What is Nicotine+ used for?

Nicotine+ is a graphical client for the Soulseek peer-to-peer network for sharing files, chatting, and finding people with similar interests. It is a good fit for sharing and finding music on Soulseek, and chatting with other Soulseek users.

Is Nicotine+ open source?

Yes. Nicotine+ is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at nicotine-plus/nicotine-plus and is written mainly in Python.

Yes. Nicotine+ is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Nicotine+?

Yes. Nicotine+ can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What are some alternatives to Nicotine+?

Similar open-source tools in the File Storage & Sharing category include OnionShare, AlterSend and PairDrop. SaaS products in the same category include MEGA, Send Anywhere and AnySend.

Is Nicotine+ actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Nicotine+ was on 28 September 2026, and the latest release is 3.3.11, published on 16 September 2026. The project has 3.1k stars on GitHub.

Nicotine+: open-source file storage & sharing

About Nicotine+

Nicotine+ is a graphical client for the Soulseek peer-to-peer network. It lets you share files, chat in rooms and privately, and discover other users with similar tastes. It stays fully compatible with other Soulseek clients while focusing on usability. The project is released under the GPL-3.0 license.

The application is written in Python and uses GTK for its interface. Packages are available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Haiku, illumos, Windows, and macOS, so it can be used on most desktop systems. The README points to an issue tracker, testing builds, translation through Weblate, packaging, development, and an IRC channel as ways to contribute.

Nicotine+ is a desktop client rather than a server, so there is nothing to host. It suits people who already use Soulseek, particularly music enthusiasts, who want a maintained and actively developed alternative to the original client.

Key features

Soulseek-compatible file sharing
Chat rooms and private messages
Search across the peer-to-peer network
GTK graphical interface
Packages for Linux, Windows, macOS, and BSD
Translations managed through Weblate

Good fit for

→Sharing and finding music on Soulseek
→Chatting with other Soulseek users

Built with: Python
Tags: soulseek; p2p; file-sharing; chat; gtk; python; desktop-app; music

Nicotine+: questions and answers

What is Nicotine+ used for?: Nicotine+ is a graphical client for the Soulseek peer-to-peer network for sharing files, chatting, and finding people with similar interests. It is a good fit for sharing and finding music on Soulseek, and chatting with other Soulseek users.
Is Nicotine+ open source?: Yes. Nicotine+ is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at nicotine-plus/nicotine-plus and is written mainly in Python.
Is Nicotine+ free?: Yes. Nicotine+ is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Nicotine+?: Yes. Nicotine+ can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What are some alternatives to Nicotine+?: Similar open-source tools in the File Storage & Sharing category include OnionShare, AlterSend and PairDrop. SaaS products in the same category include MEGA, Send Anywhere and AnySend.
Is Nicotine+ actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Nicotine+ was on 28 September 2026, and the latest release is 3.3.11, published on 16 September 2026. The project has 3.1k stars on GitHub.