Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#1

Post by nobodyCloak » Tue, Jun 21, 2022, 11:19 PM UTC

The idea of ceding total control over internal messaging to an external entity (especially for a startup or small company) has always gotten to me, but I’ve recently considered the possibility of using a self-hosted, open-source alternative to Slack. From what I’ve found in research, Rocket.chat seems like a good choice and relatively “easy” to set up. Do you use any self-hosting or open-source options? What’s your experience been like?

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#2

Post by throwaway888abc » Tue, Jun 21, 2022, 11:45 PM UTC

There are various discussions here on HN about this. Use search and product name (busy now).

https://mattermost.com/

https://zulip.com/

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#3

Post by pigeons » Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 1:24 AM UTC

ejabberd

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#4

Post by sergiotapia » Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 1:57 AM UTC

zulip

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#5

Post by dennajort » Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 2:04 AM UTC

Never really tried but there is also https://element.io/enterprise-collaboration

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#6

Post by badcoder72684 » Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 2:09 AM UTC

Matrix and it's various clients like RIOT.

Still not amazing, clunky to setup

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#7

Post by aussiedude » Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 3:08 AM UTC

What's wrong with just using the chat app with your productivity suite? Example Google Chat for Workspace and Teams for 365?

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#8

Post by bitlax » Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 3:27 AM UTC

https://rocket.chat/

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#9

Post by denysvitali » Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 4:58 AM UTC

aussiedude wrote: post #7

What's wrong with just using the chat app with your productivity suite? Example Google Chat for Workspace and Teams for 365?

Teams... Lol.

If you're typing such a phrase you have probably never used Teams. It's one of the worst piece of software out there.

Re: Ask HN: Best open-source alternative to Slack?

#10

Post by bzmrgonz » Wed, Jun 22, 2022, 6:26 AM UTC

dennajort wrote: post #5

Never really tried but there is also https://element.io/enterprise-collaboration

Essentially [MATRIX]. element is a client app that connects to a MATRIX home-server (a parallel is drawn to email. Matrix would be your MTA, and element would be your thunderbird or OUTLOOK.) Matrix is amazing because you can roll out your own, it's federated and end to end encrypted. Also, they are fighting the good fight, to liberate us from vendor lock-in (whatsapp, messenger, skype etc). Europe has made major strides in this direction. Some big vendors have seen the light and are already begin to align themselves with the MATRIX project.. read here.... https://matrix.org/blog/2022/05/30/welcoming-rocket-chat-to-...