feat: add image handling actions and improve IRC message formatting

src/EchoHub.Client/AppOrchestrator.cs

@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ public sealed class AppOrchestrator : IDisposable
         _mainWindow.OnAudioPlayRequested += HandleAudioPlayRequested;
         _mainWindow.OnFileDownloadRequested += HandleFileDownloadRequested;
         _mainWindow.OnImageSaveRequested += HandleImageSaveRequested;
+        _mainWindow.OnImageOpenRequested += HandleImageOpenRequested;
         _mainWindow.OnDeleteMessageRequested += HandleDeleteMessageRequested;
         _mainWindow.OnCheckForUpdatesRequested += HandleCheckForUpdatesRequested;
         _mainWindow.OnRollbackRequested += HandleRollbackRequested;
@@ -1704,6 +1705,62 @@ public sealed class AppOrchestrator : IDisposable
         return tempPath;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>File extensions the "[open]" action will hand to the OS image viewer for E2E rooms.</summary>
+    private static readonly HashSet<string> ImageOpenExtensions = new(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
+    {
+        ".png", ".jpg", ".jpeg", ".gif", ".webp", ".bmp",
+    };
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Views an image without saving it to the user's downloads. Plain channels open the
+    /// file's web URL in the default browser (the server serves files by capability URL, so
+    /// no auth token is needed). E2E-encrypted channels would render as ciphertext in a
+    /// browser, so the blob is downloaded, decrypted locally, and opened from a temp file.
+    /// </summary>
+    private void HandleImageOpenRequested(string attachmentUrl, string fileName)
+    {
+        if (!_conn.IsAuthenticated) return;
+
+        var channel = _mainWindow.CurrentChannel;
+        var isEncryptedRoom = !string.IsNullOrEmpty(channel) && _conn.RoomKeys.TryGetKey(channel, out _);
+
+        if (!isEncryptedRoom)
+        {
+            var webUrl = attachmentUrl.StartsWith("http://", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
+                || attachmentUrl.StartsWith("https://", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
+                ? attachmentUrl
+                : $"{_conn.Api!.BaseUrl}/{attachmentUrl.TrimStart('/')}";
+
+            try
+            {
+                System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(
+                    new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo(webUrl) { UseShellExecute = true });
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                Log.Warning(ex, "Failed to open image URL in browser: {Url}", webUrl);
+                InvokeUI(() => _messageManager.AddSystemMessage(channel, $"Couldn't open a browser — image URL: {webUrl}"));
+            }
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // In E2E rooms the attachment kind is sender-declared, so only hand real image
+        // extensions to the OS viewer; anything else goes through the save path instead.
+        if (!ImageOpenExtensions.Contains(Path.GetExtension(fileName)))
+        {
+            HandleImageSaveRequested(attachmentUrl, fileName);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        RunAsync(async () =>
+        {
+            InvokeUI(() => _messageManager.AddSystemMessage(channel, $"Decrypting {fileName}..."));
+            var tempPath = await DownloadAttachmentAsync(attachmentUrl, fileName);
+            var psi = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo(tempPath) { UseShellExecute = true };
+            System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(psi);
+        }, "Failed to open image");
+    }
+
     private void HandleImageSaveRequested(string attachmentUrl, string fileName)
     {
         if (!_conn.IsAuthenticated) return;

src/EchoHub.Client/UI/Chat/ChatLine.cs

@@ -7,6 +7,16 @@ using Attribute = Terminal.Gui.Drawing.Attribute;
 
 namespace EchoHub.Client.UI.Chat;
 
+/// <summary>An action a click on an attachment line can trigger.</summary>
+public enum AttachmentAction
+{
+    OpenImage,
+    SaveImage,
+}
+
+/// <summary>Inclusive column range on a chat line that triggers an attachment action when clicked.</summary>
+public readonly record struct AttachmentActionSpan(int StartCol, int EndCol, AttachmentAction Action);
+
 /// <summary>
 /// A single line in the chat, composed of colored segments.
 /// </summary>
@@ -20,6 +30,14 @@ public partial class ChatLine
     public string? AttachmentFileName { get; set; }
     public AttachmentKind? AttachmentKind { get; set; }
     public string? SenderUsername { get; set; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Clickable sub-line targets (e.g. the "[open]" and "[save original]" brackets under an
+    /// image). Columns are relative to the unwrapped line, so only the first wrapped line
+    /// keeps them. Null means the whole line uses the kind's default action.
+    /// </summary>
+    public List<AttachmentActionSpan>? ActionSpans { get; set; }
+
     /// <summary>Number of spaces to prepend on continuation lines when this line is word-wrapped.</summary>
     public int ContinuationIndent { get; set; }
 
