Features

Messaging

Send and receive 1:1 and group messages. Messages sent from your phone (or other linked devices) sync into the TUI automatically.

Attachments

• Images – rendered inline as halfblock art when inline_images = true
• Native image protocols – for terminals that support Kitty or iTerm2 graphics, enable /settings > “Native images” for higher-fidelity rendering with proper cropping and flicker-free scrolling
• Other files – shown as [attachment: filename] with the download path
• Send files – use /attach to open a file browser and attach a file to your next message

Received attachments are saved to the download_dir configured in your config file (default: ~/signal-downloads/).

Clickable links

URLs and file paths in messages are rendered as OSC 8 hyperlinks. In supported terminals (Windows Terminal, iTerm2, Kitty, etc.), you can click them to open in your browser.

Typing indicators

When someone is typing, their name appears below the chat area. Contact name resolution is used where available. siggy also sends typing indicators to your conversation partners while you type, so they can see when you’re composing a message.

Persistence

All conversations, messages, and read markers are stored in a SQLite database with WAL (Write-Ahead Logging) mode for safe concurrent access. Data survives app restarts.

The database is stored alongside the config file:

• Linux / macOS: ~/.config/siggy/siggy.db
• Windows: %APPDATA%\siggy\siggy.db

Unread tracking

The sidebar shows unread counts next to each conversation. When you open a conversation, a “new messages” separator line marks where you left off. Read markers persist across restarts.

Notifications

Terminal bell notifications fire when new messages arrive in background conversations. Configure them per type:

• notify_direct – 1:1 messages (default: on)
• notify_group – group messages (default: on)
• desktop_notifications – OS-level desktop notifications (default: off)
• /mute – per-conversation mute (persists in the database)
• /bell – toggle notification types at runtime

Desktop notifications use notify-rust for cross-platform support (Linux D-Bus, macOS NSNotification, Windows WinRT toast). They show the sender name and a message preview, and respect the same mute/block/accept conditions as bell notifications.

Contact resolution

On startup, siggy requests your contact list and group list from signal-cli. Names from your Signal address book are used throughout the sidebar, chat area, and typing indicators.

Responsive layout

The sidebar auto-hides on narrow terminals (less than 60 columns). Use Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right to resize it, or /sidebar to toggle it.

Incognito mode

siggy --incognito

Uses an in-memory database instead of on-disk SQLite. No messages, conversations, or read markers are written to disk. The status bar shows a bold magenta incognito indicator. When you exit, everything is gone.

Message reactions

React to any message with r in Normal mode to open the emoji picker. Navigate with h/l or press 1-8 to jump directly, then Enter to send.

Reactions display below messages as compact badges:

👍 2  ❤️ 1

Enable “Verbose reactions” in /settings to show sender names instead of counts. Reactions sync across devices and persist in the database.

@mentions

In group chats, type @ to open a member autocomplete popup. Filter by name and press Tab to insert the mention. Works in 1:1 chats too (with the conversation partner). Incoming mentions are highlighted in cyan+bold.

Visible message selection

When scrolling in Normal mode, the focused message gets a subtle dark background highlight. This makes it clear which message r (react) and y/Y (copy) will target. Use J/K (Shift+j/k) to jump between messages, skipping date separators and system messages.

Reply, edit, and delete

In Normal mode, act on the focused message:

• q – Quote reply – reply with a quoted block showing the original message. A reply indicator appears above your input while composing.
• e – Edit – edit your own outgoing messages. The original text is loaded into the input buffer. Edited messages display “(edited)”.
• d – Delete – delete a message. Outgoing messages offer “delete for everyone” (remote delete) or “delete locally”. Incoming messages can be deleted locally. Deleted messages show as “[deleted]”.

All three features sync across devices and persist in the database.

Message search

Use /search <query> (alias /s) to search across all conversations. Results appear in a scrollable overlay with sender, snippet, and conversation name. Press Enter to jump to the message in context.

After searching, use n/N in Normal mode to cycle through matches without re-opening the overlay.

Text styling

Signal formatting is rendered in the chat area:

• Bold – displayed with terminal bold
• Italic – displayed with terminal italic
• Strikethrough – displayed with terminal strikethrough
• Monospace – displayed in gray
• Spoiler – hidden behind block characters (████)

Styles compose correctly with @mentions and link highlighting.

Sticker messages

Incoming stickers display as [Sticker: emoji] in the chat area (e.g. [Sticker: 👍]). If the sticker has no associated emoji, it shows as [Sticker].

View-once messages

View-once messages display as [View-once message] with any attachments suppressed, respecting the sender’s ephemeral intent.

