Your server. Your rules. No cloud. No accounts with Big Tech. No one reading your messages.
Haven is a private chat server you run on your own computer. Think Discord, but:
- You own everything — messages, data, the server itself
- Nothing leaves your machine — no cloud, no telemetry, no analytics
- No account with anyone — no email, no phone number, no verification
- Free forever — no subscriptions, no Nitro, no ads
You launch it, your friends connect to your IP address, and you have a private group chat with voice, images, themes, and games. That's it.
| Category | What You Get |
|---|---|
| Chat | Real-time messaging, image uploads (paste/drag/drop), typing indicators, message editing, replies, emoji reactions, @mentions with autocomplete, message pinning (admin) |
| Voice | Peer-to-peer audio chat, per-user volume sliders, mute/deafen, join/leave audio cues, talking indicators |
| Screen Share | Multi-stream screen sharing with tiled grid layout, per-user video tiles, one-click close |
| Formatting | Bold, italic, code, ||spoilers||, auto-linked URLs, fenced code blocks with language labels, blockquotes |
| Link Previews | Automatic OG metadata previews for shared URLs with title, description, and thumbnail |
| GIF Search | GIPHY-powered GIF picker — search and send GIFs inline (admin-configurable API key) |
| Direct Messages | Private 1-on-1 conversations — click 💬 on any user in the member list |
| User Status | Online, Away, Do Not Disturb, Invisible — with custom status text and auto-away after 5 min idle |
| Channel Topics | Admin-settable topic line below the channel header — click to edit |
| File Sharing | Upload and share PDFs, documents, audio, video, archives (up to 25 MB) with inline players |
| Persistent Unread | Server-tracked read state — unread badges survive page refreshes and reconnects |
| Slash Commands | /shrug, /tableflip, /roll 2d20, /flip, /me, /spoiler, /tts, and more — type / to see them all |
| Search | Search messages in any channel with Ctrl+F |
| Themes | 12 built-in themes: Haven, Discord, Matrix, Tron, HALO, LoTR, Cyberpunk, Nord, Dracula, Bloodborne, Ice, Abyss |
| Multi-Server | Add friends' Haven servers to your sidebar with live online/offline status |
| Notifications | 5 notification sounds, per-channel volume controls |
| Moderation | Admin: kick, mute (timed), ban, delete users, delete channels, auto-cleanup |
| Security | Bcrypt passwords, JWT auth, HTTPS/SSL, rate limiting, CSP headers, input validation |
| Game | Shippy Container — Drew's shipment got hung up. Server-wide leaderboard. |
Download and install from nodejs.org (LTS version). Restart your PC after installing.
Download this repository and unzip it anywhere. Desktop is fine.
Double-click Start Haven.bat
A terminal window opens. When you see HAVEN is running, it's ready.
Your browser should open automatically. If not, go to:
https://localhost:3000
You'll see a certificate warning — that's normal. Click Advanced → Proceed. Haven uses a self-signed certificate for encryption.
- Click Register
- Use the username
admin(or whatever you set in your data directory's.env) - Pick a password
- You're now the admin — you can create channels
- Type a channel name in the sidebar and click Create
- A channel code appears (8 characters like
a3f8b2c1) - Send this code + your IP address to your friends
- They go to
https://YOUR_IP:3000, register, and enter the code
chmod +x start.sh
./start.shThe script handles everything: checks Node.js, installs dependencies, generates SSL certs, and launches.
Or manually:
npm install
node server.jsIf your friends aren't on your WiFi, you need to open a port on your router.
Go to whatismyip.com. That's the address your friends will use.
- Log into your router (usually
http://192.168.1.1orhttp://10.0.0.1) - Find Port Forwarding (sometimes called NAT or Virtual Servers)
- Forward port 3000 (TCP) to your PC's local IP
- Save
Find your local IP: Open Command Prompt → type
ipconfig→ look for IPv4 Address (e.g.192.168.1.50)
Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Haven Chat" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 3000 -Protocol TCP -Action AllowSend them:
https://YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:3000
Tell them to click Advanced → Proceed on the certificate warning. It's normal.
Settings are in the .env file, stored in your data directory (created automatically on first launch):
| OS | Data Directory |
|---|---|
| Windows | %APPDATA%\Haven\ |
| Linux / macOS | ~/.haven/ |
| Setting | Default | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
PORT |
3000 |
Server port |
SERVER_NAME |
Haven |
Your server's display name |
ADMIN_USERNAME |
admin |
Register with this name to get admin powers |
JWT_SECRET |
(auto-generated) | Security key — don't share or edit this |
SSL_CERT_PATH |
(auto-detected) | Path to SSL certificate |
SSL_KEY_PATH |
(auto-detected) | Path to SSL private key |
HAVEN_DATA_DIR |
(see above) | Override the data directory location |
After editing .env, restart the server.