@@ -160,6 +178,10 @@ public partial class ChatLine
             wrapped.IsMention = IsMention;
         }
 
+        // Span columns only line up with the first wrapped line; later lines fall
+        // back to the kind's default action.
+        results[0].ActionSpans = ActionSpans;
+
         return results;
     }
 

src/EchoHub.Client/UI/Chat/ChatMessageManager.cs

@@ -443,9 +443,7 @@ public sealed class ChatMessageManager
                             lines.Add(new ChatLine(segments));
                         }
                     }
-                    lines.Add(AttachmentActionLine(
+                    lines.Add(ImageActionLine(attachment));
-                        $"[↓ save original] {attachment.FileName} [{FormatFileSize(attachment.FileSize)}]",
-                        ChatColors.FileAttr, attachment));
                     break;
 
                 case Core.Models.AttachmentKind.Audio:
@@ -489,6 +487,41 @@ public sealed class ChatMessageManager
         return lines;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Builds the action line below an image preview: "[open] [↓ save original] name [size]".
+    /// Each bracket is an <see cref="AttachmentActionSpan"/> so a mouse click can target it;
+    /// keyboard activation (Enter) uses the default action, open.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static ChatLine ImageActionLine(AttachmentDto attachment)
+    {
+        var segments = RailPrefix();
+        var col = segments.Sum(s => s.Text.GetColumns());
+        var spans = new List<AttachmentActionSpan>();
+
+        void AddAction(string text, AttachmentAction action)
+        {
+            var width = text.GetColumns();
+            spans.Add(new AttachmentActionSpan(col, col + width - 1, action));
+            segments.Add(new(text, ChatColors.FileAttr));
+            col += width;
+        }
+
+        AddAction("[open]", AttachmentAction.OpenImage);
+        segments.Add(new(" ", null));
+        col += 1;
+        AddAction("[↓ save original]", AttachmentAction.SaveImage);
+        segments.Add(new($" {attachment.FileName} [{FormatFileSize(attachment.FileSize)}]", ChatColors.FileAttr));
+
+        return new ChatLine(segments)
+        {
+            AttachmentUrl = attachment.Url,
+            AttachmentFileName = attachment.FileName,
+            AttachmentKind = attachment.Kind,
+            ActionSpans = spans,
+            ContinuationPrefixSegments = RailPrefix(),
+        };
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Builds a clickable attachment line carrying the metadata the message list uses to
     /// route activation (play audio, download file, save original image).

src/EchoHub.Client/UI/MainWindow.cs

@@ -176,6 +176,12 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Runnable
     /// </summary>
     public event Action<string, string>? OnImageSaveRequested;
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Fired when the user activates an image's "[open]" action to view it without saving.
+    /// Parameters: attachmentUrl, fileName.
+    /// </summary>
+    public event Action<string, string>? OnImageOpenRequested;
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Fired when the user presses Delete on the selected message. Parameter is the message id.
     /// </summary>
@@ -532,7 +538,9 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Runnable
 
             if (line.AttachmentKind == AttachmentKind.Image)
             {
-                OnImageSaveRequested?.Invoke(line.AttachmentUrl, line.AttachmentFileName);
+                // Keyboard/default activation opens the image for viewing;
+                // saving is the mouse span or the context menu.
+                OnImageOpenRequested?.Invoke(line.AttachmentUrl, line.AttachmentFileName);
                 e.Handled = true;
                 return;
             }
@@ -600,7 +608,8 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Runnable
 
     private void OnMessageListMouseEvent(object? sender, Mouse e)
     {
-        if (!e.Flags.HasFlag(MouseFlags.RightButtonClicked))
+        var leftClick = e.Flags.HasFlag(MouseFlags.LeftButtonClicked);
+        if (!leftClick && !e.Flags.HasFlag(MouseFlags.RightButtonClicked))
             return;
 
         if (_messageList.Source is not ChatListSource source || source.Count == 0 || e.Position is not { } pos)
@@ -610,6 +619,30 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Runnable
         if (index < 0 || index >= source.Count)
             return;
 
