Alternatives to iamb
A terminal Matrix client with Vim keybindings, windows and tabs. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
iamb
A terminal Matrix client with Vim keybindings, windows and tabs.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as iamb.
gomuks
A Matrix chat client written in Go, with a web frontend and an optional server backend.
gomuks is a Go Matrix client with a mature web frontend and bouncer-style backend, while its terminal frontend is experimental with few features.
Element
The reference Matrix client: end-to-end encrypted chat on a network you can host yourself.
Element is the reference graphical Matrix client for desktop, web and mobile, with bridges, but uses much more memory than a terminal client.
Ement.el
A Matrix chat client that runs inside GNU Emacs.
Ement.el keeps Matrix chat keyboard-driven and text-focused inside GNU Emacs, trading Vim keybindings for Emacs buffers and keybindings.
FluffyChat
An open-source Matrix chat client with end-to-end encryption, spaces and optional UnifiedPush notifications.
FluffyChat is a graphical Matrix client for Linux, Android, iOS and web with encryption and spaces, replacing Vim keybindings with a simpler interface.
Nheko
Use Matrix messaging in a native desktop interface.
Nheko offers a native graphical Matrix desktop client with encryption and calling features, though its encryption implementation has not been audited.
Cinny
Chat on Matrix through a focused desktop client.
Cinny is an AGPL-3.0 Matrix desktop client built with Tauri for Windows, macOS and Linux, with a graphical interface instead of a terminal.
Fractal
A Matrix chat client for the GNOME desktop on Linux, written in Rust with GTK.
Fractal is a Rust and GTK Matrix client for GNOME, keeping the Rust base but replacing the terminal with a Linux-only graphical app.
NeoChat
A KDE chat client for the Matrix network, available for Linux and Windows.
NeoChat is a graphical KDE Matrix client for Linux and Windows, but it lacks threads and has incomplete end-to-end encryption support, both of which iamb supports.
Also worth comparing
These listings name iamb as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
SchildiChat
A family of Matrix messaging apps based on Element, with a more traditional messenger layout.
iamb is a terminal Matrix client with Vim keybindings, threads and encryption, with no graphical interface.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
WeeChat
An extensible terminal chat client with a full IRC plugin and scripting in eight languages.
Profanity
A console-based XMPP chat client written in C with OMEMO, OTR and PGP encryption.
Synapse
A self-hosted Matrix homeserver, written in Python and Rust and maintained by Element.
Tuwunel
A Matrix homeserver written in Rust, used instead of Synapse, and the successor to conduwuit.
