Abaddon

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Alternative Discord client made in C++ with GTK

Current features:

• Not Electron
• Voice support
• Handles most types of chat messages including embeds, images, and replies
• Completely styleable/customizable with CSS (if you have a system GTK theme it won't really use it though)
• Identifies to Discord as the web client unlike other clients so less likely to be falsely flagged as spam¹
• Set status
• Unread and mention indicators
• Notifications (non-Windows)
• Start new DMs and group DMs
• View user profiles (notes, mutual servers, mutual friends)
• Kick, ban, and unban members
• Modify roles and modify members' roles
• Manage invites
• Manage emojis
• View audit log
• Emojis²
• Thread support³
• Animated avatars, server icons, emojis (can be turned off)

1 - Abaddon tries its best (though is not perfect) to make Discord think it's a legitimate web client. Some of the things done to do this include: using a browser user agent, sending the same IDENTIFY message that the official web client does, using API v9 endpoints in all cases, and not using endpoints the web client does not normally use. There are still a few smaller inconsistencies, however. For example the web client sends lots of telemetry via the /science endpoint (uBlock origin stops this) as well as in the headers of all requests.

See here for things you might want to avoid if you are worried about being caught in the spam filter.

2 - Unicode emojis are substituted manually as opposed to rendered by GTK on non-Windows platforms. This can be changed with the stock_emojis setting as shown at the bottom of this README. A CBDT-based font using Twemoji is provided to allow GTK to render emojis natively on Windows.

3 - There are some inconsistencies with thread state that might be encountered in some more uncommon cases, but they are the result of fundamental issues with Discord's thread implementation.

Building manually (recommended if not on Windows):

Windows (with MSYS2):

1. Install following packages:
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-cmake
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-ninja
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-sqlite3
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-nlohmann-json
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-curl
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-zlib
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-gtkmm3
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-libhandy
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-opus
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-libsodium
   • mingw-w64-x86_64-spdlog
2. git clone --recurse-submodules="subprojects" https://github.com/uowuo/abaddon && cd abaddon
3. mkdir build && cd build
4. cmake -GNinja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo ..
5. ninja
6. Copy resources

Mac:

1. git clone https://github.com/uowuo/abaddon --recurse-submodules="subprojects" && cd abaddon
2. brew install gtkmm3 nlohmann-json libhandy opus libsodium spdlog adwaita-icon-theme
3. mkdir build && cd build
4. cmake ..
5. make
6. Copy resources

Linux:

1. Install dependencies
   • On Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal) and newer:

     $ sudo apt install g++ cmake libgtkmm-3.0-dev libcurl4-gnutls-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev nlohmann-json3-dev libhandy-1-dev libsecret-1-dev libopus-dev libsodium-dev libspdlog-dev

   • On Arch Linux

     $ sudo pacman -S gcc cmake gtkmm3 libcurl-gnutls lib32-sqlite lib32-openssl nlohmann-json libhandy opus libsodium spdlog

   • On Fedora Linux:

     $ sudo dnf install g++ cmake gtkmm3.0-devel libcurl-devel sqlite-devel openssl-devel json-devel libsecret-devel libhandy-devel opus-devel libsodium-devel spdlog-devel

     Note: On older versions of fedora you might need to install gtkmm30-devel instead of gtkmm3.0-devel. Use dnf search gtkmm3 to see available packages.

2. git clone https://github.com/uowuo/abaddon --recurse-submodules="subprojects" && cd abaddon
3. mkdir build && cd build
4. cmake ..
5. make
6. Copy resources

Downloads:

Latest release version: https://github.com/uowuo/abaddon/releases/latest

CI:

• Windows: here
• MacOS: here unsigned, unpackaged, requires gtkmm3 (e.g. from homebrew)
• Linux: here unpackaged (for now), requires gtkmm3. built on Ubuntu 18.04 + gcc9

Warning: If you use Windows, make sure to start from the bin directory

Resources

The two folders within the res folder (res/res and res/css) are necessary. Windows also uses the fonts folder. You can put them directly next to the executable. On Linux, css and res can also be loaded from ~/.local/share/abaddon or /usr/share/abaddon

abaddon.ini will also be automatically used if located at ~/.config/abaddon/abaddon.ini and there is no abaddon.ini in the working directory

How do I get my token?