+        // Left-click only activates the "[open]" / "[save original]" brackets on an
+        // attachment action line; anywhere else it falls through to normal selection.
+        if (leftClick)
+        {
+            var clicked = source.GetLine(index);
+            if (clicked?.ActionSpans is { } spans
+                && clicked.AttachmentUrl is { } url && clicked.AttachmentFileName is { } name)
+            {
+                foreach (var span in spans)
+                {
+                    if (pos.X < span.StartCol || pos.X > span.EndCol)
+                        continue;
+
+                    if (span.Action == AttachmentAction.OpenImage)
+                        OnImageOpenRequested?.Invoke(url, name);
+                    else
+                        OnImageSaveRequested?.Invoke(url, name);
+                    e.Handled = true;
+                    return;
+                }
+            }
+            return;
+        }
+
         // Select the right-clicked row (so the menu acts on it and it highlights), then show the menu.
         _messageList.SelectedItem = index;
         _messageList.SetFocus();
@@ -636,6 +669,7 @@ public sealed partial class MainWindow : Runnable
             switch (kind)
             {
                 case AttachmentKind.Image:
+                    items.Add(new MenuItem("Open image", "", () => OnImageOpenRequested?.Invoke(url, name), Key.Empty));
                     items.Add(new MenuItem("Save original image", "", () => OnImageSaveRequested?.Invoke(url, name), Key.Empty));
                     break;
                 case AttachmentKind.Audio:

src/EchoHub.Server.Irc/IrcBroadcaster.cs

@@ -16,17 +16,10 @@ public class IrcBroadcaster : IChatBroadcaster
 
     public async Task SendMessageToChannelAsync(string channelName, MessageDto message)
     {
-        // Decrypt content and attachment previews for IRC clients (they can't handle
+        // Decrypt transport-encrypted content for IRC clients (they can't handle
-        // app-layer encryption). E2E room ciphertext ($RC1$) passes through untouched;
+        // app-layer encryption). E2E room ciphertext ($RC1$) passes through untouched.
-        // the formatter drops previews that are still ciphertext.
+        var decryptedMessage = message with { Content = _encryption.Decrypt(message.Content) };
-        var decryptedMessage = message with
+        var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(decryptedMessage, _gateway.Options.PublicBaseUrl);
-        {
-            Content = _encryption.Decrypt(message.Content),
-            Attachments = message.Attachments?
-                .Select(a => a with { AsciiPreview = _encryption.DecryptNullable(a.AsciiPreview) })
-                .ToList(),
-        };
-        var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(decryptedMessage);
 
         foreach (var conn in _gateway.GetConnectionsInChannel(channelName))
         {

src/EchoHub.Server.Irc/IrcCommandHandler.cs

@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ public sealed class IrcCommandHandler
             foreach (var m in history)
             {
                 var decrypted = m with { Content = _encryption.Decrypt(m.Content) };
-                var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(decrypted);
+                var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(decrypted, _options.PublicBaseUrl);
                 foreach (var line in lines)
                     await _conn.SendAsync(line);
             }

src/EchoHub.Server.Irc/IrcMessageFormatter.cs

@@ -1,20 +1,20 @@
 using System.Text;
-using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
-using EchoHub.Core.Contracts;
 using EchoHub.Core.DTOs;
 using EchoHub.Core.Models;
-using EchoHub.Core.Security;
 
 namespace EchoHub.Server.Irc;
 
