chat over lan from linux to linux?

As I recall there was something like netsend on windows that allowed simple messages to be sent over the local network. I especially like this because one doesn't need to install extra client soft (hello skype).

Is there something dead simple like this on Linux?

Just to clarify I'm looking for a bash command or simple CLI script/tool, not a GUI app.

Solution 1:

You actually can do this with netcat, I believe it is already installed in most cases on linux, and it's dead simple.

On PC 1, type: nc -l 55555

On PC 2, type: nc $IP 55555, where $IP equals the local IP address of PC 1 [e.x. 192.168.2.50]

Once you do this, in the same box, from PC 2, type something and press enter. Then go over and look at PC 1, and your message will be there! It works both ways.

You can also choose a different port than 55555, or if you opened your firewall, you can do this through the internet via your external IP.

Solution 2:

You can use iptux. It is a very convenient GUI-based program. You can even send files (and entire folder) to your colleague.

From a terminal,

sudo apt-get install iptux

will do the job.

Here is a screenshot of this tool.