Tinode
Instant messaging platform. Backend in Go. Clients: Swift iOS, Java Android, JS webapp, scriptable command line; chatbots.
Maintained, but at a slower pace than the leaders in its category.
Commit activity more than 33% of tracked projects; popularity more than 83%. How this is calculated.
Commits, last 11 months
| Stars | 14k |
|---|---|
| Latest release | v0.25.3 · 4 Jul 2026 |
| Repo updated | 27 Sept 2026 |
| Licence | GPL-3.0 |
| Built with | Go |
Is Tinode actively maintained?
Over the last 11 months the project absorbed 115 commits, of which 28 arrived in the most recent quarter — roughly 9 commits a month.
Activity is accelerating: the last quarter carried 600% more commits than the one before it.
The most recent tagged release, v0.25.3, is about 3 months old.
Tinode ranks #22 of 46 in Communication - Custom Communication Systems, placing it mid-table for maintenance activity.
What Tinode actually does
Tinode is a self-hosted instant messaging platform built with a Go backend. It provides official clients across Swift for iOS, Java for Android, a JavaScript web application, command-line scripts, and support for automated chatbots.
Best fit: Developers looking to deploy a custom, self-hosted chat system with multi-platform client support and chatbot integration.
Worth knowing: It operates in a crowded space dominated by widely adopted open-source chat alternatives, which may offer more extensive community documentation and integrations.
Deployment notes
As a Go application, it typically compiles into a single binary that benefits from a reverse proxy for TLS termination and a persistent database backend for message storage.
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