-public static partial class IrcMessageFormatter
+public static class IrcMessageFormatter
 {
     private const int MaxIrcLineContentBytes = 400;
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Format a MessageDto as one or more IRC PRIVMSG lines.
+    /// Attachments are rendered as single link lines \u2014 the widely-supported IRC convention
+    /// (clients auto-preview or open plain http(s) URLs) \u2014 never as terminal color art.
+    /// <paramref name="publicBaseUrl"/> makes the links absolute so any IRC client can open them.
     /// </summary>
-    public static List<string> FormatMessage(MessageDto message)
+    public static List<string> FormatMessage(MessageDto message, string? publicBaseUrl = null)
     {
         var lines = new List<string>();
         var ircChannel = $"#{message.ChannelName}";
@@ -27,34 +27,19 @@ public static partial class IrcMessageFormatter
                 lines.Add($"{prefix} PRIVMSG {ircChannel} :{chunk}");
         }
 
-        // One block per attachment
+        // One link line per attachment
         if (message.Attachments is { Count: > 0 })
         {
             foreach (var attachment in message.Attachments)
             {
-                switch (attachment.Kind)
+                var url = ToAbsoluteUrl(attachment.Url, publicBaseUrl);
+                var tag = attachment.Kind switch
                 {
-                    case AttachmentKind.Image:
+                    AttachmentKind.Image => $"[Image: {attachment.FileName}]",
-                        lines.Add($"{prefix} PRIVMSG {ircChannel} :[Image: {attachment.FileName}] {attachment.Url}");
+                    AttachmentKind.Audio => $"\u266a [Audio: {attachment.FileName}]",
-                        if (attachment.AsciiPreview is not null && !IsCiphertext(attachment.AsciiPreview))
+                    _ => $"[File: {attachment.FileName}]",
-                        {
+                };
-                            foreach (var line in attachment.AsciiPreview.Split('\n'))
+                lines.Add($"{prefix} PRIVMSG {ircChannel} :{tag} {url}");
-                            {
-                                var trimmed = line.TrimEnd('\r');
-                                if (trimmed.Length > 0)
-                                    lines.Add($"{prefix} PRIVMSG {ircChannel} :{ColorTagsToAnsi(trimmed)}");
-                            }
-                        }
-                        break;
-
-                    case AttachmentKind.Audio:
-                        lines.Add($"{prefix} PRIVMSG {ircChannel} :\u266a [Audio: {attachment.FileName}] {attachment.Url}");
-                        break;
-
-                    default:
-                        lines.Add($"{prefix} PRIVMSG {ircChannel} :[File: {attachment.FileName}] {attachment.Url}");
-                        break;
-                }
             }
         }
 
@@ -69,13 +54,15 @@ public static partial class IrcMessageFormatter
     }
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// True when a preview is still encrypted — transport ($ENC$v1$) if a broadcast path
+    /// Joins a relative attachment path onto the configured public base URL.
-    /// forgot to decrypt it, or E2E room ciphertext ($RC1$) the server cannot decrypt.
+    /// Already-absolute URLs and unset base URLs pass through unchanged.
-    /// Emitting it would flood IRC clients with a multi-KB base64 blob.
     /// </summary>
-    private static bool IsCiphertext(string text) =>
+    public static string ToAbsoluteUrl(string url, string? publicBaseUrl)
-        text.StartsWith(IMessageEncryptionService.CiphertextPrefix, StringComparison.Ordinal)
+    {
-        || text.StartsWith(RoomCrypto.CiphertextPrefix, StringComparison.Ordinal);
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(publicBaseUrl) || Uri.IsWellFormedUriString(url, UriKind.Absolute))
+            return url;
+        return $"{publicBaseUrl.TrimEnd('/')}/{url.TrimStart('/')}";
+    }
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Format a link embed as IRC PRIVMSG lines (text-only, no ASCII thumbnail).
@@ -104,35 +91,6 @@ public static partial class IrcMessageFormatter
         return lines;
     }
 
