Teletype BBS Server

Telnet-accessible Synchronet-style community BBS server built on the rubbs gem. Full-screen ANSI interface with a top menubar, stacked modal windows, message boards, multi-user chat, wiki integration, and a game catalog.

Running

Docker Compose:

docker compose up --build

Directly (Ruby 3.x):

bundle install
ruby bbs.rb

Connect:

telnet localhost 2323

Configuration

Copy env-example to .env:

Variable	Default	Description
BBS_PORT	2323	TCP port to listen on
BBS_SYSOPS	empty	Comma-separated list of usernames with sysop access
WEBAPP_WIKIJS_TOKEN	—	Bearer token for the Wiki.js GraphQL API
BOARDS_PATH	data/boards	Directory of per-board CSV files
MESSAGES_PATH	data/messages.dat	Legacy single-board file; auto-migrated into the General board on first run
LAST_CALLERS_PATH	data/last_callers.csv	Login log CSV
PROFILE_PATH	data/profiles.csv	User profile CSV
BBS_DESKTOP_ART	data/art	Path to a single ANSI art file (.ans, .ansi, .asc, .nfo, .txt) or a directory containing them — a random one is shown per session. CP437 / SAUCE-aware

Interface

Connect, type a name at the prompt, then a full-screen Synchronet-style shell opens.

Keys

Key	Action
Alt+letter	Open the matching top menu
F10	Open the leftmost menu
Tab / Shift-Tab	Move focus inside a window
Enter	Activate the focused button / submit input
Esc	Close the top window / menu
F1	Help
F2	Message Boards
F3	Quick post
F4	Chat

Menus

Menu	Items
File	Bulletin · System Info · Exit
Messages	Boards… · New Post…
Files	Blog Posts · HowTo Guides · Game Catalog
Users	Online · Last Callers · Profile…
Chat	Open chat
Sysop	Console (sysops only)
Help	About · Keys

Features

• Multi-board messaging — separate sub-boards (General / Tech / Off-Topic / Sysop), each in its own CSV file under data/boards/.
• Multi-line composer — TextArea widget, up to 1000 chars per post.
• Live chat — broadcast hub, 1 Hz polling, history replay on join.
• Wiki split-view — list of titles on the left, selected page rendered on the right.
• Game card — selected game's story + external links.
• Last callers + online users + bulletin on login (last callers, message count).
• Persistent user profile — signature / location / homepage / notes per username.
• Sysop console — stats + broadcast (only for users in BBS_SYSOPS).
• xterm mouse — click menus, buttons, list items; wheel-scroll lists.
• Idle disconnect at 10 minutes.
• Configurable desktop art — drop .ans / .ansi / .asc / .nfo / .txt files into data/art/ (or wherever BBS_DESKTOP_ART points). Classic CP437 BBS art is auto-decoded; SAUCE metadata is stripped. With a directory, a different file is shown per session.

Project structure

bbs.rb                                 entry point — services + Application
lib/
  repository/
    online_users_repository.rb         thread-safe connected-user map
    board_repository.rb                multi-board CSV store
    wiki_repository.rb                 Wiki.js GraphQL client
    catalog_repository.rb              games API client
    last_callers_repository.rb         login log
    profile_repository.rb              per-user persistent profile
  service/
    online_service.rb, board_service.rb, wiki_service.rb,
    games_service.rb, chat_service.rb, last_callers_service.rb,
    profile_service.rb
  model/                               value objects (MessageModel, GameModel, …)
  ui/windows/                          per-window builders (messages, wiki,
                                       games, users, chat, bulletin, profile,
                                       sysop, system info)
data/
  boards/<id>.csv                      per-board messages (auto-created)
  last_callers.csv                     login log
  profiles.csv                         persistent user profiles

Data

All persisted state lives under data/ which is mounted as a volume in Docker so it survives container restarts.