A libpurple/Pidgin protocol plugin for Signal (formerly textsecure) using presage.

Download

• Latest Build for Windows

Set-up

1. Create a new Pidgin account. Enter your Signal account UUID as username. In case you do not know your UUID, just enter anything. The plug-in will tell you what to use.
2. Enable the connection. A window with the QR-code should pop-up. Scan it with your master device. Wait for the window to close.

Features

Present

• Can link as secondary device via QR-Code.
• Receives a simple text message from a contact or a group.
• Displays quotes, reactions and incoming calls.
• Receives attachments (see caveats below).
• Can reply with a simple text message.
• Will add buddies to contact list unconditionally.
• Can list groups as rooms and open the chat.

Missing

These lists are not exhaustive.

To Be Done Soon™

• Add chats to contact list unconditionally.
• Forward all errors to front-end properly.
• Send an attachment (example exists in flare).

On Hold

• Mark messages as "read" (currently not implemented in back-end, see whisperfish/presage#141). At time of writing, notifications on main device are deleted after answering via linked device. So that is working alright.
• Reply to a specific message (no example exists in back-end).

"Contributions Welcome"

• Configuration option whether to add contacts to buddy list or not
• Reasonable generation of C headers and rust constants
• Stickers, mentions, replies, styles,…
• Display typing notifications
• Display receipts (not important)
• Support for alternative UIs (Spectrum, Bitlbee)
• Support for adding contacts via phone number

Known Issues

• Handling errors when sending messages is barely tested.
• Attachments end up in the conversation of the sender, not the destination (espeically confusing when a group chat is involved).

Building

Linux

Dependencies

• libpurple-dev
• libqrencode-dev
• protobuf (or any other package which provides the protoc compiler)

Build

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/hoehermann/purple-presage
mkdir purple-presage/build
cd purple-presage/build
cmake ..
cmake --build .
sudo cmake --install .

Windows

purple-presage is known to compile with MSVC 19.30 and rust 1.75. You need the version of rust mentioned in libsignal-service-rs. A newer version will probably work, too. Using the "x86 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022" is recommended.

Dependencies

Install dependencies via vcpkg:

vcpkg.exe install libqrencode:x86-windows-static

protoc needs to be in your PATH. You can install it with any method you like, including vcpkg:

vcpkg.exe install protobuf

Build

Same as Linux build instructions, but may need to modify the configuration:

1. Generate project:

    cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE="…/vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake" -DVCPKG_TARGET_TRIPLET=x86-windows-static -DRust_CARGO_TARGET="i686-pc-windows-msvc" ..
   

   If necessary, the rust toolchain version can be specified via -DRust_TOOLCHAIN="1.75-i686-pc-windows-msvc".

2. Build, Install and Run:

    cmake --build .
    cmake --install .
    cmake --build . --target run
   

Notes

purple-presage must be built with MSVC. MinGW's GCC encountered a number of issues such as incompatibility with rustc versions newer than 1.69 and not shipping libbcrypt by default.

Needs a whooping 6 GB of disk space during build! :o