Logo
Deploy Now

SaaS Alternative

Discord Slack Microsoft Teams

Categories

Self-Hosted Collaboration Communication Messaging Team Chat Video Conferencing Plugin System

Stars

3,614

Forks

396

Watchers

24

Developer links

Last Updated: 08-24-2026 10:14 AM (UTC)

Tailchat

Think of it as a team messaging platform where every feature beyond core chat is a plugin you can install or remove, inspired by VS Code's extension model but applied to real-time communication. The Moleculer microservice backend scales horizontally across nodes while Socket.io delivers instant message synchronization with text, images, files, mentions, reactions, and rich Markdown formatting. Available plugins provide LiveKit video conferencing, collaborative drawing boards, task management panels, end-to-end encryption, custom themes, and third-party push notification reception without touching core code. Groups use a two-level space system with customizable panel layouts arranged through drag-and-drop, while role-based access control enforces fine-grained permissions across the organization. The Open Platform exposes OAuth for single sign-on across connected applications and a Bot API enabling bidirectional message processing between Tailchat and external services via HTTP requests. Multi-platform clients cover web, Electron desktop with screenshot capabilities, and mobile apps with native push. Docker Compose deployment bundles MongoDB for persistence, Redis for caching and transport, and MinIO for S3-compatible file storage. Deploy on RepoCloud with a dedicated VPS for persistent team infrastructure under the Apache 2.0 license.

Tailchat
Tailchat
Tailchat
Tailchat
Tailchat

Benefits

  • Extensible Plugin Architecture
  • Install plugins for video conferencing, end-to-end encryption, drawing boards, task management, and custom themes without modifying core source code or restarting services.
  • Microservice Horizontal Scaling
  • Moleculer-based backend distributes services across multiple nodes with automatic discovery and load balancing, supporting thousands of concurrent connections per cluster.
  • Unified Open Platform Integration
  • OAuth provider and Bot API enable bidirectional data exchange between Tailchat and external applications through simple HTTP webhook requests and token-based authentication.
  • Privacy-First Group Management
  • Invitation-only group access, friend requests requiring nickname plus random identifier, and optional end-to-end encryption plugin protect conversations from unauthorized access.

Features

  • Real-Time Messaging
  • Socket.io delivers instant message synchronization supporting text, images, files, mentions, reactions, and Markdown with XSS-safe rendering via rehype-sanitize.
  • LiveKit Video Conferencing
  • Built-in LiveKit plugin provides audio and video calls with member panels, automatic invitation for group sessions, and mobile camera access.
  • Drag-and-Drop Group Panels
  • Two-level group spaces allow custom panel arrangements with topic channels, embedded web pages, and plugin-provided widgets organized via drag-and-drop layout.
  • Bot and Webhook API
  • Open Platform Bot API receives external messages and forwards internal chat requests to connected services for processing with interactive response capabilities.
  • Multi-Platform Clients
  • Web application, Electron desktop client with screenshot capture, and mobile apps with native push notifications cover all major operating systems.