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jeremyckahn

jeremyckahn/chitchatter

A free, serverless peer-to-peer chat app with end-to-end encryption where messages are never stored and vanish when you leave the room.

Open-source alternative to:Discord

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Last commit
yesterday

What is it?

Chitchatter is a browser-based chat app for private group conversations. Messages, files and media travel directly between participants' browsers over WebRTC, which is end-to-end encrypted. Peers connect through public WebTorrent signaling servers and fall back to TURN relays when a direct connection is impossible. No API server is required for basic use.

Rooms are ephemeral: message content is kept only in memory and is cleared when you leave, so nothing is persisted on the client or server. Rooms are either random UUID-based or named, and public or private. Files are encrypted before sending, with the room name serving as the key.

The project is built with React, Vite and Trystero, and can be embedded in other web pages as an iframe or a <chat-room /> web component. It can also be self-hosted, for example on GitHub Pages, but peer connections are bound to the domain of the instance.

Key features

  • 01Peer-to-peer messaging, audio, video and screen sharing with WebRTC encryption
  • 02Messages are kept only in memory and cleared when you leave the room
  • 03Encrypted file transfers with no stated size limit
  • 04Public and private rooms, with direct messaging between peers
  • 05Markdown and code syntax highlighting in messages
  • 06Embeddable via iframe or a <chat-room /> web component, and self-hostable

Use cases

  • Private group coordination for small communities or organizations that want to avoid a central chat service
  • Sending passwords or sensitive text between two devices without storing it anywhere
  • Quick video calls or screen sharing for IT troubleshooting
  • Adding a private chat room to an existing website via the embeddable component

Quick start

  1. 1

    Clone the source code from GitHub and open the project directory

  2. 2

    Install all dependencies

    npm install
  3. 3

    Run the app in development mode and open localhost:3000

    npm start

Things to know

  • Development currently works only on Linux and macOS; Windows users need WSL.
  • The project is in maintenance mode, with the developer fixing only significant bugs and not planning major new features.
  • Relies on public WebTorrent and TURN relay servers to establish connections.

In collections

Privacy & local-first tools

Topics

#p2p#webrtc#end-to-end-encryption#privacy#chat#serverless#react#decentralized#ephemeral#peer-to-peer

FAQ

What is chitchatter?
A free, serverless peer-to-peer chat app with end-to-end encryption where messages are never stored and vanish when you leave the room. Chitchatter is a browser-based chat app for private group conversations. Messages, files and media travel directly between participants' browsers over WebRTC, which is end-to-end encrypted. Peers connect through public WebTorrent signaling servers and fall back to TURN relays when a direct connection is impossible. No API server is required for basic use.
Is chitchatter free to use? What license does it have?
chitchatter is open source under the GPL-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is chitchatter still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to chitchatter was on Nov 6, 2026.
What can I use chitchatter for?
Private group coordination for small communities or organizations that want to avoid a central chat service Sending passwords or sensitive text between two devices without storing it anywhere Quick video calls or screen sharing for IT troubleshooting Adding a private chat room to an existing website via the embeddable component
How do I install chitchatter?
Clone the source code from GitHub and open the project directory Install all dependencies: npm install Run the app in development mode and open localhost:3000: npm start
Where can I get chitchatter?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/jeremyckahn/chitchatter

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