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Spacebar

Self‑hosted, Discord‑compatible chat, voice, and video platform.

Spacebar delivers a free, self‑hostable communication suite compatible with Discord clients, offering configurable chat, voice, video, theming, plugins, and decentralized control for teams and communities.

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Overview

Overview

Spacebar provides a self‑hosted communication suite that mirrors Discord’s core experience. By running the server component you gain a full API, gateway, CDN, WebRTC stack and an admin dashboard, while the client offers a familiar interface compatible with existing Discord apps and bots.

Who it’s for and how to deploy

Ideal for teams, gaming communities, or developers who require data sovereignty, custom limits, or branding, Spacebar can be deployed on any Linux, Windows, or macOS host using Docker or direct Node.js installation. Configuration covers user limits, storage, theming, and plugin extensions, and the platform’s decentralized design eliminates a single point of failure. Documentation and a Discord support guild guide users through setup, updates, and troubleshooting.

Security is a core focus; the codebase is publicly audited and released under the AGPL‑3.0 license, ensuring transparency. A cross‑platform plugin system lets developers add features such as custom authentication, analytics, or integrations, while the built‑in theme editor enables organizations to match their visual identity.

Highlights

Discord‑compatible API for seamless bot integration
Fully self‑hostable server with admin dashboard
Extensible plugin system and cross‑platform theming
Audited security and decentralized architecture

Pros

  • Free and open source under AGPL‑3.0
  • Full control over data and infrastructure
  • High compatibility with existing Discord clients and bots
  • Customizable limits, themes, and plugins

Considerations

  • Self‑hosting requires technical setup and maintenance
  • Feature set may lag behind official Discord updates
  • Community‑driven support can be slower than commercial services
  • Limited official mobile apps

Managed products teams compare with

When teams consider Spacebar, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.

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Chanty

Team chat and collaboration with channels, audio/video calls, and task management

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Discord

Voice, video, and chat communities for groups and teams

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Mattermost

Secure collaboration and messaging for mission-critical teams

Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.

Fit guide

Great for

  • Teams needing on‑premise communication with data sovereignty
  • Communities wanting custom moderation and branding
  • Developers deploying Discord bots without altering code
  • Organizations requiring a decentralized, auditable platform

Not ideal when

  • Users seeking a ready‑made hosted solution
  • Small groups without server resources or technical expertise
  • Environments demanding full parity with every Discord feature
  • Enterprises that require commercial SLA and paid support

How teams use it

Remote team collaboration

Secure, customizable chat, voice, and video channels hosted on the organization’s own servers.

Gaming community server

Control over moderation policies and data while providing Discord‑compatible experience for members.

Bot development and deployment

Run existing Discord bots with minimal code changes on a private instance.

Branded communication portal

Apply custom themes and plugins to match corporate identity and integrate internal tools.

Tags

opensourceopen-sourcediscord-open-sourcespacebarchatdiscordfoss

Frequently asked questions

What operating systems can I run Spacebar on?

Spacebar can be installed on Linux, Windows, or macOS, typically via Docker or a direct Node.js setup.

How does Spacebar stay compatible with Discord bots?

It implements the Discord API endpoints, so most bots work with only minimal configuration changes.

Is there a hosted version of Spacebar?

There is no official hosted service; the platform is designed for self‑hosting, though community members may offer hosting.

How is data security handled?

The codebase is publicly audited, released under AGPL‑3.0, and self‑hosting ensures data remains on your own infrastructure.

Where can I get help with installation or issues?

Refer to the official documentation site and join the Spacebar Discord guild for community support.

Project at a glance

Stable
Stars
6,162
Watchers
6,162
Forks
211
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Repo age4 years old
Last commit9 months ago

Last synced 4 hours ago