Prosody
A lightweight open-source XMPP chat server written in Lua that you run yourself.
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About Prosody
Prosody is an XMPP communication server that aims to be easy to set up and efficient with system resources. It suits a company, an organisation, or a group of family and friends who want to run their own chat service. Any XMPP client on desktop or mobile can connect to it.
A Prosody server can federate with other XMPP servers to form an open network. For developers it is written in Lua and designed to be extended with new functionality. Releases continue, with 13.0.6 published in May 2026.
Strengths
- Simple setup and low resource use
- Federates with other XMPP servers
- Extensible in Lua
- Regular maintained releases
Limitations
- Requires a server and some administration
- Users need a separate XMPP client
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source under the MIT licence.
- License
- MIT
- Developer
- The Prosody contributors
- Platforms
- Self-hosted
- How it runs
- Self-hosted
- Best suited for
- Running a private chat server for a family, group or organisation
- Categories
- Messaging
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to Prosody
Compare allSoftware that can replace Prosody for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
ejabberd
An open-source XMPP server, MQTT broker and SIP service written in Erlang.
ejabberd is an Erlang XMPP server that also provides MQTT and SIP and scales to millions of sessions, but it is more complex to run.
Openfire
An open-source XMPP chat server you host yourself, administered through a web console.
Openfire is an Apache-licensed XMPP server administered through a web console and extended with plugins, rather than configured and extended in Lua.
Snikket
A self-hosted XMPP messaging service with apps, built for families, friends and small groups.
Snikket packages a self-hosted XMPP service with its own apps and invitation-only instances, aimed at families and small groups.
Synapse
A self-hosted Matrix homeserver, written in Python and Rust and maintained by Element.
Synapse switches the protocol to Matrix, running the reference homeserver maintained by Element, which works with any Matrix client.
Conduit
A lightweight Matrix homeserver written in Rust, shipped as a single binary with an embedded database.
Conduit switches to Matrix with a lightweight Rust homeserver in a single binary, though it is still in beta.
Prosody as an alternative
Listings that name Prosody as an alternative.
Tinode
An open-source instant messaging platform with a Go server you can host yourself and mobile and web clients.
Prosody is a lightweight MIT-licensed XMPP server written in Lua that federates with other servers, though users need a separate XMPP client.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Conversations
Android XMPP client with OMEMO end-to-end encryption.
Gajim
A desktop chat client for the XMPP network with end-to-end encryption, group chats and file sharing.
Dino
Modern desktop XMPP client with OMEMO encryption and calls.
Monal
An open-source XMPP chat client for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Movim
A self-hostable web client for XMPP that combines chat, group rooms, news feeds and video calls.
Disroot
Donation-funded platform offering free email, cloud storage, XMPP chat and other privacy-focused online services.
