Spacebar is an open-source, self-hostable platform designed to be a fully compatible alternative to Discord, offering chat, voice, and video capabilities with full control over your infrastructure. Built for users who value privacy, decentralization, and customization, it allows individuals and organizations to run their own communication servers without relying on third-party cloud services. Compatible with existing Discord clients and bots, Spacebar reduces migration friction while providing transparency through its AGPL-3.0 licensed codebase. It’s ideal for communities, enterprises, and developers seeking to avoid vendor lock-in while maintaining feature parity with Discord.
What You Get
- Discord-compatible client and server - Fully compatible with Discord clients, bots, and APIs; migrate existing integrations with minimal changes.
- Self-hostable server stack - Deploy your own instance using the Spacebar Server repository, controlling data residency and access policies.
- Configurable limits and features - Adjust rate limits, user permissions, channel settings, and server policies via configuration files.
- Decentralized architecture - No single point of failure; designed for resilience and community governance.
- Extendable plugin system - Add custom functionality via secure, cross-platform plugins without modifying core code.
- Themeable UI with design editor - Customize the client interface visually using an integrated theme editor, supporting both light and dark modes.
- Publicly audited security - Open-source code allows independent review, ensuring transparency and trust in data handling practices.
Common Use Cases
- Building a private community server - A gaming group or Discord community migrates from Discord to Spacebar to avoid API restrictions and retain full control over moderation tools and data.
- Enterprise internal communication - A company deploys Spacebar internally to replace Slack or Discord, ensuring all communications stay on-premises and comply with data sovereignty laws.
- Problem → Solution flow: Discord bans bots → Spacebar self-hosts them - A bot developer faces API rate limits or bans on Discord; by self-hosting Spacebar, they regain full control over bot behavior and API access.
- Team/workflow scenario: DevOps teams managing multi-region deployments - Teams running microservices across AWS, DigitalOcean, and bare metal use Spacebar to unify internal comms with consistent, auditable infrastructure.
Under The Hood
The SpacebarChat project is a minimalistic, open-source messaging platform designed with a focus on simplicity, extensibility, and community-driven deployment. It emphasizes clear documentation, configuration-based instance management, and a modular directory structure that supports customization without complex dependencies.
Architecture
This project adopts a straightforward architectural approach centered on organization and modularity.
- Simple directory structure separates documentation, branding, and configuration files
- Modular organization enables easy adaptation and deployment across different environments
- No complex patterns or runtime components are evident, indicating a conceptual or early-stage design
- Emphasis on instance-level customization allows for flexible user-specific setups
Tech Stack
Built with a minimal and portable tech stack aimed at ease of development and deployment.
- Relies on basic scripting and configuration formats such as JSON and Markdown
- Integrates GitHub Actions for automation and documentation workflows
- Uses standard development tools without heavy frameworks or dependencies
- Favors lightweight infrastructure that supports wide compatibility and portability
Code Quality
The project demonstrates basic code quality with limited automated testing and simple structure.
- Minimal test coverage reflects a lack of comprehensive automated validation
- Error handling is present but limited, with only surface-level patterns observed
- Code consistency is maintained through simple formatting and naming practices
- No significant technical debt or code complexity issues are identified
What Makes It Unique
SpacebarChat distinguishes itself through its community-first approach and flexible configuration model.
- Unique instance configuration system allows users to customize branding and settings with JSON files
- Extensible architecture supports integration with various client types and deployment methods
- Strong emphasis on open contribution and GitHub-based workflows sets it apart from traditional platforms
- Minimal reliance on external services makes it ideal for self-hosted or isolated environments