-    /// <summary>
-    /// Convert printable color tags ({F:RRGGBB}, {B:RRGGBB}, {X}) to ANSI escape codes for IRC clients.
-    /// Also passes through content that already uses ANSI codes unchanged.
-    /// </summary>
-    public static string ColorTagsToAnsi(string text)
-    {
-        if (!text.Contains('{'))
-            return text;
-
-        return ColorTagRegex().Replace(text, match =>
-        {
-            if (match.Groups[1].Success) // {X} reset
-                return "\x1b[0m";
-            if (match.Groups[2].Success) // {F:RRGGBB} or {B:RRGGBB}
-            {
-                var hex = match.Groups[3].Value;
-                var r = Convert.ToInt32(hex[..2], 16);
-                var g = Convert.ToInt32(hex[2..4], 16);
-                var b = Convert.ToInt32(hex[4..6], 16);
-                var code = match.Groups[2].Value == "F" ? "38" : "48";
-                return $"\x1b[{code};2;{r};{g};{b}m";
-            }
-            return match.Value;
-        });
-    }
-
-    [GeneratedRegex(@"\{(?:(X)|(?:(F|B):([0-9A-Fa-f]{6})))\}")]
-    private static partial Regex ColorTagRegex();
-
     /// <summary>
     /// Split a message into chunks of approximately maxBytes (UTF-8), at word boundaries.
     /// </summary>

src/EchoHub.Server.Irc/IrcOptions.cs

@@ -12,4 +12,11 @@ public sealed class IrcOptions
     public string? TlsCertPassword { get; set; }
     public string ServerName { get; set; } = "echohub";
     public string? Motd { get; set; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Public HTTP(S) base of this EchoHub server (e.g. "https://chat.example.com"),
+    /// used to turn relative attachment URLs into absolute links IRC clients can open.
+    /// When unset, attachment lines fall back to the relative path.
+    /// </summary>
+    public string? PublicBaseUrl { get; set; }
 }

src/EchoHub.Server/Controllers/FilesController.cs

@@ -19,7 +19,14 @@ public class FilesController : ControllerBase
         _fileStorage = fileStorage;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Serves an uploaded file. Anonymous by design: the unguessable GUID in the URL is the
+    /// access token (Discord-CDN-style capability URL), so attachment links can be opened
+    /// directly in a browser and shared to IRC clients. E2E-encrypted room blobs are
+    /// ciphertext at rest, so anonymous access reveals nothing for those channels.
+    /// </summary>
     [HttpGet("{fileId}")]
+    [AllowAnonymous]
     public IActionResult GetFile(string fileId)
     {
         if (!Guid.TryParse(fileId, out _))
@@ -48,6 +55,11 @@ public class FilesController : ControllerBase
             _ => "application/octet-stream"
         };
 
+        // Images and audio render inline so a browser displays them instead of
+        // downloading; everything else keeps the attachment disposition.
+        if (contentType.StartsWith("image/") || contentType.StartsWith("audio/"))
+            return PhysicalFile(filePath, contentType);
+
         var fileName = Path.GetFileName(filePath);
         return PhysicalFile(filePath, contentType, fileName);
     }

src/EchoHub.Tests/DataMigrationServiceTests.cs

@@ -62,13 +62,11 @@ public class DataMigrationServiceTests
     }
 
     [Fact]
-    public void AnsiToColorTags_RoundTrip_WithColorTagsToAnsi()
+    public void AnsiToColorTags_ForegroundBackgroundAndReset_AllConverted()
     {
-        // AnsiToColorTags and IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi should be inverses
+        var ansi = "\x1b[38;2;255;0;0mred\x1b[48;2;0;255;0mgreen\x1b[0m";
-        var original = "{F:FF0000}red{B:00FF00}green{X}";
-        var ansi = EchoHub.Server.Irc.IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi(original);
         var backToTags = DataMigrationService.AnsiToColorTags(ansi);
 
-        Assert.Equal(original, backToTags);
+        Assert.Equal("{F:FF0000}red{B:00FF00}green{X}", backToTags);
     }
 }

src/EchoHub.Tests/Irc/IrcBroadcasterTests.cs

@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ public class IrcBroadcasterTests
     }
 
     [Fact]
-    public async Task SendMessage_DecryptsAttachmentAsciiPreview()
+    public async Task SendMessage_ImageAttachment_SendsLinkLineOnly()
     {
         var (_, stream) = AddConnectionWithCapture("bob", "general");
 
