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purple-plugin-delta/README.md

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# Delta Chat plugin for libpurple
## Overview
[Delta Chat](https://delta.chat) is an instant messaging application based on
email - which is to say, SMTP+IMAP.
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Delta has:
* A mature [core library](https://github.com/deltachat/deltachat-core)
* A mature [Android application](https://github.com/deltachat/deltachat-android)
* An experimental [iOS application](https://github.com/deltachat/deltachat-ios)
* An electron [desktop application](https://github.com/deltachat/deltachat-desktop)
This project is a [libpurple](https://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/WhatIsLibpurple)
plugin that wraps `deltachat-core`, allowing a number of existing desktop and
mobile clients to send and receive IMs over SMTP+IMAP. It may be useful for
[Linux-based mobile devices](https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/chatty), for
GUI desktop usage **without** an Electron dependency, or console desktop usage.
Current status is probably best described as "skunkworks", although connecting
to an account and sending / receiving text messages should work reliably. You
can view specific progress on [the issue board](https://gitlab.com/lupine/purple-plugin-delta/boards).
## Build
Very basic instructions at present. First, `deltachat-core` isn't packaged, so
you'll need to build and install it according to
[these instructions](https://github.com/deltachat/deltachat-core/blob/master/README.md#build).
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Now, you'll need some other build dependencies:
```
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sudo apt install build-essential libpurple-dev libglib2.0-dev
```
Finally, run `make` to create a `libdelta.so` file.
## Use
The easiest way to use this is to copy the `libdelta.so` file into
`~/.purple/plugins`. When running pidgin, you'll now have the option to add
a "Delta Chat" account.
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If it doesn't show up, chances are pidgin can't find the various shared
libraries the .so depends on. You can run `ldd ~/.purple/plugins/libdelta.so`
to confirm. I'll document fixing this after the build and install system is
settled.
At present, the "Username" and "Password" account fields correspond to email
address and password, respectively. Many important settings also show up on the
"Advanced" tab - if left blank, the plugin will attempt to automatically detect
the correct values, but you may need to fill some of them in manually to get
the connection to work.
Run pidgin with `--debug` to see interesting output.