TTYverse offers powerful features for experienced users, including customization options, advanced posting features, automation capabilities, and system integration.

Advanced Posting Features

Visibility Control

TTYverse supports all fediverse visibility levels with indicators:

# Posts show visibility in metadata line:
a0> {,POST_ID} <username> (2h ago) via TTYverse [Public]
a1> {,POST_ID} <username> (1h ago) via TTYverse [Unlisted]  
a2> {,POST_ID} <username> (30m ago) via TTYverse [Followers]
a3> {,POST_ID} <username> (5m ago) via TTYverse [Direct]

Visibility levels:

[Public] - Visible to everyone, appears in local/federated timelines
[Unlisted] - Public but not in discovery timelines
[Followers] - Only visible to your followers
[Direct] - Only visible to mentioned users (like DMs)

Advanced Media Features

Media attachment with post text:

/media /path/to/image.jpg Check out this amazing sunset from my hike today!

Multiple media formats supported:

Images: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP (alt-text required)
Audio: MP3, OGG, WAV, FLAC, M4A
Video: MP4, WebM, MOV

Accessibility enforcement: TTYverse requires alt-text for images and cancels uploads without descriptions:

-- Upload cancelled: Alt-text is required for images
-- If you're going to use a client maintained by a blind guy, you can damn well describe your images!

Content Warnings

Posts with content warnings display in brackets on the metadata line:

a5> {,POST_ID} <username> (1h ago) via Web [Public] [CW: Politics]
    [Content warning text appears here] Click to show content...

View conversation threads:

/thread a3    # View the full conversation thread for post a3

Shows the complete conversation context with proper threading.

Advanced Timeline Features

Multiple Timeline Types

Access different content streams:

/timeline home         # Your personalized feed (default)
/timeline local        # Local instance posts
/timeline federated    # Federated timeline
/timeline public       # Same as local
/timeline notifications # Your notifications
/timeline bookmarks    # Your bookmarked posts
/timeline favourites   # Your favorite posts

Timeline Filtering and Management

Historical timeline access:

/last 20              # Show last 20 cached posts
/again                # Load more posts from current timeline
/refresh              # Force refresh current timeline

User-specific timelines:

/again @username      # View recent posts from specific user
/wagain @username     # View all recent activity from user

Advanced Search Features

Comprehensive Search Options

Search types:

/search #hashtag              # Search hashtags
/search @user@instance.com    # Find specific users
/search "exact phrase"        # Search post content
/search keyword               # General content search

Advanced search operators:

Use quotes for exact phrases
Include instance names for cross-server user searches
Combine terms for refined results

Extensions and Customization

Sound Notification System

TTYverse includes 11 distinct notification types:

Notification categories:

default - General timeline posts
mention - Posts that mention you
dm - Direct messages
me - Your own posts appearing in timeline
search - Search result notifications
follow - New follower notifications
boost - When someone boosts your posts
favourite - When someone favorites your posts
poll - Poll-related notifications
edit - Post edit notifications
announcement - Instance announcements

Configuration:

# In ~/.config/ttyverse/ttyverserc
notifytype=soundpack
notifies=mention,dm,boost,favourite,follow
extpref_sound_command=paplay

Extension Loading

Available core extensions:

soundpack - Audio notifications with 11 sound categories
timestamp - Enhanced timestamp display with time gaps
tts - Text-to-speech for accessibility
libnotifyperl - Desktop notification bubbles
r2a - Additional automation features

Load extensions at startup:

./ttyverse.pl -exts=soundpack,tts,timestamp

Runtime extension management:

# Extensions are loaded from:
~/.local/share/ttyverse/extensions/

# Sound files stored in:
~/.local/share/ttyverse/sounds/default/

Advanced Configuration

Runtime Configuration Changes

Modify settings while running:

/set effpause 300        # Change refresh interval to 5 minutes
/set gui_browser firefox # Set preferred GUI browser
/set cli_browser w3m     # Set preferred CLI browser

/get effpause           # Check current setting

Common advanced settings:

effpause - Timeline refresh interval (seconds)
dmpause - Direct message refresh interval
notificationpause - Notification refresh interval
ansi - Color/formatting support
verbose - Detailed output mode
superverbose - Debug-level output

Configuration File Management

XDG-compliant storage:

Config: ~/.config/ttyverse/ttyverserc
Data: ~/.local/share/ttyverse/
Extensions: ~/.local/share/ttyverse/extensions/
Sounds: ~/.local/share/ttyverse/sounds/

