Client directory structure

The full structure of the HelpChat client (Windows version) installation directory and what each directory is for.

Info

The default installation path on Windows is D:\HelpChat. The examples below use this path.

Directory structure

HelpChat/ Installation root

├── HelpChat.exe Main program

├── bin/ Helper tools

│ ├── hcaidsvr.exe Remote desktop assistance service

│ ├── hcaid.dll Remote desktop assistance library

│ ├── hcaidhook.dll Remote desktop assistance hook

│ └── hcmedia.dll Media processing library

├── frame/ Interface resources

│ ├── default/ Default icon resources

│ │ ├── exts/ File extension icons (doc, pdf, zip, etc.)

│ │ ├── def_user_*.png Default user avatars

│ │ └── group_*.png Default group avatars

│ ├── emoji/ Emoji packs (grouped as ac/an/fd/fl/ob/sp, etc.)

│ ├── item3d/ 3D chat icons

│ ├── photo/ Avatar library (synced from the server)

│ ├── sound/ Notification sounds

│ │ ├── msg.wav New message sound

│ │ ├── file.wav File transfer sound

│ │ ├── online.wav User online sound

│ │ ├── broadcast.wav Broadcast message sound

│ │ └── ring.wav Incoming call ringtone

│ ├── sticker/ Stickers

└── users/ ⭐ User data (one directory per server + UID)

│ ├── helpchat.ini Global client configuration (login history, etc.)

│ └── <server ID>/ Server directory

│ │ └── <UID>/ User data directory

│ │ │ ├── helpchat.ini Personal user configuration

│ │ │ ├── avatar/ User avatar cache

│ │ │ ├── database/ Local databases

│ │ │ │ ├── helpchat_user_*.db Contact data

│ │ │ │ ├── helpchat_group_*.db Group data

│ │ │ │ └── helpchat_recent_*.db Recent conversations and chat history

│ │ │ ├── group/ Group file cache

│ │ │ ├── receive/ Received files

│ │ │ ├── sticker/ User's custom stickers

│ │ │ └── temp/ Temporary files

Key directories

users/: the root directory for all user data. Multiple servers and accounts are supported. The structure is users/<server ID>/<UID>/, and each account's data is kept fully separate.

users/.../database/: local SQLite databases holding contacts, groups, chat history, etc. These database files are a local cache of the user's chat history; if they are deleted, they are synced again from the server.

users/.../receive/: files received through the client are saved in this directory by default.

frame/sound/: notification sound files. Replace them with your own .wav files to change the sounds.

frame/item3d/: 3D chat icon resources. You can download item3d.zip separately and extract it into this directory to get 2800+ 3D emoji. See 3D chat icons.

Tip

To move client data to a new computer, copy the whole users/ directory into the new installation directory. All account data and chat history are kept.