What is NeonModem used for?

NeonModem is a terminal client in Go that reads and posts to Discourse, Lemmy, Lobsters, Hacker News and Hyperuplink forums from one BBS-style interface. It is a good fit for reading Hacker News and Lemmy from the terminal, and following several communities in one place.

Is NeonModem open source?

Yes. NeonModem is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at mrusme/neonmodem and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. NeonModem is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.

Can I self-host NeonModem?

Yes. NeonModem can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is NeonModem an alternative to?

NeonModem is an open-source alternative to Tapatalk.

Is NeonModem actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to NeonModem was on 21 July 2026, and the latest release is v1.1.0, published on 20 July 2026. The project has 696 stars on GitHub.

NeonModem: open-source alternative to Tapatalk

About NeonModem

Neon Modem Overdrive is a command-line client with a bulletin-board-system look that brings several online discussion platforms into one terminal interface. It supports Hyperuplink, Discourse, Lemmy, Lobsters and Hacker News as backends, so you can follow communities from different services without opening a browser. It is aimed at people who prefer working in the terminal.

The README includes a support table showing which operations work with each backend: listing forums, posts and replies for all of them, and creating posts and replies where the platform allows it, with fewer write operations for Lobsters and Hacker News. The interface is built in Go on Charm's Bubble Tea framework and adds its own window manager that stacks dialogs on top of each other for a smoother experience.

Neon Modem is a client, so it needs accounts on the services you want to read or post to. The repository metadata lists the license as Other, so review the license file before redistributing. Its topics also include API client and command-line tool, reflecting its use as a unified front end for several forum APIs.

Key features

One terminal interface for five forum platforms
Lists forums, posts and replies
Create posts and replies on supported backends
Layered dialogs through a custom window manager
Built with Go and Bubble Tea

Good fit for

→Reading Hacker News and Lemmy from the terminal
→Following several communities in one place

Built with: Go
Tags: tui; cli; forums; discourse; lemmy; hacker-news; terminal; golang

NeonModem: questions and answers

What is NeonModem used for?: NeonModem is a terminal client in Go that reads and posts to Discourse, Lemmy, Lobsters, Hacker News and Hyperuplink forums from one BBS-style interface. It is a good fit for reading Hacker News and Lemmy from the terminal, and following several communities in one place.
Is NeonModem open source?: Yes. NeonModem is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at mrusme/neonmodem and is written mainly in Go.
Is NeonModem free?: Yes. NeonModem is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
Can I self-host NeonModem?: Yes. NeonModem can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is NeonModem an alternative to?: NeonModem is an open-source alternative to Tapatalk.
Is NeonModem actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to NeonModem was on 21 July 2026, and the latest release is v1.1.0, published on 20 July 2026. The project has 696 stars on GitHub.