Instant messaging platform. Backend in Go. Clients: Swift iOS, Java Android, JS webapp, scriptable command line; chatbots
Tinode Instant Messaging Server
Instant messaging server. Backend in pure Go (license GPL 3.0), client-side binding in Java, Javascript, and Swift, as well as gRPC client support for C++, C#, Go, Java, Node, PHP, Python, Ruby, Objective-C, etc. (license Apache 2.0). Wire transport is JSON over websocket (long polling is also available) for custom bindings, or protobuf with gRPC.
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.
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.
Why?
The promise of XMPP was to deliver federated instant messaging: anyone would be able to spin up an IM server capable of exchanging messages with any other XMPP server in the world. Unfortunately, XMPP never delivered on this promise. Instant messengers are still a bunch of incompatible walled gardens, similar to what AoL of the late 1990s was to the open Internet.
The goal of this project is to deliver on XMPP's original vision: create a modern open platform for federated instant messaging with an emphasis on mobile communication. A secondary goal is to create a decentralized IM platform that is much harder to track and block by the governments.
An explicit NON-goal: we are not building yet another Slack replacement.
Installing and running
See general instructions or docker-specific instructions.
Getting support
tinode.conf
file.Helping out
Public service
A public Tinode service is available. You can use it just like any other instant messenger. Keep in mind that demo accounts present in sandbox are not available in the public service. You must register an account using valid email in order to use the service.
Web
TinodeWeb, a single page web app, is available at https://web.tinode.co/ (source). See screenshots below.
Android
Tinode for Android a.k.a Tindroid is stable and functional (source). See the screenshots below. A debug APK is also provided for convenience.
iOS
Tinode for iOS a.k.a. Tinodios is stable and functional (source). See the screenshots below.
Demo/Sandbox
A sandboxed demo service is available at https://sandbox.tinode.co/.
Log in as one of alice
, bob
, carol
, dave
, frank
. Password is <login>123
, e.g. login for alice
is alice123
. You can discover other users by email or phone by prefixing them with email:
or tel:
respectively. Emails are <login>@example.com
, e.g. alice@example.com
, phones are +17025550001
through +17025550009
.
When you register a new account you are asked for an email address to send validation code to. For demo purposes you may use 123456
as a universal validation code. The code you get in the email is also valid.
Sandbox Notes
User not found or offline
means the server was reset while you were connected. If you see it on the web, reload and relogin. On Android log out and re-login. If the database was changed, delete the app then reinstall.Tino
is a basic chatbot which responds with a random quote to any message.123456
as a verification code. Remove line "debug_response": "123456"
from tinode.conf
to disable this option.Features Supported
Translations
All client software has support for internationalization. The following translations are provided:
Language Server Webapp Android iOS
English ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Chinese (simplified) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Chinese (traditional)
✓ ✓ ✓
French ✓ ✓ ✓
German
✓ ✓
Hindi
✓
Korean
✓ ✓
Portugese ✓
✓
Romanian
✓ ✓
Russian ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Spanish ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Ukrainian ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Vietnamese ✓
More translations are welcome. In addition to languages listed above, particularly interested in Arabic, Bengali, Indonesian, Urdu, Japanese, Turkish, Persian.
Third-Party Projects
Licenses
Screenshots Android
SEO Strings
Words 'chat' and 'instant messaging' in Chinese, Russian, Persian and a few other languages.
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