Stoat (formerly Revolt.chat) is a free, open-source, privacy-focused chat platform serving as a customizable alternative to Discord for communities, teams, and direct messaging.

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🚀 Overview

Stoat is a modern, user-first chat application that provides a Discord-like experience with text channels, community servers, voice calls, and private messaging, all while prioritizing privacy and open-source principles. Originally launched as Revolt.chat, it rebranded to Stoat due to a trademark issue (cease and desist), retaining the same team, app, and servers.

It solves problems like data tracking, ads, vendor lock-in, and lack of self-hosting in proprietary platforms like Discord or Slack. Stoat is built for community builders, developers, gamers, and privacy-conscious users who want full control, customization, and GDPR-compliant security without compromises.

The project was created to deliver a truly open, extensible chat platform that's free from corporate oversight, with self-hosting options for ultimate ownership.

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✨ Key Features

• Rich text channels supporting images, @mentions, embeds, reactions, and mass mentions, enabling engaging conversations
• Powerful community tools including servers, fine-grained roles/permissions, moderation, bots, and voice chat (v2)
• Customizable UI with themes, layouts, and appearance options to match your style
• Secure DMs, groups, file sharing with encryption, push notifications, and presence tracking
• Optional: Self-hosting, API access, and upcoming mobile apps (Android in development)

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🛠 Tech Stack

• Frontend: Solid.js with TypeScript (web), Electron + Vite + TypeScript (desktop)
• Backend: Rust (monorepo for API/delta, WS/bonfire, proxies/january/gifbox, files/autumn, daemons)
• Database: MongoDB, Redis
• Storage: S3/MinIO with encryption
• Queue: RabbitMQ
• Auth: Custom
• Hosting: Docker Compose for self-host, hosted service on stoat.chat

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👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

• Developers who want to self-host a customizable Discord alternative
• Teams looking for privacy-focused, ad-free collaboration without lock-in
• Indie makers building communities with bots, voice, and full control

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📸 Screenshots / Demo

• Live demo: https://stoat.chat/app
• GitHub: https://github.com/stoatchat/stoatchat

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🔥 Project Status

• 🟢 Actively building

Last updated: 2026-03-24

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❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Yes — fully free and open-source with a free hosted service at stoat.chat. No ads, trackers, or paywalls; made in Europe under GDPR.

Is the source code available?

Yes — https://github.com/stoatchat (backend: stoatchat/stoatchat, web: stoatchat/for-web, desktop: stoatchat/for-desktop)

Can I contribute?

Yes — report issues/PRs on GitHub repos, discuss features in https://github.com/stoatchat/discussions, follow guidelines at https://developers.stoat.chat/developing/contrib/.

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📬 Contact & Links

• Website: https://stoat.chat
• GitHub: https://github.com/stoatchat
• Twitter/X: N/A (mentions on X, active on Bluesky @stoat.chat)
• Email: N/A (use GitHub discussions)

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