Type / in the message box to see the full list. Here are some highlights:
| Command | What It Does |
|---|---|
/shrug |
¯\(ツ)/¯ |
/tableflip |
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ |
/unflip |
┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ) |
/roll 2d20 |
Roll dice (any NdN format) |
/flip |
Flip a coin |
/me does something |
Italic action text |
/spoiler secret text |
Hidden spoiler text |
/tts hello |
Text-to-speech |
/nick NewName |
Change your username |
/clear |
Clear your chat view |
/bbs |
"Will be back soon" |
/afk |
"Away from keyboard" |
12 themes, switchable from the sidebar:
Haven · Discord · Matrix · Tron · HALO · Lord of the Rings · Cyberpunk · Nord · Dracula · Bloodborne · Ice · Abyss
Your theme choice persists across sessions.
- Join a text channel
- Click 🎤 Join Voice
- Allow microphone access
- Adjust anyone's volume with their slider
- Click 📞 Leave when done
Voice is peer-to-peer — audio goes directly between users, not through the server. Requires HTTPS.
- Join / leave cues — synthesized audio tones when users enter or leave voice.
- Talking indicators — usernames glow green when speaking (300 ms hysteresis for smooth animation).
- Screen sharing — click 🖥️ Share Screen to broadcast your display. Multiple users can share simultaneously in a tiled grid.
If you registered with the admin username, you can:
- Create / delete channels
- Kick users — disconnects them (they can rejoin)
- Mute users — timed mute (can't send messages)
- Ban users — permanent ban (can't connect)
- Delete users — remove banned accounts (frees up their username)
- Auto-cleanup — configure automatic deletion of old messages (Settings → Admin)
- Server settings — EULA, max message age, DB size limits
Access admin controls in the Settings panel (⚙️ gear icon in the sidebar).
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| "SSL_ERROR_RX_RECORD_TOO_LONG" | Your browser is using https:// but the server is running HTTP. Change the URL to http://localhost:3000, or install OpenSSL and restart to enable HTTPS (see below). |
| "Node.js is not installed" | Install from nodejs.org. Restart PC. |
| Browser shows blank page | Clear cache or try incognito/private window |
| Friends can't connect | Check port forwarding + firewall. Make sure server is running. |
| "Error: EADDRINUSE" | Another app is using port 3000. Change PORT in .env. |
| Voice chat echoes | Use headphones |
| Voice doesn't work remotely | Must use https://, not http:// |
| Certificate error in browser | Normal — click Advanced → Proceed |
Haven automatically generates self-signed SSL certificates on first launch — but only if OpenSSL is installed on your system.
How to tell which mode you're in: Look at the startup banner in the terminal window. If the URL shows http:// — you're on HTTP. If it shows https:// — you're on HTTPS.
If Haven falls back to HTTP (no OpenSSL, or cert generation failed):
- Everything works fine for local use — just use
http://localhost:3000 - Voice chat will only work on localhost, not for remote friends
- To enable HTTPS:
- Install OpenSSL: slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html (the "Light" version)
- During install, choose "Copy OpenSSL DLLs to the Windows system directory"
- Restart your PC
- Delete
%APPDATA%\Haven\certsand re-launchStart Haven.bat
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Enter |
Send message |
Shift+Enter |
New line |
Ctrl+F |
Search messages |
Escape |
Close search / modals |
@ |
@mention autocomplete |
/ |
Slash command autocomplete |
↑ ↓ |
Navigate autocomplete |
Tab |
Select autocomplete suggestion |
All your data lives in a dedicated directory outside the Haven code folder:
| OS | Location |
|---|---|
| Windows | %APPDATA%\Haven\ |
| Linux / macOS | ~/.haven/ |
Inside you'll find:
haven.db— all messages, users, and channels.env— your configurationcerts/— SSL certificatesuploads/— uploaded images
Copy the entire folder somewhere safe to back up everything. The Haven code directory contains no personal data.
Haven has a built-in GIF picker powered by GIPHY. To enable it you need a free API key.
- Go to developers.giphy.com
- Sign up for an account (or sign in)
- Click Create an App
- Choose API (not SDK)
- Give it any name (e.g. "Haven Chat") and a short description
- Copy the API Key shown on the next page
- Log into Haven as your admin account
- Click the GIF button (🎞️) in the message input area
- You'll see a setup prompt — paste your API key and save
- The key is stored server-side in the database — only admins can see or change it
That's it. All users can now search and send GIFs.
Free tier: GIPHY's free tier allows plenty of requests for a private chat server — you'll never come close to the limit.
Planned features — roughly in priority order:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Webhook / Bot support | Incoming webhooks and a lightweight bot API so external services can post messages and respond to events. |
| Permission levels | Role-based access (Admin → Moderator → Member → Guest) with granular per-channel overrides. |
| Thread replies | Threaded conversations that branch off a message without cluttering the main chat. |
| File sharing improvements | Drag-and-drop multi-file uploads, file previews, and a searchable file history per channel. |
| End-to-end encryption (E2EE) | Optional per-channel E2EE using client-managed keys for maximum privacy. |
Want something else? Open an issue — PRs are always welcome.
MIT-NC — free to use, modify, and share. Not for resale. See LICENSE.
Original project: github.com/ancsemi/Haven
⬡ Haven — Because your conversations are yours.