@@ -104,9 +104,9 @@ public class IrcBroadcasterTests
         await _broadcaster.SendMessageToChannelAsync("general", message);
 
         var output = stream.GetOutputLines();
-        Assert.Contains(output, l => l.Contains("[Image: photo.png]"));
+        Assert.Contains(output, l => l.Contains("[Image: photo.png]") && l.Contains("/api/files/abc"));
-        Assert.Contains(output, l => l.Contains("line1"));
+        // ASCII preview art is never sent to IRC clients — images are links only
-        Assert.Contains(output, l => l.Contains("line2"));
+        Assert.DoesNotContain(output, l => l.Contains("line1"));
         Assert.DoesNotContain(output, l => l.Contains("$ENC$"));
     }
 

src/EchoHub.Tests/Irc/IrcMessageFormatterTests.cs

@@ -118,37 +118,50 @@ public class IrcMessageFormatterTests
     }
 
     [Fact]
-    public void FormatMessage_ImageMessage_IncludesAsciiArt()
+    public void FormatMessage_ImageMessage_NeverEmitsAsciiArt()
     {
-        var msg = CreateImageMessage("line1\nline2");
+        // Images are shared as plain links (the common IRC practice) — never color art,
+        // regardless of what the preview contains.
+        var msg = CreateImageMessage("{F:FF0000}█{X}\nline2");
         var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(msg);
 
-        Assert.Contains(lines, l => l.Contains("line1"));
+        Assert.Single(lines);
-        Assert.Contains(lines, l => l.Contains("line2"));
+        Assert.Contains("[Image: image.png]", lines[0]);
+        Assert.DoesNotContain(lines, l => l.Contains("line2"));
     }
 
     [Fact]
-    public void FormatMessage_ImageMessage_SkipsEmptyAsciiLines()
+    public void FormatMessage_RelativeUrl_JoinedWithPublicBaseUrl()
     {
-        var msg = CreateImageMessage("line1\n\nline2");
+        var msg = CreateImageMessage("art", "photo.jpg", "/api/files/abc");
-        var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(msg);
+        var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(msg, "https://chat.example.com");
 
-        // Empty lines should be skipped
+        Assert.Single(lines);
-        var asciiLines = lines.Where(l => !l.Contains("[Image:") && !l.Contains("Download:")).ToList();
+        Assert.Contains("https://chat.example.com/api/files/abc", lines[0]);
-        Assert.Equal(2, asciiLines.Count);
     }
 
-    [Theory]
+    [Fact]
-    [InlineData("$ENC$v1$abc123$def456")] // transport ciphertext a broadcast path forgot to decrypt
+    public void FormatMessage_AbsoluteUrl_NotRewrittenByPublicBaseUrl()
-    [InlineData("$RC1$abc123def456")]     // E2E room ciphertext the server cannot decrypt
-    public void FormatMessage_ImageMessage_SkipsCiphertextPreview(string ciphertextPreview)
     {
-        var msg = CreateImageMessage(ciphertextPreview, "photo.jpg", "https://example.com/photo.jpg");
+        var msg = CreateImageMessage("art", "photo.jpg", "https://cdn.example.com/photo.jpg");
-        var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(msg);
+        var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(msg, "https://chat.example.com");
 
-        // Only the [Image: ...] header line — never the ciphertext blob
+        Assert.Contains("https://cdn.example.com/photo.jpg", lines[0]);
-        Assert.Single(lines);
+        Assert.DoesNotContain("https://chat.example.com", lines[0]);
-        Assert.Contains("[Image: photo.jpg]", lines[0]);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ToAbsoluteUrl_NoBaseUrl_ReturnsRelativeUnchanged()
+    {
+        Assert.Equal("/api/files/abc", IrcMessageFormatter.ToAbsoluteUrl("/api/files/abc", null));
+        Assert.Equal("/api/files/abc", IrcMessageFormatter.ToAbsoluteUrl("/api/files/abc", "  "));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ToAbsoluteUrl_TrailingSlashBase_JoinsWithoutDoubleSlash()
+    {
+        Assert.Equal("https://x.example/api/files/1",
+            IrcMessageFormatter.ToAbsoluteUrl("/api/files/1", "https://x.example/"));
     }
 
