Own Your
Communication
Spokes is the simple, fully-featured self-hosted alternative to popular cloud chat apps. A powerful chat platform that runs entirely on your own infrastructure. Easy control and ownership of your data.
A feature rich solution for your group
Everything you expect from a modern chat platform, but with privacy.
Self-Hosted
Run Spokes on your own server. You can run today's version for free forever. Spokes is supported through paid license for updates.
Channel & DMs
Organize conversations into dedicated channels or securely message users directly in private DMs.
Voice & Video
Low-latency, high-quality audio and video channels. Hosted directly on your server, without any middleman.
Noise Cancellation
Built-in noise cancelling algorithms ensure crystal clear voice chat audio, even in noisy environments (Like your friend's intense mechanical keyboard...).
Photo Albums
Shared photo albums for private, organized picture sharing and preservation with your group.
Event Calendar
Built-in calendar for seamless event planning, tracking availability, and group coordination.
Mobile Apps
Free, native iOS and Android apps allow your group to easily connect and use your server.
GIF Support
Built-in GIF integration powered by Klippy makes it easy to express yourself in conversations.
Encrypted Notifications
Apple and Google deliver push notifications to the mobile apps for great reliability, but cannot read them because the content is encrypted.
Secure Channels
Enable optional encryption on specific channels to protect sensitive conversations from the server owner.
Single Container
Deploy the entire chat platform, voice server, database and every other feature using one single Docker container.
Full SSO Support
Server owners can choose between using the built-in identity provider (Casdoor) or use any openID compatible IDP they already have.
Self-Hosted & Private
Complete ownership of your data, stored entirely on your own server. You control who has access. Unlike more mainstream chat apps, there is no one analyzing your messages or using your conversations and pictures to train their AI model.
Text Channels & DMs
Organize conversations into dedicated channels or message users directly in private DMs. Spokes is designed to be the communication hub of your group.
Voice & Video Calls
Low-latency, high-quality audio and video channels powered by LiveKit. Drop in and out easily at any time.
Noise Cancellation
Built-in open-source noise cancelling algorithms ensure crystal clear voice chat audio, even in noisy environments. Background hums, typing keyboards, and dog barks are filtered out locally before transmission.
Photo Albums
Shared photo albums for private, organized picture sharing and preservation with your group. Never lose track of important memories in a busy chat feed again.
Event Calendar
Built-in calendar for seamless event planning, tracking availability, and group coordination. RSVP to game nights, movie watches, or important server meetings in one central location.
Native Mobile Apps
Free, native iOS and Android apps allow you to stay connected to your server on the go. Notifications that just work, no extra server setup required.
GIF Support
Built-in GIF integration powered by Klippy makes it easy to post the perfect reaction.
Encrypted Notifications
Spokes encrypts push notification payloads directly on your server before they are sent. These encrypted notifications pass through our relay to be sent to Apple or Google, who deliver them to your device. Finally, the Spokes app decrypts the payload locally to display your message.
Secure Channels
Enable optional encryption on any channel to protect sensitive conversations. Secure Chat locks your messages behind a user-provided password, keeping your data safe even from the prying eyes of an unscrupulous server owner.
Single Container Deploy
One of the core design pillars of Spokes is effortless installation and management for the server owner. To achieve this, Spokes bundles everything it needs into a single container. Instead of a complex database, it uses simple files and folders. This makes backups a breeze and keeps your data incredibly resilient to corruption.
Full SSO Support
Spokes can either be configured to use the built-in Casdoor identity provider or the server owner can choose to use their own external provider.
Is Spokes an alternative to Discord or Slack?
Yes and no. Spokes is designed to be a lightweight, private, and fully self-hosted alternative to popular cloud chat apps. However, we do not aim for 1-to-1 feature parity with enterprise giants like Discord or Slack.
Not sure if Spokes is right for you? Check out our comparison table of self-hosted Discord alternatives.
What we don't have
- Massive bot ecosystems
- 10,000-user server scaling
- Complex enterprise integrations
- Public social networking features
What we do have
- Absolute data privacy & ownership
- End-to-end encrypted push notifications
- Built-in voice and video channels
- Dead-simple single-container deployment
If you need a private space for your family, friends, or a small to medium-sized team, Spokes is built specifically for you.
Ready to own your data?
Get started today with a single Docker command and bring your friends, family or team together on a platform you completely control.
Try Spokes Today