Instant messaging server. Backend in pure Go (license GPL 3.0), custom client-side binding in Java and Javascript, as well as gRPC client support for C++, C#, Go, Java, Node, PHP, Python, Ruby, Objective-C (license Apache 2.0). Wire transport is JSON over websocket (long polling is also available) for custom bindings, or protobuf over plain TCP for gRPC. Persistent storage RethinkDB and MySQL (experimental). A third-party DynamoDB adapter also exists. Other databases can be supported by writing custom adapters.
Tinode is meant as a replacement for XMPP. On the surface it's a lot like open source WhatsApp or Telegram.
Version 0.14. This is beta-quality software: feature-complete but probably with a few bugs. Follow instructions to install and run. Read API documentation.
A javascript demo is usually available at https://api.tinode.co/x/example-react-js/ (source). Login as one of alice, bob, carol, dave, frank. Password is <login>123, e.g. login for alice is alice123. You can discover other users by email or phone by prefixing them with email: or tel: respectively. Emails are <login>@example.com, e.g. alice@example.com, phones are 17025550001 through 17025550009.
Android demo is mostly stable and functional. See screenshots below. A debug APK is provided for convenience.
A text-only command line client implements every possible command.
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The demo server is reset (all data wiped) every night at 3:15 am Pacific time. An error message
User not found or offlinemeans the server was reset while you were connected. If you see it on the web, reload and relogin; on Android delete the app then reinstall. -
User
Tinois a basic chatbot which responds with a random quote to any message. -
As generally accepted, when you register a new account you are asked for an email address. The server will send an email with a verification code to that address and you can use it to validate the account. To make things easier for testing, the server will also accept
123456as a verification code. Remove line"debug_response": "123456"fromtinode.confto disable this option. -
The demo server is configured to use ACME TLS implementation with hard-coded requirement for SNI. If you are unable to connect then the most likely reason is your TLS client's missing support for SNI. Use a different client.
XMPP is a mature specification with support for a very broad spectrum of use cases developed long before mobile became important. As a result most (all?) known XMPP servers are difficult to adapt for the most common use case of a few people messaging each other from mobile devices. Tinode is an attempt to build a modern replacement for XMPP/Jabber focused on a narrow use case of instant messaging between humans with emphasis on mobile communication.
- Android, web, and command line clients.
- One-on-one messaging.
- Group messaging with every member's access permissions managed individually. The maximum number of members is configurable (128 by default).
- Topic access control with permissions for various actions.
- Server-generated presence notifications for people, topics.
- Sharded clustering with failover.
- Persistent message store, paginated message history.
- Javascript bindings with no external dependencies.
- Java bindings (dependencies: jackson, nv-websocket-client). Suitable for Android but with no Android SDK dependencies.
- Websocket, long polling, and gRPC over TCP transports.
- JSON or protobuf version 3 wire protocols.
- TLS with Letsenrypt or conventional certificates.
- User search/discovery.
- Rich formatting of messages, markdown-style: *style* → style.
- Inline images and file attachments.
- Message status notifications: message delivery to server; received and read notifications; typing notifications.
- Support for client-side caching.
- Ability to block unwanted communication server-side.
- Authentication support customizable at compile time.
- Anonymous users (important for use cases related to tech support over chat).
- Mobile push notifications using FCM.
- Plugins to enable chat bots.
- iOS client bindings and client.
- Options for transfer of large objects like video.
- End to end encryption with OTR for one-on-one messaging and undecided method for group messaging.
- Group messaging with unlimited number of members with bearer token access control.
- Hot standby.
- Federation.
- Different levels of message persistence (from strict persistence to "store until delivered" to purely ephemeral messaging).
