Chitchatter is a secure, serverless peer-to-peer chat app that enables decentralized, ephemeral conversations with end-to-end encryption.

---

🚀 Overview

Chitchatter is a free, open-source web app for private, secure chatting that runs entirely in the browser without any central servers. Using WebRTC, it connects users directly for messaging, voice/video calls, screen sharing, and file transfers—all end-to-end encrypted and ephemeral, meaning no message history is stored anywhere.

It solves the problem of centralized chat services that track users, store data indefinitely, and pose privacy risks. Instead, Chitchatter is fully decentralized, anonymous by default, and leaves no trace after participants disconnect.

Built for privacy-conscious individuals, teams needing quick secure chats, and developers wanting to embed chat functionality effortlessly.

• What problem does this project solve? Traditional messaging apps rely on servers that log conversations and metadata; Chitchatter eliminates intermediaries for true privacy.
• Who is it built for? Anyone seeking simple, secure P2P communication—privacy advocates, indie devs, ephemeral group chats.
• Why did you build it? To create the simplest tool for private connections without trusting big tech servers, as envisioned by creator Jeremy Kahn.

---

✨ Key Features

• End-to-end encrypted P2P messaging, audio/video chat, screen sharing, and unlimited file sharing in multi-user rooms
• Public/private rooms, direct messaging, conversation backfill, and multiline Markdown support with syntax highlighting
• Embeddable web component (<chat-room />) for adding chat to any website with one line of code
• Dark/light themes, automatic peer verification, no accounts or persistence—fully ephemeral
• Optional: upcoming community features via PRs

---

🛠 Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Vite, TypeScript, MUI
• Backend: None (serverless); optional Node.js simple API for TURN/STUN
• Networking: Trystero (WebRTC mesh), WebTorrent trackers
• File transfer: secure-file-transfer, StreamSaver.js
• Auth: None (anonymous usernames)
• Hosting: Static hosting like Vercel, GitHub Pages, or self-hosted

---

👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

• Privacy enthusiasts who want encrypted, serverless chats without data retention
• Developers who want to embed anonymous chat rooms in apps or sites
• Teams looking for decentralized tools for quick, ephemeral collaboration

---

📸 Screenshots / Demo

• Live demo: https://chitchatter.im
• GitHub: https://github.com/jeremyckahn/chitchatter

---

🔥 Project Status

• 🟡 Maintained

Last updated: 2026-03-24

---

❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Yes / Open Source (Fully free as in price and freedom under GPL-2.0 license.)

---

Is the source code available?

Yes — https://github.com/jeremyckahn/chitchatter

---

Can I contribute?

Yes—file GitHub issues for bugs or features, submit PRs, or fund requests via sponsorships. Community contributions welcome in maintenance mode.

---

📬 Contact & Links

• Website: https://chitchatter.im
• GitHub: https://github.com/jeremyckahn/chitchatter
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/jckahn (HN handle)
• Email: N/A

---

Built with ❤️ and kept warm on WarmIndex.