Zulip
Zulip is an open-source team chat application, and a self-hosted alternative to Slack. Its distinguishing feature is topic-based threading: every message in a channel belongs to a named topic, so conversations stay separable and catch-up reading is fast even in busy channels. It offers full-text search, hundreds of integrations, interactive bots, and native mobile and desktop apps.
Overview
Description
Zulip is an open-source team collaboration tool, and a self-hosted alternative to Slack and Microsoft Teams. It keeps the channel model but adds a second dimension: each message is filed under a topic within its channel, like a lightweight email subject. That makes it practical to follow many conversations asynchronously, to resolve topics when they are done, and to search precisely later. Zulip has been developed as an open-source project for over a decade and ships official mobile, desktop, and terminal clients.
Features
- Topic-based threading: Channels are subdivided into topics, so parallel discussions stay untangled.
- Asynchronous by design: Mark topics as resolved, defer channels, and catch up without losing context.
- Message power tools: Full-text search with operators, drafts, scheduled send, and reminders.
- Integrations: Hundreds of native integrations plus incoming webhooks and an interactive bot API.
- Clients: First-party web, desktop (Electron), mobile, and terminal apps.
- Enterprise: SAML/LDAP/OIDC auth, role-based permissions, and full data export/import.
Technology Stack
- Python / Django backend with Tornado for real-time events
- PostgreSQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, and memcached
- TypeScript web client; Electron desktop app; React Native mobile app
- Install script for Ubuntu/Debian, plus a community Docker Compose setup
Requirements
- A dedicated Ubuntu or Debian server (or Docker Compose)
- Minimum ~2 GB RAM (4 GB recommended)
- A domain name and outgoing SMTP for email notifications
Learning resources
You can self-host this open source chat app (Zulip)
An overview of Zulip's topic-based threading model and a look at self-hosting the server for a team that wants to keep its chat history in-house.
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ArticleInstall a Zulip server
The official production installer for Ubuntu or Debian: run the install script with your domain and email settings, then create the first organization. Docker Compose and one-click images are covered separately.
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