# iptables
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT

# pf (FreeBSD)
sudo sysctl net.inet.ip.forwarding=1
echo 'pass in proto tcp to any port 443' | sudo tee -a /etc/pf.conf

Build from source

If you prefer to build the server yourself:

Prerequisites

Rust 1.75 or later
OpenSSL development headers

Build

git clone https://github.com/PDG-Global/rchat.git
cd rchat
cargo build --release --bin rchat-server

The binary will be at target/release/rchat-server.

Install

sudo cp target/release/rchat-server /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/rchat-server