Now in Beta!

Stack Exchange Chat Status

Chat — the Way It Was Meant to Be

What Is This?

Have you ever wished the Stack Exchange chat platform showed you how far other users have read? Have you wished it displayed "this user is typing" messages? Emojis? If so, this UserScript is for you!

The script adds these features to Stack Exchange chat rooms, and completely revitalizes your chat experience!

Requirements

Using this script is easy! All you need to do is follow the instructions for your browser below:

Internet Explorer & Edge

IE and Edge users need this bookmarklet. Edge users need to follow the steps in this article.

Google Chrome & Chromium

Both browsers proactively disable unrecognized scripts, so you will need to install the Tampermonkey extension.

Mozilla Firefox

Please install the Greasemonkey add-on.

Opera

Opera users can install either the Tampermonkey Beta add-on or the Violent monkey add-on.

Safari

Please install the Tampermonkey extension.

Using the Script

Installing and using the UserScript is very easy.

Internet Explorer & Edge

Simply open a chat page and click the bookmarklet.

Other Browsers

  1. Make sure you have a supported Userscript manager installed.
  2. Click the Install button above and confirm the installation.
  3. Reload any chat pages you have open.

The script will now automatically load each time you visit a chat page.



How It Works

Whenever a chat page is opened, the script connects to the central server using a WebSocket.

Whenever a new message is read or you start typing, the script sends a small packet of information to the central server. This information is then sent to everyone else in the room who has installed the script.