Tinode Instant Messaging Server

Instant messaging server. Backend in pure Go (license GPL 3.0), client-side binding in Java, Javascript, and Swift, as well as gRPC client support for C++, C#, Go, Java, Node, PHP, Python, Ruby, Objective-C, etc. (license Apache 2.0). Wire transport is JSON over websocket (long polling is also available) for custom bindings, or protobuf with gRPC. Persistent storage RethinkDB, MySQL and MongoDB (experimental). A third-party unsupported DynamoDB adapter also exists. Other databases can be supported by writing custom adapters.

Tinode is not XMPP/Jabber. It is not compatible with XMPP. It's meant as a replacement for XMPP. On the surface, it's a lot like open source WhatsApp or Telegram.

Version 0.16. This is beta-quality software: feature-complete but probably with a few bugs. Follow instructions to install and run or use one of the cloud services below. Read API documentation.

Why?

The promise of XMPP was to deliver federated instant messaging: anyone would be able to spin up an IM server capable of exchanging messages with any other XMPP server in the world. Unfortunately, XMPP never delivered on this promise. Instant messengers are still a bunch of incompatible walled gardens, similar to what AoL of the late 1990s was to the open Internet.

The goal of this project is to deliver on XMPP's original vision: create a modern open platform for federated instant messaging with an emphasis on mobile communication. A secondary goal is to create a decentralized IM platform that is much harder to track and block by the governments.

Installing and running

See general instructions or docker-specific instructions.

Getting support

• Read API documentation and FAQ.
• For support, general questions, discussions post to https://groups.google.com/d/forum/tinode.
• For bugs and feature requests open an issue.

Public service

A public Tinode service is now available. You can use it just like any other instant messenger. Keep in mind that demo accounts present in sandbox are not available in the public service. You must register an account using valid email in order to use the service.

Web

TinodeWeb, a single page web app, is available at https://web.tinode.co/ (source). See screenshots below. Currently available in English, Simplified Chinese, Russian. More translations are welcome.

Android

Tinode for Android a.k.a Tindroid is stable and functional (source). See the screenshots below. A debug APK is also provided for convenience. Currently available in English, Simplified Chinese, Russian. More translations are welcome.

iOS

Tinode for iOS a.k.a. Tinodios is stable and functional (source). See the screenshots below. Currently available in English, Simplified Chinese. More translations are welcome.

Demo/Sandbox

A sandboxed demo service is available at https://sandbox.tinode.co/.

Log in as one of alice, bob, carol, dave, frank. Password is <login>123, e.g. login for alice is alice123. You can discover other users by email or phone by prefixing them with email: or tel: respectively. Emails are <login>@example.com, e.g. alice@example.com, phones are +17025550001 through +17025550009.

When you register a new account you are asked for an email address to send validation code to. For demo purposes you may use 123456 as a universal validation code. The code you get in the email is also valid.

Sandbox Notes

• The sandbox server is reset (all data wiped) every night at 3:15am Pacific time. An error message User not found or offline means the server was reset while you were connected. If you see it on the web, reload and relogin. On Android log out and re-login. If the database was changed, delete the app then reinstall.
• Sandbox user Tino is a basic chatbot which responds with a random quote to any message.
• As generally accepted, when you register a new account you are asked for an email address. The server will send an email with a verification code to that address and you can use it to validate the account. To make things easier for testing, the server will also accept 123456 as a verification code. Remove line "debug_response": "123456" from tinode.conf to disable this option.
• The sandbox server is configured to use ACME TLS implementation with hard-coded requirement for SNI. If you are unable to connect then the most likely reason is your TLS client's missing support for SNI. Use a different client.
• The default web app loads a single minified javascript bundle and minified CSS. The un-minified version is also available at https://sandbox.tinode.co/index-dev.html
• Docker images with the same demo are available.
• You are welcome to test your client software against the sandbox, hack it, etc. No DDoS-ing though please.

Features

Supported

• Android, iOS, web, and command line clients.
• One-on-one messaging.
• Group messaging with every member's access permissions managed individually. The maximum number of members is configurable (128 by default).
• Topic access control with permissions for various actions.
• Server-generated presence notifications for people, topics.
• Support for custom authentication backends.
• Sharded clustering with failover.
• Persistent message store, paginated message history.
• Javascript bindings with no external dependencies.
• Java bindings (dependencies: Jackson, Java-Websocket). Suitable for Android but with no Android SDK dependencies.
• Websocket, long polling, and gRPC over TCP transports.
• JSON or protobuf version 3 wire protocols.
• TLS with Letsencrypt or conventional certificates.
• User search/discovery.
• Rich formatting of messages, markdown-style: *style* → style.
• Inline images and file attachments.
• Forms and templated responses suitable for chatbots.
• Message status notifications: message delivery to server; received and read notifications; typing notifications.
• Support for client-side data caching.
• Ability to block unwanted communication server-side.
• Anonymous users (important for use cases related to tech support over chat).
• Push notifications using FCM.
• Storage and out of band transfer of large objects like video files using local file system or Amazon S3.
• Plugins to extend functionality, for example to enable chatbots.

Planned

• Federation.
• End to end encryption with OTR for one-on-one messaging and undecided method for group messaging.
• Group messaging with an unlimited number (or hundreds of thousands) of members with bearer token access control.
• Hot standby.
• Different levels of message persistence (from strict persistence to "store until delivered" to purely ephemeral messaging).

Translations

All client software has support for internationalization. Translations are provided for English, Simplified Chinese, Russian (except iOS). More translations are welcome. Particularly interested in Spanish, Arabic, German, Persian, Indonesian, Portuguese, Hindi, Bengali.

Third-Party Licenses

• Demo avatars and some other graphics are from https://www.pexels.com/ under CC0 license.
• Web and Android background patterns are from http://subtlepatterns.com/ under CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
• Android icons are from https://material.io/tools/icons/ under Apache 2.0 license.
• Some iOS icons are from https://icons8.com/ under CC BY-ND 3.0 license.

Screenshots

Android

iOS

Desktop Web

Mobile Web

SEO Strings

Words 'chat' and 'instant messaging' in Chinese, Russian, Persian and a few other languages.

• 聊天室 即時通訊
• чат мессенджер
• インスタントメッセージ
• 인스턴트 메신저
• پیام‌رسانی فوری گپ
• تراسل فوري
• Nhắn tin tức thời
• anlık mesajlaşma sohbet
• mensageiro instantâneo
• pesan instan
• mensajería instantánea