     [Fact]
@@ -244,62 +257,4 @@ public class IrcMessageFormatterTests
         }
     }
 
-    // ── ColorTagsToAnsi ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_NoTags_ReturnsUnchanged()
-    {
-        Assert.Equal("Hello world", IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("Hello world"));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_ForegroundTag_ConvertsToAnsi()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{F:FF0000}Red text");
-        Assert.Equal("\x1b[38;2;255;0;0mRed text", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_BackgroundTag_ConvertsToAnsi()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{B:00FF00}Green bg");
-        Assert.Equal("\x1b[48;2;0;255;0mGreen bg", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_ResetTag_ConvertsToReset()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{F:FF0000}Red{X} Normal");
-        Assert.Equal("\x1b[38;2;255;0;0mRed\x1b[0m Normal", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_MultipleTags_ConvertsAll()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{F:FF0000}Red {F:0000FF}Blue{X}");
-        Assert.Contains("\x1b[38;2;255;0;0m", result);
-        Assert.Contains("\x1b[38;2;0;0;255m", result);
-        Assert.Contains("\x1b[0m", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_LowercaseHex_ConvertsCorrectly()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{F:ff8800}text");
-        Assert.Equal("\x1b[38;2;255;136;0mtext", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_NoBraces_SkipsProcessing()
-    {
-        var text = "plain text without braces";
-        Assert.Equal(text, IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi(text));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_ExistingAnsiCodes_PreservesUnchanged()
-    {
-        var text = "\x1b[31mAlready colored\x1b[0m";
-        Assert.Equal(text, IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi(text));
-    }
 }

src/EchoHub.Tests/IrcMessageFormatterTests.cs

@@ -59,11 +59,24 @@ public class IrcMessageFormatterTests
             attachments: [new AttachmentDto(AttachmentKind.Image, "/api/files/abc", "photo.png", 0, "{F:FF0000}█{X}")]);
         var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(msg);
 
-        Assert.True(lines.Count >= 2);
+        // Images are a single link line — the ASCII preview is never sent to IRC clients
+        Assert.Single(lines);
         Assert.Contains("[Image: photo.png]", lines[0]);
         Assert.Contains("/api/files/abc", lines[0]);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void FormatMessage_WithPublicBaseUrl_EmitsAbsoluteAttachmentLinks()
+    {
+        var msg = CreateMessage(
+            content: "",
+            attachments: [new AttachmentDto(AttachmentKind.Image, "/api/files/abc", "photo.png", 0, null)]);
+        var lines = IrcMessageFormatter.FormatMessage(msg, "https://chat.example.com/");
+
+        Assert.Single(lines);
+        Assert.Contains("https://chat.example.com/api/files/abc", lines[0]);
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public void FormatMessage_FileAttachment_IncludesFileTag()
     {
@@ -121,48 +134,6 @@ public class IrcMessageFormatterTests
         Assert.Contains(lines, l => l.Contains("[File: c.pdf]"));
     }
 
-    // ── ColorTagsToAnsi ───────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_ForegroundTag_ConvertsToAnsiEscape()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{F:FF0000}text");
-        Assert.Contains("\x1b[38;2;255;0;0m", result);
-        Assert.Contains("text", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_BackgroundTag_ConvertsToAnsiEscape()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{B:00FF00}text");
-        Assert.Contains("\x1b[48;2;0;255;0m", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_ResetTag_ConvertsToAnsiReset()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{X}");
-        Assert.Equal("\x1b[0m", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_NoTags_ReturnsUnchanged()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("plain text");
-        Assert.Equal("plain text", result);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ColorTagsToAnsi_MultipleTags_ConvertsAll()
-    {
-        var result = IrcMessageFormatter.ColorTagsToAnsi("{F:FF0000}red{F:0000FF}blue{X}");
-        Assert.Contains("\x1b[38;2;255;0;0m", result);
-        Assert.Contains("\x1b[38;2;0;0;255m", result);
-        Assert.Contains("\x1b[0m", result);
-        Assert.Contains("red", result);
-        Assert.Contains("blue", result);
-    }
-
     // ── SplitMessage ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     [Fact]