{"slug": "snikket", "name": "Snikket", "category": "communication", "category_name": "Email and chat", "description": "", "recommenders": 10, "commenters": 12, "warners": 0, "score": 8.8, "rising": 0.38, "first": "2025-11-19", "latest": "2026-10-09", "why": "A jabber server costs essentially nothing to run. Highly recommend.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 10, "neutral": 3, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 1, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "A jabber server costs essentially nothing to run. Highly recommend.", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "snikket.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://snikket.org", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Snikket"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 800375876, "item_id": 50023492, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50023492", "by": "deniska", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "snikket, xmpp server with a whatsapp-esque mobile app, useful to talk to people who are behind the great Russian firewall", "excerpt": "It's not exactly a cheap VPS, it's a server with 376 gb of ram my dad bought on ebay, put on co-location, and I help to administer it, and can create some VMs on it. But some of the things I do on these VMs are in principle similar to what I would do a $5 vps: - irssi running in screen (irc client, yes, occasionally I still talk to people on there) - my very small imgur-inspired image hosting (https://github.com/deni", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP chat server", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 795184096, "item_id": 49699006, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49699006", "by": "spystath", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I think Snikket [0] is supposed to do that? They even offer a turnkey hosted version.", "excerpt": "I think Snikket [0] is supposed to do that? They even offer a turnkey hosted version. [0] https://snikket.org/start/", "context": "", "use_case": "Hosted XMPP chat server", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?"}, {"id": 790855969, "item_id": 49428498, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49428498", "by": "Semaphor", "date": "2026-08-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "barely any config needed", "excerpt": "> I've tried to stand up a server and the amount of configuration I had to do I run my own server for 2 people. Using Prosody [0] took some config but wasn\u2019t that hard. Easier than installing Arch, harder than installing Windows ;) Nowadays, there is also Snikket [1] by the Prosody maintainer, which is essentially an opinionated all-in-one configuration setup based on Prosody, barely any config needed. [0]: https://p", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence"}, {"id": 776302592, "item_id": 48518912, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48518912", "by": "PuercoPop", "date": "2026-06-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "https://snikket.org/ (XMPP) is more likely aligned with what you are looking for", "excerpt": "> but I want durable messages and a mobile client. And IRCv3 has chat history to provide that. But https://snikket.org/ (XMPP) is more likely aligned with what you are looking for", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Leaving Mozilla"}, {"id": 754501136, "item_id": 47156321, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47156321", "by": "0x5FC3", "date": "2026-02-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Last week I selfhosted Snikket: https://snikket.org, me and my partner use it to text.", "excerpt": "Last week I selfhosted Snikket: https://snikket.org, me and my partner use it to text. It has been smooth, everything works without issue: read receipts, audio/video calls, status.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging with partner", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Who Is Using XMPP?"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "xiaomai", "context": "self-hosting a family chat server", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46376620", "date": "2025-12-24"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["xmpp chat server", "hosted xmpp chat server", "messaging with partner", "self-hosted xmpp with invites", "self-hosted xmpp server", "xmpp hosting on own domain"], "compared": [{"slug": "monal", "name": "Monal", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "matrix", "name": "Matrix", "co": 2, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "prosody", "name": "Prosody", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "conversations", "name": "Conversations", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [{"id": 752599856, "item_id": 47037491, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037491", "by": "MattJ100", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we won't apply any Snikket branding until E2EE is complete", "excerpt": "Yeah, iOS is definitely a weaker spot and we're aware of it. Monal is currently working on an overhaul of their UI (they have a grant allocated for it: https://nlnet.nl/project/Monal-IM-UI/ ). There is also a new app in the works between Cheogram and Snikket. There is a beta available, but it's still young (and we won't apply any Snikket branding until E2EE is complete). Thanks for sharing your experience!", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running My Own XMPP Server"}], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47034801", "title": "Running My Own XMPP Server", "mentions": 5}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46949564", "title": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945663", "title": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49985548", "title": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49697643", "title": "Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421536", "title": "Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 2}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 800375876, "item_id": 50023492, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50023492", "by": "deniska", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "snikket, xmpp server with a whatsapp-esque mobile app, useful to talk to people who are behind the great Russian firewall", "excerpt": "It's not exactly a cheap VPS, it's a server with 376 gb of ram my dad bought on ebay, put on co-location, and I help to administer it, and can create some VMs on it. But some of the things I do on these VMs are in principle similar to what I would do a $5 vps: - irssi running in screen (irc client, yes, occasionally I still talk to people on there) - my very small imgur-inspired image hosting (https://github.com/deni", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP chat server", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 795184096, "item_id": 49699006, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49699006", "by": "spystath", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I think Snikket [0] is supposed to do that? They even offer a turnkey hosted version.", "excerpt": "I think Snikket [0] is supposed to do that? They even offer a turnkey hosted version. [0] https://snikket.org/start/", "context": "", "use_case": "Hosted XMPP chat server", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?"