TalkBank

Chatter

Chatter is the modern, cross-platform tool for working with TalkBank CHAT transcripts. It performs strict CHAT validation, normalizes and transforms transcripts, and converts CHAT to and from JSON: a typed representation that validates against the published CHAT JSON Schema and makes CHAT easy to consume in modern tooling (run chatter to-json and chatter from-json). Chatter is available as a desktop application, a command-line program, a language server, and a programmatic library API.

Install the Chatter app (recommended for most people)

The Chatter app checks CHAT transcripts in an ordinary window: open a file, see the problems highlighted, fix them, and re-check. No terminal and no setup, and it updates itself. Download Chatter for your computer:

• Mac (Apple Silicon) (M1/M2/M3/M4, essentially every Mac sold since late 2020): Download Chatter for Apple Silicon. Open the .dmg and drag Chatter into Applications. The Mac app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens normally. (Not sure which Mac you have? Apple menu then About This Mac: "Apple M..." means Apple Silicon; otherwise download Chatter for Intel Mac.)
• Windows (Intel/AMD 64-bit, "x64"): Download Chatter for Windows; run the installer.
• Linux (Intel/AMD 64-bit, "x86_64"): AppImage or .deb.

Install the command-line tool (for programmers and automation)

The chatter command-line tool validates, normalizes, converts (JSON), lints, and batch-processes CHAT files, and is the right tool for scripting and CI. It self-updates with chatter update.

macOS / Linux (paste into a terminal):

Windows (PowerShell):

Install the language server (for editors)

A standalone language server (talkbank-lsp) gives live CHAT validation, hover, and go-to-definition in any LSP-aware editor (Neovim, Emacs, Helix, Zed, VS Code, and others). It installs the same way:

macOS / Linux (paste into a terminal):

Windows (PowerShell):

Documentation, source, and library API

• Documentation (CHAT format reference, command guide, JSON Schema, and library usage): talkbank.github.io/chatter.
• Source code and API: github.com/TalkBank/chatter. Beyond the command line, Chatter is a set of Rust libraries (a programmatic API for parsing, validating, and transforming CHAT) and a language server, for building CHAT-aware tooling.

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The older Java-based Chatter has been retired. It does not support current CHAT conventions (for example modern %mor and the %x Phon tiers) and is fully superseded by the tools above. If you have a specific need for the legacy version, please contact TalkBank.