Follow these instructions.

The Spam Filter

Discord likes disabling accounts/forcing them to reset their passwords if they think the user is a spam bot or potentially had their account compromised. While the official client still often gets users caught in the spam filter, third party clients tend to upset the spam filter more often. If you get caught by it, you can usually appeal it and get it restored. Here are some things you might want to do with the official client instead if you are particularly afraid of evoking the spam filter's wrath:

• Joining or leaving servers (usually main cause of getting caught)
• Frequently disconnecting and reconnecting
• Starting new DMs with people
• Managing your friends list
• Managing your user profile while connected to a third party client

Dependencies:

• gtkmm
• JSON for Modern C++
• IXWebSocket (provided as submodule)
• libcurl
• zlib
• SQLite3
• spdlog
• libhandy (optional)
• keychain (optional, provided as submodule)
• miniaudio (optional, provided as submodule, required for voice)
• libopus (optional, required for voice)
• libsodium (optional, required for voice)
• rnnoise (optional, provided as submodule, noise suppression and improved VAD)

TODO:

• User activities
• More server management stuff
• A bunch of other stuff probably

Styling

CSS selectors

Selector	Description
.app-window	Applied to all windows. This means the main window and all popups
.app-popup	Additional class for .app-windows when the window is not the main window
.channel-list	Container of the channel list
.messages	Container of user messages
.message-container	The container which holds a user's messages
.message-container-author	The author label for a message container
.message-container-timestamp	The timestamp label for a message container
.message-container-avatar	Avatar for a user in a message
.message-container-extra	Label containing BOT/Webhook
.message-text	The text of a user message
.pending	Extra class of .message-text for messages pending to be sent
.failed	Extra class of .message-text for messages that failed to be sent
.message-attachment-box	Contains attachment info
.message-reply	Container for the replied-to message in a reply (these elements will also have .message-text set)
.message-input	Applied to the chat input container
.replying	Extra class for chat input container when a reply is currently being created
.reaction-box	Contains a reaction image and the count
.reacted	Additional class for reaction-box when the user has reacted with a particular reaction
.reaction-count	Contains the count for reaction
.completer	Container for the message completer
.completer-entry	Container for a single entry in the completer
.completer-entry-label	Contains the label for an entry in the completer
.completer-entry-image	Contains the image for an entry in the completer
.embed	Container for a message embed
.embed-author	The author of an embed
.embed-title	The title of an embed
.embed-description	The description of an embed
.embed-field-title	The title of an embed field
.embed-field-value	The value of an embed field
.embed-footer	The footer of an embed
.member-list	Container of the member list
.typing-indicator	The typing indicator (also used for replies)

Used in reorderable list implementation:

Selector
.drag-icon
.drag-hover-top
.drag-hover-bottom

Used in guild settings popup:

Selector	Description
.guild-settings-window	Container for list of members in the members pane
.guild-members-pane-list
.guild-members-pane-info	Container for member info
.guild-roles-pane-list	Container for list of roles in the roles pane

Used in profile popup:

