Tinode Instant Messaging Server by tinode
Instant messaging platform. Backend in Go. Clients: Swift iOS, Java Android, JS webapp, scriptable command line; chatbots
About Tinode Instant Messaging Server
From the project's README at github.com/tinode/chat. Lightly cleaned for readability; for the full source see the upstream repo.
Instant messaging full stack. Backend in pure Go (license GPL 3.0), clients for Android (Java), iOS (Swift), and web (ReactJS), as well as gRPC client support for C++, C#, Go, Java, Node, PHP, Python, Ruby, Objective-C, etc (all clients licensed under Apache 2.0). Wire transport is JSON over websocket (long polling is also available) or protobuf with gRPC.
This is beta-quality software: feature-complete and stable but probably with a few bugs or missing features. Follow instructions to install and run or use one of the cloud services below. Read API documentation.
Tinode is not XMPP/Jabber. It is not compatible with XMPP. It's meant as a replacement for XMPP. On the surface, it's a lot like open source WhatsApp or Telegram. Why?
The promise of XMPP was to deliver federated instant messaging: anyone would be able to spin up an IM server capable
Health score breakdown
6-dimension composite. See methodology for formula and weights.
Adoption signals
Real-world usage data, pulled from each registry. The bigger the numbers, the more battle-tested the project.
| Signal | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 13k | github.com/tinode/chat |
| GitHub forks | 2.1k | github.com/tinode/chat |
Release & maintenance
Is this project actively maintained, or about to die? Check the recency of last commit and last release.
| Project age | 11.5 years | since Nov 2014 |
| Last commit | 12 days ago | Apr 25, 2026 |
| Releases shipped | 91 | last: 2 months ago |
| Security policy | SECURITY.md | declared by maintainers |
Self-hosting cost across providers
Detected requirements: 4GB RAM, 40GB disk minimum. Cheapest plan per provider that meets the requirement.
| Provider | Plan | Specs | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hetzner | CAX11 | 2c · 4GB · 40GB | $4.13 USD | Deploy → |
| vultr | VC2 | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $5 USD | Deploy → |
| linode | Nanode 1GB | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $5.12 USD | Deploy → |
| digitalocean | Basic Regular 1GB | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $6 USD | Deploy → |
What people say on Hacker News
- Show HN: ToolMesh – turn all your REST APIs into MCP tools via declarative YAML
- Show HN: Webapps running in Docker containers and earning on token margins
- Show HN: Daestro – cloud agnostic compute workload orchestrator
- Show HN: Sigtrap – log integrity checker in C, no dependencies
- Show HN: Dear ImGui Bundle: Python and C++ apps for desktop, mobile, and the web
Replaces these paid SaaS
Tinode Instant Messaging Server is one of the open-source alternatives to:
Ready to self-host Tinode Instant Messaging Server?
Spin up a hetzner CAX11 (4GB RAM, 40GB disk) for $4.13/mo and follow the project's official install docs.
Data last refreshed May 7, 2026.
Similar open-source projects
Projects in our directory that replace the same SaaS or share topics with Tinode Instant Messaging Server.