AIM Messenger

A customized fork of zulip-terminal with Warframe 1999 KIM sound effects and (very vaguely) color palette.

(Tech) Disclaimer(s)

• This will likely not be updated past zulip-term 0.7.0, but as it hasn't been updated since 2022, I assume that doesn't have that heavy a risk of happening.
• This is absolutely worse than zulip-terminal in terms of actually being functional, lightweight, and unintrusive.
  • The performance is worse, and it does not close and open on a dime.
  • Note however, that it is not meant to be those things, it's meant to be fun.
• A large portion of the coding for this was done using Anthropic's Claude Code.
  • If that makes you not want to use it, that is your call to make. My job is to be transparent.

(Legal) Disclaimer

While this is not in any way covered by any copyright protection, I will pray for the good graces of DE and the Warframe team to consider this fanart/transformative work, and not smite me to smithereens for pulling sound effects from ther game. This project will absolutely never make any money, and the files for the sound effects were sourced externally. No datamining, or anything similar, was done by me or by my request.

Installation

git clone https://git.arcsnet.dev/arc/aim
cd aim/aim-terminal
./install.sh

Then add aim to your PATH if prompted (one-time setup):

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Add that line to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc to make it permanent.

Usage

aim

Uninstallation

cd aim/aim-terminal
./uninstall.sh

Updating

cd aim/aim-terminal
./uninstall.sh
git pull
./install.sh

Changes from zulip-terminal

Feature	zulip-terminal	AIM Messenger
Package Name	zulip-term	aim-zulip-term
CLI Command	zulip-term	aim
Theme	Multiple themes	Custom "Messenger" theme
Color Palette	Standard	Modified...?
Sound Effects	None	Full sound system (pygame)
Notification Sound	System only	Custom notification chime
Exit Animation	Instant close	Animated "Logging off..." fade
Exit Prompt	"Exit Zulip Terminal?"	"Exit AIM?"

Notifications

Notifications are disabled by default. When enabled, they fire for all incoming private messages, stream messages where you're mentioned, and stream messages on channels with desktop notifications toggled on. The notification sound always plays alongside the desktop notification.

Enable for a single session:

aim --notify

To enable permanently, add to ~/.zuliprc:

[zterm]
notify = enabled

There is no in-app toggle that saves the setting — the zuliprc entry is the only persistent option.

Sound System

The sound system uses pygame for cross-platform audio:

Sound Type	Trigger
Login	App startup
Logout	App exit
Loop	Background ambient (3s delay, fades in)
Hover	Navigation between items/panels
Select	Opening compose box, menu selections
Open	Opening channels/users
Close	Closing channels (escape)
Notification	New message notifications

Volume Control

Action	Key
Volume down (−5%)	[
Volume up (+5%)	]
Toggle ambient loop	\

Volume is saved automatically to ~/.zuliprc and persists across sessions. To set a startup default, either use the key bindings once or add to ~/.zuliprc:

[zterm]
volume = 75

Or pass it on launch:

aim --volume 75

Color Palette

Color	Hex	Usage
Sage	#6f8b7c	User names, non-white UI
Dark Sage	#3e4d45	Borders, outlines
Silver	#c8c8c8	Main text
Indigo	#5050b9	Headers, highlights
Dark Indigo	#3a3a8a	Selection highlighting
Burgundy	#792c23	Errors, reactions
Light Burgundy	#a04a40	Help menu, mentions
Note: this is... not 100% accurate 100% of the time, both documentation-wise, and color-wise.

Credits

• Zulip - For creating zulip-terminal, the actual functional software this project wraps with bloat. Oh, and for... creating the platform that the software is for.
• Warframe - For inspiration to make this, and the sound effects from the Kinemantic Instant Messenger (KIM). THE GREAT DESPAIR and The Great KIM are collectively eating away my gray matter.
• Claude Code – For amending the fact I am dogshit at coding, as I am good at planning and understanding exactly what has to be done and why, but not how.
• Discord, for enshittifying beyond use and letting me find a notably more fun communication medium.
• Windows 11, for being dogshit and wasting 2 hours of my time trying to make this run on that godforsaken OS.

License

Apache License 2.0 (inherited from zulip-terminal)