Selector	Description
.mutual-friend-item	Applied to every item in the mutual friends list
.mutual-friend-item-name	Name in mutual friend item
.mutual-friend-item-avatar	Avatar in mutual friend item
.mutual-guild-item	Applied to every item in the mutual guilds list
.mutual-guild-item-name	Name in mutual guild item
.mutual-guild-item-icon	Icon in mutual guild item
.mutual-guild-item-nick	User nickname in mutual guild item
.profile-connection	Applied to every item in the user connections list
.profile-connection-label	Label in profile connection item
.profile-connection-check	Checkmark in verified profile connection items
.profile-connections	Container for profile connections
.profile-notes	Container for notes in profile window
.profile-notes-label	Label that says "NOTE"
.profile-notes-text	Actual note text
.profile-info-pane	Applied to container for info section of profile popup
.profile-info-created	Label for creation date of profile
.user-profile-window
.profile-main-container	Inner container for profile
.profile-avatar
.profile-username	User's display name (username for backwards compatibility)
.profile-username-nondisplay	User's actual username
.profile-switcher	Buttons used to switch viewed section of profile
.profile-stack	Container for profile info that can be switched between
.profile-badges	Container for badges
.profile-badge

Settings

Settings are configured (for now) by editing abaddon.ini. The format is similar to the standard Windows ini format except:

• # is used to begin comments as opposed to ;
• Section and key names are case-sensitive

Warning: You should edit these while the client is closed, even though there's an option to reload while running.

This listing is organized by section. For example, memory_db would be set by adding memory_db = true under the line [discord]

discord

Setting	Type	Default	Description
gateway	string		override url for Discord gateway. must be json format and use zlib stream compression
api_base	string		override base url for Discord API
memory_db	boolean	false	if true, Discord data will be kept in memory as opposed to on disk
token	string		Discord token used to login, this can be set from the menu
prefetch	boolean	false	if true, new messages will cause the avatar and image attachments to be automatically downloaded
autoconnect	boolean	false	autoconnect to discord

http

Setting	Type	Default	Description
user_agent	string		sets the user-agent to use in HTTP requests to the Discord API (not including media/images)
concurrent	int	20	how many images can be concurrently retrieved

gui

Setting	Type	Default	Description
member_list_discriminator	boolean	true	show user discriminators in the member list
stock_emojis	boolean	true	allow abaddon to substitute unicode emojis with images from emojis.bin, must be false to allow GTK to render emojis itself
custom_emojis	boolean	true	download and use custom Discord emojis
css	string		path to the main CSS file
animations	boolean	true	use animated images where available (e.g. server icons, emojis, avatars). false means static images will be used
animated_guild_hover_only	boolean	true	only animate guild icons when the guild is being hovered over
owner_crown	boolean	true	show a crown next to the owner
unreads	boolean	true	show unread indicators and mention badges
save_state	boolean	true	save the state of the gui (active channels, tabs, expanded channels)
alt_menu	boolean	false	keep the menu hidden unless revealed with alt key
hide_to_tray	boolean	false	hide abaddon to the system tray on window close
show_deleted_indicator	boolean	true	show [deleted] indicator next to deleted messages instead of actually deleting the message
font_scale	double		scale font rendering. 1 is unchanged

style

Setting	Type	Description
linkcolor	string	color to use for links in messages
expandercolor	string	color to use for the expander in the channel list
nsfwchannelcolor	string	color to use for NSFW channels in the channel list
channelcolor	string	color to use for SFW channels in the channel list
mentionbadgecolor	string	background color for mention badges
mentionbadgetextcolor	string	color to use for number displayed on mention badges
unreadcolor	string	color to use for the unread indicator

notifications

Setting	Type	Default	Description
enabled	boolean	true (if not on Windows)	Enable desktop notifications
playsound	boolean	true	Enable notification sounds. Requires ENABLE_NOTIFICATION_SOUNDS=TRUE in CMake

voice

Setting	Type	Default	Description
vad	string	rnnoise if enabled, gate otherwise	Method used for voice activity detection. Changeable in UI

windows

Setting	Type	Default	Description
hideconsole	boolean	true	Hide console on startup

Environment variables

variable	Description
ABADDON_NO_FC	(Windows only) don't use custom font config
ABADDON_CONFIG	change path of configuration file to use. relative to cwd or can be absolute