# Rocket.Chat

> Rocket.Chat is a free, open-source app you can self-host in the team chat category. Communications platform that puts data protection first (alternative to Gitter.im and Slack). It has 46,213 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and ships a Docker image. It is a self-hosted alternative to Slack and Discord.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/RocketChat/Rocket.Chat |
| Website | https://rocket.chat/ |
| GitHub stars | 46,213 |
| Forks | 13,948 |
| Open issues | 2,558 |
| License | MIT |
| License type | Open source |
| Language | TypeScript |
| Docker image | Yes |
| Platforms | Nodejs, Docker, K8S |
| Categories | Team Chat |
| Commits, last 12 months | 2,155 |
| Last commit | Oct 6, 2026 |
| Latest release | 8.9.0 (Oct 5, 2026) |
| Created | May 19, 2015 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained |
| Archived | No |

Topics: chat, meteor, javascript, collaboration, webrtc, real-time, slack, foss, free, mit

## Install

Rocket.Chat ships a Docker image; follow the README at https://github.com/RocketChat/Rocket.Chat for the image name and environment variables.

Need it installed for you? [appsgit installation help](https://appsgit.com/services/install): a fixed quote by email, single app installs from $79.

## Rocket.Chat replaces

- [Slack alternatives](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/slack): A team messaging platform with channels, threads and integrations.
- [Discord alternatives](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/discord): A voice, video and text chat platform built around communities and servers.

## Comparisons

- [Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat](https://appsgit.com/compare/mattermost-vs-rocket-chat): Pick Mattermost if you want a Slack-like chat built for engineering and DevOps teams; pick Rocket.Chat if you want an MIT core with omnichannel customer chat and federation.
- [Rocket.Chat vs Zulip](https://appsgit.com/compare/rocket-chat-vs-zulip): Pick Rocket.Chat if you want Slack-style channels plus omnichannel customer chat; pick Zulip if your team works asynchronously and wants topic-based threads that stay organized.

## Similar apps in Team Chat

- [Novu](https://appsgit.com/apps/novu): Notification infrastructure for developers. (40,118 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker)
- [Mattermost](https://appsgit.com/apps/mattermost): Platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle, can be integrated with Gitlab (alternative to Slack). (39,271 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker)
- [Chatwoot](https://appsgit.com/apps/chatwoot): Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk). (37,569 stars, MIT, Ruby, Docker)
- [ntfy](https://appsgit.com/apps/ntfy): Push notifications to phone or desktop using HTTP PUT/POST, with Android app, CLI and web app, similar to Pushover and Gotify. (34,644 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker)
- [Zulip](https://appsgit.com/apps/zulip): Zulip is a powerful, open source group chat application. (25,998 stars, Apache-2.0, Python)
- [SimpleX Chat](https://appsgit.com/apps/simplex-chat): The most private and secure chat and applications platform - now with double ratchet E2E encryption. (19,521 stars, AGPL-3.0, Haskell)
- [Apprise](https://appsgit.com/apps/apprise): Apprise allows you to send a notification to almost all of the most popular notification services available to us today such as: Telegram, Discord, Slack, Amazon SNS, Gotify, etc. (17,531 stars, BSD-2-Clause, Python, Docker)
- [Gotify](https://appsgit.com/apps/gotify): Notification server with Android and CLI clients (alternative to PushBullet). (16,036 stars, MIT, Go, Docker)

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Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/apps/rocket-chat
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