Create default config:

./ttyverse.pl -createrc

Multi-Process Architecture

Background Process Management

TTYverse uses a sophisticated multi-process design:

Foreground process:

Handles user interaction
Displays posts and responses
Processes commands

Background process:

Monitors timelines
Fetches new posts
Handles notifications
Manages DM updates

Inter-Process Communication (IPC):

Uses pipes and signals (SIGUSR2)
Coordinates between processes
Ensures smooth user experience

Process Control

System integration:

Proper signal handling for POSIX compatibility
Clean shutdown and restart procedures
Background monitoring without blocking UI

Advanced URL Handling

Smart Browser Detection

TTYverse automatically detects your environment:

GUI environment (DISPLAY set):

Firefox, Chrome, Chromium
System default browser
User-configured GUI browser

Terminal environment:

w3m, elinks, lynx
User-configured CLI browser

URL extraction priorities:

Mastodon media_attachments with URLs
Explicit URLs in post content
Card URLs from link previews
Entity URLs from structured data
Plain text URL parsing (fallback)

URL Command Usage

/url a3                 # Open URL from post a3

Opens the most relevant URL from the post using your environment's optimal browser.

Network and API Features

Rate Limit Management

Monitor API usage:

/rate                   # Show current rate limit status

TTYverse automatically handles rate limiting and provides notifications when limits are approached.

OAuth 2.0 Authentication

Secure authentication:

Modern OAuth 2.0 flow (OAuth 1.0a removed)
Server-side token storage
Automatic token refresh
Cross-instance compatibility

Troubleshooting authentication:

# Remove and recreate authentication
rm ~/.config/ttyverse/*
./ttyverse.pl           # Will prompt for re-authentication

Advanced Interaction Features

Comprehensive User Management

User information and interaction:

/whois @user@instance.com    # Detailed user information
/follow @user               # Follow user
/unfollow @user            # Unfollow user
/block @user               # Block user
/unblock @user             # Unblock user
/mute @user                # Mute user
/unmute @user              # Unmute user

Follower/following management:

/followers              # Your followers
/followers @user        # User's followers  
/followers +50          # Show up to 50 followers
/following              # Who you follow
/following @user +30    # Show 30 accounts user follows

Advanced Poll Features

Poll creation with custom durations:

/poll Question text
# Supports: 90m, 12h, 3d, 1w formats

Complex voting patterns:

/vote a3 1,3,5         # Vote multiple options
/vote a3 1-4           # Vote range of options
/vote a3 2,5-7,9       # Vote mixed patterns

Performance Optimization

Memory and Network Efficiency

Optimized caching:

Post caching for /last command
Smart timeline refresh logic
Efficient IPC communication

Network optimization:

Conditional requests where supported
Minimal API calls for routine operations
Background fetch without blocking UI

Resource Management

Long-running session optimization:

Memory usage monitoring
Proper cleanup of temporary data
Signal handling for clean shutdown

Debugging and Troubleshooting

Debug Modes

Verbose output:

/verbose               # Toggle detailed output
/debug                 # Toggle debug information
./ttyverse.pl -verbose # Start with verbose mode

Debug information includes:

API request/response details
Extension loading status
IPC communication logging
Network connection status

System Integration Debugging

Test system components:

# Test audio system
paplay ~/.local/share/ttyverse/sounds/default/default.ogg

# Test browser integration
echo $DISPLAY          # Check GUI environment
which w3m elinks lynx  # Check CLI browsers

# Test authentication
/refresh               # Test API access

Accessibility Features

Design principles:

All output is plain text
Consistent post formatting
Logical tab order and navigation
Audio feedback for events

Alt-text enforcement: TTYverse prioritizes accessibility by requiring image descriptions, supporting screen readers through consistent formatting, and providing audio notifications.

Keyboard-Only Operation

Complete keyboard navigation:

No mouse required anywhere
Command history with arrow keys
Tab completion for commands
Accessible menu code system

Integration with Fediverse Ecosystem

Cross-Instance Features

Multi-server compatibility:

Works with Mastodon, GoToSocial, Pleroma
Handles different API implementations
Adapts to server-specific features
Cross-instance user lookup and interaction

Server feature detection:

Polls (varies by server)
Media limits (server-dependent)
Timeline types (server-specific)
API extensions (optional features)

See also: Configuration | Extensions | Troubleshooting

Advanced Features