I'm already self-hosting a XMPP and a Matrix server, just in case. A shame that most of the group chats I've found there are about free software, assorted geekery, but not much of what I'd usually find on Discord - hopefully that changes in a few years.
(XMPP Setup Guide) Discord Was Never the End Game - TonyBTW
Submitted 3 weeks ago by ruffsl@programming.dev to selfhosted@lemmy.world
https://youtube.com/watch?v=XwMWUZYUTvM
Comments
csolisr@hub.azkware.net 3 weeks ago
Apollo2323@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Plant the first seed and create those groups.
csolisr@hub.azkware.net 3 weeks ago
Fair that! Only problem is, I don't have any acquaintances, but if I ever fix that, then maybe we can work on that.
poVoq@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
The XMPP channel search has a few channels that are not assorted geekery, but yeah most of it is.
Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Unlikely. They make for poor discord community replacements. There’s just too much complexity at the door.
Most things are looking towards fluxer as the replacement. Since it’s actually a discord replacement unlike xmpp or matrix. Which are alternatives not replacements.
csolisr@hub.azkware.net 2 weeks ago
I'm not sure about Fluxer specifically, but I've seen Zulip being deployed as a self-contained chat room for a few projects now. Also Stoat claims to be a Discord replacement. What does Fluxer offer in particular that the other two don't?
Konaber@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
I want something that works like Discord for my gaming group (~120 people) and is self-hostable with a single „docker-compose up -d“.
But I started looking regularly for alternatives, and we will get there :)
UnpledgedCatnapTipper@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
It’s not quite as simple as a single docker compose, but the Element Server Suite for hosting a matrix home server (synapse) was fairly simple to get working.
Kernal64@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
What was your secret to get it working? I’ve been trying to get it running for 2 weeks following the official guide. I’m able to create an admin user via the CLI, but when I try to go to any of the subdomains I’ve created, I either get a 404 or the TLS handshake fails to complete. The people behind ESS are very clear that they do not offer any support and I haven’t been able to find an answer to this problem anywhere.
somegeek@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
Nothing will ever be just “docker compose up” but checkout movim. I think it’s good. Haven’t used it myself yet.
YesButActuallyMaybe@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Mattemost? Rocketchat?
Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Closest your going to get is fluxer. It unfortunately only just entered open beta. So the self host option while there… Is not simple yet.
Tho it’s on the road map.
KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
My only resistance to leaving discord is that it’s where 99% of my gaming communities are. There’s no way I’m convincing hundreds of people to move off to something I self host, or to self host themselves. It’s just not feasible.
saejima@ani.social 1 week ago
With this kind of mentality, nobody will ever migrate and one will have to deal with Discord’s horrible terms and conditions
KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 week ago
The only alternative is to willingly leave over a hundred communities, some of which I have strong ties to, and never interact with the majority again.
That’s a big ask.
zatanas@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Yeah I have the same issue.
badgermurphy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You could self host it anyway and just wait for the slow boil over at Discord to make the case for you. Surely they have only just begun making it worse.
Decronym@lemmy.decronym.xyz 3 weeks ago
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters IP Internet Protocol TCP Transmission Control Protocol, most often over IP UDP User Datagram Protocol, for real-time communications XMPP Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (‘Jabber’) for open instant messaging
[Thread #120 for this comm, first seen 26th Feb 2026, 20:20] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
Barrymore@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Great bot
EpicFailGuy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What’s Lemmy’s opinion on Fluxer?
AHorseWithNoNeigh@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
I’ve seen this posted several times and this is the second time I’ve tried to access their self-hosting docs and get a 404. Where’s everyone going for installation instructions?
chortle_tortle@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
Googling I got their docs and a github for running through docker, the docs which are empty, and the docker that has the help of claude code.
I try to not poo poo folks working on projects too much, but like why am I here over XMPP or Matrix?
EpicFailGuy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s a new project (as far as I can tell it just went public a few weeks ago) they have exploded in popularity in the last week and they are amid migrating their backed hosting provider ATM, they have been having service interruptions for the last couple of days
chortle_tortle@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
I think generally more positive than negative, but hesitant. There are so many different competing apps and discord copies that have risen and fallen, it’s hard to really get attached to any that have little movement in fighting the network effect.
Seeing it already has the beginnings of enshitification with freemium features, while federation is “in development”, particularly in communities like lemmy the question become why pick this over something that already exists and is an open standard?
Like looking at the “plutonium” page, it’s clear they want to copy the features of discord nitro, and if we are to fight the network effect fight with the energy of discord’s recent fuck up, I would rather land on XMPP or Matrix, if I have any push.
totally_human_emdash_user@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
There are so many different competing apps and discord copies that have risen and fallen, it’s hard to really get attached to any that have little movement in fighting the network effect.
In other words, you are saying that there is too much discord in this space?
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
- Self-hosting guide appears missing
- Other guides have crazy writing errors
- Setup looks convoluted.
What I’ve seen makes me bet I could be dragging iso27002 out and marking all the rules it breaks. …and the devs won’t know what that means.
Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
They’re extremely new and open about what’s missing though. Their plans apparently got somewhat thrown all over the place by the sudden extreme interest and quite a few things aren’t yet in place (such as the self-hosting guide). Still works surprisingly well, and what they do goes into the right direction (no VC funding or investors, removal of the CLA, bound to GDPR, a full FOSS atack, etc).
penguin@lemmy.pixelpassport.studio 3 weeks ago
The sentiment I keep seeing is that it’s vibe coded, though the dev claims that AI was used but not in any core components. It’s one I’ll be waiting out personally, the whole huntarr situation has me pretty skeptical of any new projects
warmaster@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I love it and use it daily. Once it becomes stable, gets a docker container and documents the self-hosting flow, it will rule the universe.
EpicFailGuy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You’re not bothered by the plutonium stuff? Would you still defend it if the plutonium features were still there in the self hosted version?
non_burglar@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’ve tried it. It performs poorly.
u_tamtam@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
That there’s no shortage of wheels being reinvented, and that it takes insights developed over decades to be relevant in this field. To avoid.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
XMPP kinda sucks
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Yeah. It sucks that the protocol works and everyone can use it. It’s the worst.
Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
To be fair, it’s also inconvenient convoluted and confusing to non-technical users… So yeah it works and some people can use it and others need their handheld quite a bit to even get halfway.
The same problem matrix as. If you’re trying to talk about a discord alternative, you need to aim for the demographic. That is the bottom 50% of the bell curve. If your explanation needs to be longer than two to four sentences on how to use something, then it’s already too complicated and will never take off for the use case.
If you’re looking for a usable open standard that is reliable, xmpp is incredibly good. It’s just not a discord replacement. It’s a discord alternative sure. And a good one at that.
But again till the user experience problem can be solved. Like with most open source things they will never be average user friendly.
early_riser@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
XMPP doesn’t seem to be well supported in terms of Windows clients
u_tamtam@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
My parents in their 70’s are alright daily driving gajim there
L_Acacia@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
I like xmpp, but it is not a discord alternative. It is a WhatsApp / Signal / iMessage alternative. It doesn’t have 80% of discord features, I use discord a lot and I don’t have a single group chat.
Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
The ever continuing trend of foss enthusiasts having less then no fuckinf clue the FUCK normal people use computers for.
Xmpp is great but you are 100% right. It’s not a discord replacement. It never will be. It is court replacement and it is not trying to be a discord replacement. People need to stop trying to force it to be one. The same thing goes with matrix though to a lesser extent.
Matrix at least is trying to be a team’s replacement, which is a legitimate alternative to what discord does for the average user.
Matrix has a whole host of other problems that will make and never be a viable alternative. But none of them are technical in nature. It’s mostly just the fragmentation will nature of it. And how confusing it is to navigate.
At the moment the only two legitimate replacement options are stoat and fluxer. Stoat is a dead end and unluckly to go anywhere. While fluxer is only like 2 weeks into its open beta just released its code base to the public after a long-ass time of closed development. And barely has enough funding even with their Kickstarter thing. Fluxer has passed 100,000 user Mark already and growing.
It’s also the only thing that’s actually trying to be an app for your average user. It’s actually targeting the same demographic discord was.
Which matters a lot. Matrix xmpp all these other things aren’t targeting the same demographic. They are not trying to be a replacement. I mean, I’m sure they’re happy to scoop up some new users and help expand their reach a little bit who doesn’t want to see their project grow after all.
But all these people trying to push matrix xmpp and what not is like going to a construction site telling a worker. Hey, your pickup truck is old and s***** you should stop using it and go use this nice moped while they look at you. Like you’re a f****** retard as they have to lug around a ton and a half of materials and tools everyday in the moped. Why perfectly good means of conveyance will do the job better than the pickup truck as the purpose of a vehicle cannot fully fulfill the same role that the pickup truck fills.
mybuttnolie@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
i quite liked element as a replacement for whatsapp and discord when i got a few people to switch. just had too much stability issues at the time and they went back. will never get them to switch again…even with ads and age verification crap going on.
Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Element is still as buggy as ever, unfortunately…
The only realistic alternative I’ve found so far is Fluxer, and that one is still in Beta. Very promising though.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
The matrix protocol is a tremendous mess
chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
The main complaints about Matrix I’ve heard though are about behind the scenes stuff rather than features, which the video touches on:
Personally I don’t know that much about it but I briefly looked into what it would take to write a client for Matrix a few years ago and it seemed pretty daunting to work with. Maybe it would be possible to write software that implements more Discord features on top of XMPP to have something that works more smoothly.
ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Whether or not XMPP is a Signal or a Discord replacement is dependant on the client.
For a Discord replacement, there is the Movim XMPP client, which has group audio/video calls, screen sharing, supports for gifs and videos within the chat, and very soon Discord-like servers with rooms, after which the dev plans to work on drop-in voice chat rooms.
saejima@ani.social 1 week ago
XMPP is just the protocol, you can create a client which looks like any proprietary alternative like Discord (fluux tries to have the same look for example)
Movim is IMO the best alternative using XMPP and it’s being adding more and more features the last weeks stay tuned! see here
dreugeworst@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
which features are missing from xmpp that are necessary for most gamer groups? is it the protocol that is missing the support, or specific implementations? genuinely asking since I’d been considering setting up an xmpp server for my gaming groups
L_Acacia@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Do you use features like permissions, channels, threads, bots, … a lot ? Application using xmpp as a backend are great and can be all you need if you just want a simple voice/text chat with no additional features. There is no equivalent to most “server/community” features of discord in the xmpp protocol, and it is something that needs to be implemented at that level for it to work.