Tinode Instant Messaging Server

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 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

Read API documentation and FAQ. Read configuration instructions contained in the tinode.conf file.
For support, general questions, discussions post to https://groups.google.com/d/forum/tinode.
For bugs and feature requests open an issue.
Use https://tinode.co/contact for commercial inquiries.

Helping out

If you appreciate our work, please help spread the word! Sharing on Reddit, HN, and other communities helps more than you think.
Consider buying paid support: https://tinode.co/support.html
If you are a software developer, send us your pull requests with bug fixes and new features.
If you use the app and discover bugs or missing features, let us know by filing bug reports and feature requests. Vote for existing feature requests you find most valuable.
If you speak a language other than English, translate the apps into your language. You may also review and improve existing translations.
If you are a UI/UX expert, help us polish the app UI.
Use it: install it for your colleagues or friends at work or at home.

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

The sandbox server is reset (all data wiped) every night at 3:15am Pacific time. An error message 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.
Sandbox user Tino is a basic chatbot which responds with a random quote to any message.
As generally accepted, when you register a new account you are asked for an email address. The server will send an email with a verification code to that address and you can use it to validate the account. To make things easier for testing, the server will also accept 123456 as a verification code. Remove line "debug_response": "123456" from tinode.conf to disable this option.
The sandbox server is configured to use ACME TLS implementation with hard-coded requirement for SNI. If you are unable to connect then the most likely reason is your TLS client’s missing support for SNI. Use a different client.
The default web app loads a single minified javascript bundle and minified CSS. The un-minified version is also available at https://sandbox.tinode.co/index-dev.html
Docker images with the same demo are available.
You are welcome to test your client software against the sandbox, hack it, etc. No DDoS-ing though please.

Features

Supported

Multiple native platforms:
- Android (Java)
- iOS (Swift)
- Web (React.js)
- Scriptable command line (Python)
User features:
- One-on-one and group messaging.
- Video and voice calls. Voice messages.
- Channels with unlimited number of read-only subscribers.
- All chats are synchronized across all devices.
- Granular access control with permissions for various actions.
- User search/discovery.
- Rich formatting of messages markdown-style: *style* → style, with inline images, videos, file attachments.
- Forms and templated responses suitable for chatbots.
- Verified/staff/untrusted account markers.
- Leave notes to self, bookmark (save) messages.
- Message status notifications: message delivery to server; received and read notifications; typing notifications.
- Most recent message preview in contact list.
- Server-generated presence notifications for people, group chats.
- Forwarding and replying to messages.
- Editing sent messages.
- Pinned chats and messages.
- Customizable message backgrounds (wallpapers).
- Light/dark/system UI themes.
Administration:
- Granular access control with permissions for various actions.
- Support for custom authentication backends.
- Ability to block unwanted communication server-side.
- Anonymous users (important for use cases related to tech support over chat).
- Plugins to extend functionality, for example, to support moderation or chatbots.
- Scriptable command-line tool for server administration.
Performance, reliability and development:
- Sharded clustering with failover.
- Storage and out of band transfer of large objects like images or document files using local file system or Amazon S3 (other storage systems can be supported with media handlers).
- JSON or protobuf version 3 wire protocols.
- Bindings for various programming languages:
  - Javascript with no external dependencies.
  - Java with dependencies on Jackson, Java-Websocket, ICU4J. Suitable for Android but with no Android SDK dependencies.
  - Swift with no external dependencies.
  - C/C++, C#, Go, Python, PHP, Ruby and many other languages using gRPC.
- Choice of a database backend. Other databases can be added by writing adapters.
  - MySQL (and MariaDB, Percona as long as they remain SQL and wire protocol compatible)
  - PostgreSQL
  - MongoDB
  - RethinkDB. Support is deprecated and will be dropped in 2027 because RethinkDB is no longer being developed (unless its development resumes).

Planned

Federation.
Location and contacts sharing.
Previews of attached documents, links.
Recording video messages.
Video/audio broadcasting.
Group video/audio calls.
Attaching music/audio other than voice messages.
Different levels of message persistence (from strict persistence to “store until delivered” to purely ephemeral messaging).
Message encryption at rest.
End to end encryption with OTR for one-on-one messaging and undecided method for group messaging.
Full text search in messages.

Translations

All client software has support for internationalization. The following translations are provided:

Language	Server	Webapp	Android	iOS
English	✓	✓	✓	✓
Arabic		✓
Chinese simplified	✓	✓	✓	✓
Chinese traditional	✓	✓	✓	✓
French	✓	✓	✓
German		✓	✓
Hindi			✓
Italian		✓	✓	✓
Korean		✓	✓
Portuguese	✓		✓
Romanian		✓	✓
Russian	✓	✓	✓	✓
Spanish	✓	✓	✓	✓
Thai		✓
Ukrainian	✓	✓	✓	✓
Vietnamese	✓	✓

More translations are welcome. In addition to languages listed above, particularly interested in Bengali, Indonesian, Urdu, Japanese, Turkish, Persian.