README.md

@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@
 A modern IRC-inspired chat server written in Go. Decouples session state from
 transport connections, enabling mobile-friendly persistent sessions over HTTP.
 
+The **HTTP API is the primary interface**. It's designed to be simple enough
+that writing a terminal IRC-style client against it is straightforward — just
+`curl` and `jq` get you surprisingly far. The server also ships an embedded
+web client as a convenience/reference implementation, but the API comes first.
+
 ## Motivation
 
 IRC is in decline because session state is tied to the TCP connection. In a
@@ -12,7 +17,7 @@ or pay for IRCCloud.
 This project builds a chat server that:
 
 - Holds session state server-side (message queues, presence, channel membership)
-- Delivers messages over HTTP (JSON-RPC style)
+- Exposes a minimal, clean HTTP+JSON API — easy to build clients against
 - Supports multiple concurrent connections per user session
 - Provides IRC-like semantics: channels, nicks, topics, modes
 - Uses structured JSON messages with arbitrary extensibility
@@ -24,12 +29,15 @@ This project builds a chat server that:
 All client↔server and server↔server communication uses HTTP/1.1+ with JSON
 request/response bodies. No WebSockets, no raw TCP, no gRPC — just plain HTTP.
 
-- **Client polling**: Clients poll for new messages via `GET` with long-polling
+- **Client polling**: Clients long-poll `GET /api/v1/messages` — server holds
-  support (server holds the connection open until messages arrive or timeout)
+  the connection until messages arrive or timeout. One endpoint for everything.
-- **Client sending**: Clients send messages/commands via `POST`
+- **Client sending**: `POST /api/v1/messages` with a `to` field. That's it.
 - **Server federation**: Servers exchange messages via HTTP to enable multi-server
   networks (like IRC server linking)
 
+The entire read/write loop for a client is two endpoints. Everything else is
+channel management and history.
+
 ### Core Concepts
 
 #### Users
@@ -90,9 +98,37 @@ Fields:
 All endpoints accept and return `application/json`. Authenticated endpoints
 require `Authorization: Bearer <token>` header.
 
-The API follows an IRC-inspired design: one unified message stream for all
+The API is the primary interface — designed for IRC-style clients. The entire
-message types (channel messages, DMs, server notices), with a simple `to` field
+client loop is:
-for addressing.
+
+1. `POST /api/v1/register` — get a token
+2. `GET /api/v1/state` — see who you are and what channels you're in
+3. `GET /api/v1/messages?after=0` — long-poll for all messages (channel, DM, system)
+4. `POST /api/v1/messages` — send to `"#channel"` or `"nick"`
+
+That's the core. Everything else (join, part, history, members) is ancillary.
+
+#### Quick example (curl)
+
+```bash
+# Register
+TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/register \
+  -d '{"nick":"alice"}' | jq -r .token)
+
+# Join a channel
+curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/channels/join \
+  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
+  -d '{"channel":"#general"}'
+
+# Send a message
+curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/messages \
+  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
+  -d '{"to":"#general","content":"hello world"}'
+
+# Poll for messages (long-poll)
+curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/v1/messages?after=0 \
+  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
+```
 
 #### Registration
 
@@ -259,18 +295,29 @@ Per gohttpserver conventions:
 | Metrics | `github.com/prometheus/client_golang` |
 | DB | `modernc.org/sqlite` + `database/sql` |
 
+### Web Client
+
+The server embeds a single-page web client (Preact) served at `/`. This is a
+**convenience/reference implementation** — not the primary interface. It
+demonstrates the API and provides a quick way to test the server in a browser.
+
+The primary intended clients are IRC-style terminal applications and bots
+talking directly to the HTTP API.
+
 ### Design Principles
 
-1. **HTTP is the only transport** — no WebSockets, no raw TCP, no protocol
+1. **API-first** — the HTTP API is the product. Clients are thin. If you can't
+   build a working IRC-style TUI client in an afternoon, the API is too complex.
+2. **HTTP is the only transport** — no WebSockets, no raw TCP, no protocol
    negotiation. HTTP is universal, proxy-friendly, and works everywhere.
-2. **Server holds state** — clients are stateless. Reconnect, switch devices,
+3. **Server holds state** — clients are stateless. Reconnect, switch devices,
    lose connectivity — your messages are waiting.
-3. **Structured messages** — JSON with extensible metadata. Enables signatures,
+4. **Structured messages** — JSON with extensible metadata. Enables signatures,
    rich content, client extensions without protocol changes.
-4. **Simple deployment** — single binary, SQLite default, zero mandatory
+5. **Simple deployment** — single binary, SQLite default, zero mandatory
    external dependencies.
-5. **No eternal logs** — history rotates. Chat should be ephemeral by default.
+6. **No eternal logs** — history rotates. Chat should be ephemeral by default.
-6. **Federation optional** — single server works standalone. Linking is opt-in.
+7. **Federation optional** — single server works standalone. Linking is opt-in.
 
 ## Status