ChatroomIPs.dat Generator for Ares Galaxy

A Python utility that generates ChatroomIPs.dat files for Ares Galaxy from JSON chatroom server lists.

Overview

This script converts chatroom server data from JSON format into the binary ChatroomIPs.dat format required by Ares Galaxy. It automatically writes to the correct user data directory, making it work for any Windows user without requiring administrator privileges.

Features

• User-agnostic: Works for any Windows user via environment variables
• No admin required: Writes to user's AppData directory instead of Program Files
• JSON input: Load server lists from external JSON files
• Score calculation: Automatically calculates server scores based on user count
• Error handling: Graceful error messages for missing or malformed JSON files

Requirements

• Python 3.6 or higher
• Windows OS (uses %LOCALAPPDATA% environment variable)
• Ares Galaxy installed

Installation

1. Clone this repository or download generate_chatroomips.py
2. Ensure Python 3.6+ is installed on your system
3. No additional dependencies required (uses standard library only)

Usage

Quick Start

1. Prepare your JSON file

   Create or download a rooms.json file with this structure:

   {
     "Count": 2,
     "Items": [
       {
         "port": 54321,
         "users": 25,
         "name": "Example Room",
         "externalIp": "192.168.1.100"
       },
       {
         "port": 5000,
         "users": 10,
         "name": "Another Room",
         "externalIp": "10.0.0.50"
       }
     ]
   }

   You can download the latest server list from: http://chatrooms.mywire.org/rooms.json

2. Run the script

   python generate_chatroomips.py

3. Expected output

   Created ChatroomIPs.dat at: C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\Ares\Data\ChatroomIPs.dat
   Total servers: 53
   

How It Works

Score Calculation

Server scores are calculated based on active user count:

score = min(users * 5, 200)

Higher scores indicate more popular/reliable servers.

File Location

The script uses %LOCALAPPDATA% to determine the output path, matching how Ares Galaxy itself locates user data:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Ares\Data\ChatroomIPs.dat

Ares Galaxy checks this location first before falling back to the Program Files installation directory.

Binary Format

The script generates binary files following the Ares Galaxy ChatroomIPs.dat format:

Component	Size	Description
Header	6 bytes	IP placeholder, record size (12), padding
Records	12 bytes each	IP address (4), port (2), score (2), padding (4)

All integers are stored in little-endian format.

IP addresses are converted to 32-bit little-endian integers:

ip_int = struct.unpack('<I', socket.inet_aton(ip_str))[0]

Configuration

Change JSON File Path

Modify the json_file_path variable in the script:

json_file_path = 'path/to/your/servers.json'

Change Output Location

The script automatically uses the correct user data directory. To override:

output_path = 'C:/custom/path/ChatroomIPs.dat'

Troubleshooting

Permission Denied Error

If you get a permission error, the script is likely trying to write to Program Files. Ensure you're using the environment variable approach (default behavior).

File Not Found

Ensure rooms.json is in the same directory as the script, or provide the full path.

Ares Not Loading Servers

• Verify the file was created at the correct location
• Check that Ares Galaxy is looking in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Ares\Data\
• Ensure the file is at least 600 bytes (minimum requirement)

Technical Details

Minimum File Size

Ares Galaxy requires the file to be at least 600 bytes. With 53 servers, the generated file is 642 bytes (6-byte header + 53 × 12-byte records), meeting this requirement.

IP Validation

Ares Galaxy filters out firewalled IPs during loading. The script doesn't perform this validation, relying on the source JSON to provide valid IPs.

Error Handling

The script handles common errors gracefully:

• File not found: Clear error message if JSON file is missing
• Invalid JSON: Reports JSON parsing errors with details
• Directory creation: Automatically creates the Ares data directory if it doesn't exist

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Credits

Based on the Ares Galaxy file format specification from the CWBudde/AresGalaxy repository.

Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.

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Made for the Ares Galaxy community