What is Quiet used for?

Quiet is a peer-to-peer team chat that syncs encrypted messages directly between devices over Tor with no central server, offered as an alternative to Slack and Discord. It is a good fit for small teams that want chat without a central server and experimenting with decentralized collaboration.

Is Quiet open source?

Yes. Quiet is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at TryQuiet/quiet and is written mainly in TypeScript.

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

Can I self-host Quiet?

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

What is Quiet an alternative to?

Quiet is an open-source alternative to Slack and Discord. Other open-source alternatives to Slack include Cabal Desktop, Chatto and Element.

Is Quiet actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Quiet was on 28 September 2026. The project has 2.7k stars on GitHub.

Quiet: open-source alternative to Slack, Discord

About Quiet

Quiet is an encrypted team chat application that requires neither trusting a central server nor running one yourself. Instead, messages sync directly between a team's devices over Tor, and each group, called a community, has its own isolated network so data never reaches users in other communities. It is released under the GPL-3.0 license.

The project positions itself as an alternative to Slack, Discord, and Element. Message syncing uses OrbitDB, described as a mix of Git and a gossip protocol, on top of IPFS. The app is mostly TypeScript, with Electron for desktop and React Native for mobile.

The README is candid about its limits: Quiet has not been audited and should not be used where privacy and security are critical, and it lacks basic features, so it may not yet replace a mainstream chat tool. The developers say they use it daily. It appeals to fans of decentralization and local-first software who want to experiment with server-free collaboration.

Key features

Serverless peer-to-peer messaging over Tor
Isolated networks per community
Message sync built on OrbitDB and IPFS
Desktop apps and a React Native mobile app
Encrypted communication

Good fit for

→Small teams that want chat without a central server
→Experimenting with decentralized collaboration

Built with: TypeScript
Tags: team-chat; p2p; tor; privacy; decentralized; ipfs; slack-alternative; local-first

Quiet: questions and answers

What is Quiet used for?: Quiet is a peer-to-peer team chat that syncs encrypted messages directly between devices over Tor with no central server, offered as an alternative to Slack and Discord. It is a good fit for small teams that want chat without a central server and experimenting with decentralized collaboration.
Is Quiet open source?: Yes. Quiet is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at TryQuiet/quiet and is written mainly in TypeScript.
Is Quiet free?: Yes. Quiet is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Quiet?: Yes. Quiet can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is Quiet an alternative to?: Quiet is an open-source alternative to Slack and Discord. Other open-source alternatives to Slack include Cabal Desktop, Chatto and Element.
Is Quiet actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Quiet was on 28 September 2026. The project has 2.7k stars on GitHub.