}, {"id": 790855969, "item_id": 49428498, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49428498", "by": "Semaphor", "date": "2026-08-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "barely any config needed", "excerpt": "> I've tried to stand up a server and the amount of configuration I had to do I run my own server for 2 people. Using Prosody [0] took some config but wasn\u2019t that hard. Easier than installing Arch, harder than installing Windows ;) Nowadays, there is also Snikket [1] by the Prosody maintainer, which is essentially an opinionated all-in-one configuration setup based on Prosody, barely any config needed. [0]: https://p", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: 25 Years of Digital Independence"}, {"id": 776302592, "item_id": 48518912, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48518912", "by": "PuercoPop", "date": "2026-06-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "https://snikket.org/ (XMPP) is more likely aligned with what you are looking for", "excerpt": "> but I want durable messages and a mobile client. And IRCv3 has chat history to provide that. But https://snikket.org/ (XMPP) is more likely aligned with what you are looking for", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Leaving Mozilla"}, {"id": 754501136, "item_id": 47156321, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47156321", "by": "0x5FC3", "date": "2026-02-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Last week I selfhosted Snikket: https://snikket.org, me and my partner use it to text.", "excerpt": "Last week I selfhosted Snikket: https://snikket.org, me and my partner use it to text. It has been smooth, everything works without issue: read receipts, audio/video calls, status.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging with partner", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Who Is Using XMPP?"}, {"id": 752627121, "item_id": 47039195, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47039195", "by": "Semaphor", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "my view now went from negative to very positive", "excerpt": "Ohh, wow. First off, thanks for prosody, been using it for several years, ever since I switched from my early 2000s jabber.org account to selfhosted. And yeah, I get what you are saying, I'm using it the same way you envision snikket, just for my wife and I. Considering how much time I spent on the initial setup, I can very much see wanting a preconfigured version. I guess the site was just too \"non technical\" and we", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running My Own XMPP Server"}, {"id": 752593297, "item_id": 47037081, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037081", "by": "MYEUHD", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "You're supposed to self-host it (or rent a hosted instance).", "excerpt": "You're supposed to self-host it (or rent a hosted instance). But rather than having open registration (or creating accounts beforehand and sending the credentials), you generate invites and send them to your contacts. The invites onboard the users to install the app. The Snikket client works with any XMPP server, and the Snikket server works with any XMPP client. The Snikket clients are soft forks of existing clients", "context": "", "use_case": "self-hosted XMPP with invites", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running My Own XMPP Server"}, {"id": 752581024, "item_id": 47036314, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47036314", "by": "MYEUHD", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Snikket ( https://snikket.org/ ) is an easier way to self-host an XMPP server", "excerpt": "Snikket ( https://snikket.org/ ) is an easier way to self-host an XMPP server. It's a pre-configured Prosody server in a docker image, and you can use it with any XMPP client you like. > I still use Signal for most day-to-day conversations and I\u2019m not planning to stop. You can run a Signal-XMPP gateway. See https://slidge.im/ This will allow you to use your Signal account from your XMPP client. Bridging audio / video", "context": "", "use_case": "self-hosted XMPP server", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running My Own XMPP Server"}, {"id": 752580352, "item_id": 47036272, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47036272", "by": "nicoco", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I know at least two services that offer hosting with your own domain", "excerpt": "I know at least two services that offer hosting with your own domain: https://my.snikket.org/ and https://account.conversations.im/domain/ so I suppose it is not that complex to setup.", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP hosting on own domain", "switched_from": "", "story": "Running My Own XMPP Server"}, {"id": 751371296, "item_id": 46960706, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46960706", "by": "MarsIronPI", "date": "2026-02-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "provides a branded server+mobile app ecosystem that should", "excerpt": "If you stick with mobile use, there is Snikket[0], which provides a branded server+mobile app ecosystem that should \"just work\". YMMV; I haven't tried it myself. [0]: https://snikket.org", "context": "", "use_case": "Chat server and mobile app", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 751350081, "item_id": 46959380, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46959380", "by": "nicoco", "date": "2026-02-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "are working on a new iOS client too", "excerpt": "I have had success getting apple-loving friends to use https://monal-im.org/ https://snikket.org/ are working on a new iOS client too (no release so far).", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord Alternatives, Ranked"}, {"id": 751268304, "item_id": 46954269, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46954269", "by": "zaik", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Any XMPP provider will give you a chat address that is compatible with Snikket", "excerpt": "Any XMPP provider will give you a chat address that is compatible with Snikket: https://providers.xmpp.net", "context": "", "use_case": "XMPP chat client", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}, {"id": 751260001, "item_id": 46953750, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46953750", "by": "tkel", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "a popular recent XMPP server", "excerpt": "Prosody is also the base of Snikket[1], a popular recent XMPP server. Snikket is basically just a Prosody config.[2] [1] https://snikket.org/service/quickstart/ [2] https://github.com/snikket-im/snikket-server/blob/master/ansible/files/prosody.cfg.lua", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Upcoming changes to Let's Encrypt and how they affect XMPP server operators"}, {"id": 751176992, "item_id": 46948562, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46948562", "by": "MYEUHD", "date": "2026-02-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Snikket (https://snikket.org ) with Monal as the iOS client", "excerpt": "Snikket (https://snikket.org ) with Monal as the iOS client", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}, {"id": 742025920, "item_id": 46376620, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46376620", "by": "xiaomai", "date": "2025-12-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "A jabber server costs essentially nothing to run. Highly recommend.", "excerpt": "Several years ago I was looking for something to use as a family chat server. Many of my friends/coworkers were using Slack/etc., but since my immediate family members didn't already have a preferred chat app, I was hoping to self-host something open-source. Matrix was under very active development at the time and I was pretty excited about the prospect of using it. Matrix didn't even have E2EE yet (I think it was un", "context": "self-hosting a family chat server", "use_case": "self-hosted family chat server", "switched_from": "Matrix", "story": "We Abandoned Matrix: The Dark Truth About User Security and Safety (2024)"}, {"id": 735837395, "item_id": 45989837, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989837", "by": "toastal", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I believe this is what the Snikket project is trying to be.", "excerpt": "> can run on such low resource hardware This is what frees a barrier to decentralization & actually owning one\u2019s data. A few of my friends are now running their own single-user or small XMPP servers since it doesn\u2019t use much in terms of resources or storage in comparison. > The server setup felt like i needed to study a bunch of different doc I believe this is what the Snikket project is trying to be. That said, XMPP", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Verifying your Matrix devices is becoming mandatory"}]}