System messages

Certain Signal events display as system messages (dimmed, centered) in the chat:

• Missed calls – “Missed voice call” / “Missed video call”
• Safety number changes – warning when a contact’s safety number changes
• Group updates – group metadata changes (member adds/removes)
• Disappearing message timer – e.g. “Disappearing messages set to 1 day”

Message action menu

Press Enter in Normal mode on a focused message to open a contextual action menu. Available actions depend on the message type:

Navigate with j/k, press Enter to execute, or press the shortcut key directly. Press Esc to close.

Read receipts

siggy sends read receipts to message senders when you view a conversation, letting them know you’ve read their messages. This can be toggled off via /settings > “Send read receipts”.

Cross-device read sync

When you read messages on your phone or another linked device, siggy receives the read sync and marks those conversations as read. Unread counts update automatically.

Disappearing messages

siggy honors Signal’s disappearing message timers. When a conversation has a timer set, messages auto-expire after the configured duration. Set the timer with /disappearing <duration> (alias /dm):

• 30s, 5m, 1h, 1d, 1w – set the timer
• off – disable disappearing messages

Timer changes from other devices sync automatically.

Group management

Use /group (alias /g) to manage groups directly from the TUI:

• View members – see all group members
• Add member – type-to-filter contact picker to add members
• Remove member – type-to-filter member picker to remove members
• Rename – change the group name
• Create – create a new group (available from any conversation)
• Leave – leave the group with confirmation

Message requests

Messages from unknown senders (not in your contacts) are flagged as message requests. A banner appears at the top of the conversation with options to accept or delete. Unaccepted conversations do not trigger notifications or send read receipts.

Block and unblock

Use /block to block the current conversation’s contact or group, and /unblock to unblock. Blocked conversations do not trigger notifications, read receipts, or typing indicators.

Mouse support

Mouse support is enabled by default. Toggle via /settings > “Mouse support”.

• Click sidebar – switch conversations by clicking
• Scroll messages – scroll wheel in the chat area
• Click input bar – position the cursor by clicking
• Overlay scroll – scroll wheel navigates lists in overlays

Color themes

Open the theme picker with /theme (alias /t) or from /settings > Theme. Choose from built-in themes with customizable sidebar, chat, status bar, and accent colors.

Pinned messages

Pin important messages to the top of a conversation. Press p in Normal mode on a focused message (or use the action menu) to pin it. Choose a duration: forever, 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days. Pinned messages show as a banner at the top of the chat area. Press p on an already-pinned message to unpin it. Pin state syncs across all linked devices.

Link previews

Messages containing URLs display link preview cards with the page title, description, and thumbnail image (when available). Toggle via /settings > “Link previews” (enabled by default).

Polls

Create polls with /poll "question" "option1" "option2". Add --single to restrict voting to one option. Polls display inline as bar charts showing vote counts and percentages.

Press Enter on a poll message in Normal mode to open the vote overlay. Select options with Space (multi-select) or Enter (single-select), then confirm. Your votes sync across devices.

Identity verification

Use /verify to verify the identity keys of your contacts. In 1:1 chats, the overlay shows the contact’s safety number and current trust level. In group chats, browse members and verify individually. You can trust or untrust identity keys directly from the overlay.

Profile editor

Use /profile to edit your Signal profile. Change your given name, family name, about text, and about emoji. Navigate fields with j/k, press Enter to edit inline, and Save to push changes to Signal’s servers.

About

Use /about to see the app version, description, author, license, and repository link.

Sidebar position

The sidebar can be placed on the left (default) or right side of the screen. Toggle via /settings > “Sidebar on right”.

Configurable keybindings

All keybindings are fully configurable. Choose from three built-in profiles (Default, Emacs, Minimal) or create your own. Override individual keys via ~/.config/siggy/keybindings.toml, or rebind keys live in the app with /keybindings (alias /kb).

See Keybindings for full details on profiles, customization, and the TOML format.

Multi-line input

Press Alt+Enter or Shift+Enter in Insert mode to insert a newline. Compose multi-line messages before sending with Enter. The input area expands automatically to show all lines.

Message history pagination

Scrolling to the top of a conversation automatically loads older messages from the database. A loading indicator appears briefly while fetching. This lets you browse your full message history without loading everything upfront.

Forward messages

Press f in Normal mode on a focused message to forward it to another conversation. A filterable picker overlay lets you choose the destination.

Demo mode

siggy --demo

Launches with dummy conversations and messages. No signal-cli process is spawned. Useful for testing the UI, exploring keybindings, and taking screenshots.