Fluxer

Open source alternative to Discord

10.9K stars
AGPL-3.0
Active this week
Last commit today

Last verified Nov 12, 2026

Host your own Discord-like community with voice channels, threads, screen sharing, no ads, and no data selling. AGPL-3.0 licensed and self-hostable.

Visit website GitHub10.9K Deploy on Hostinger

Read the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs, the quick start and the FAQ

who it's for

Who Fluxer is for#

Privacy-conscious communities moving away from Discord

Groups that want Discord's feature set without its data collection can self-host Fluxer or use fluxer.com. Voice channels, threads, roles, and moderation are all present. Users can export their data and delete their messages at any time.

Skip if:

If your community is comfortable on Discord and data ownership is not a concern, migrating adds friction without a clear benefit.

Open source projects hosting their own contributor chat

Open source projects that want a self-hosted chat server for their contributor community can run a Fluxer instance and avoid dependence on a third-party communication platform. The AGPL license aligns with projects that value open source principles in their tooling.

Skip if:

If your project already has an active Discord server with established integrations and bots, migrating disrupts existing workflows. Evaluate whether the privacy benefits justify the migration cost.

Small teams wanting self-hosted voice and text chat

Small to mid-size teams that need voice channels, organized text channels, and moderation without relying on a commercial communication platform can run a self-hosted Fluxer instance. The operator documentation covers setup and configuration.

Skip if:

Teams that need deep integration with productivity software such as calendar invites, ticket systems, or shared document editing will find Fluxer oriented toward community rather than workplace workflows.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Discord is a free service, but its business model relies on advertising revenue and data collection. Communities and groups cannot run their own instance, cannot verify how conversation data is stored, and have no guarantee of data portability if they need to migrate.

For teams and communities that need organized channels, voice and video calls, and moderation tools in one application, the open source options have been limited. Building on voice-only or text-only tools means splitting communities across multiple applications, while some alternatives require significant infrastructure knowledge to set up and maintain.

how Fluxer solves it

How it solves it#

Voice channels, video calls, and screen sharing

Communities can join persistent voice channels for audio calls, switch to video at any point, and share their screen with audio. The app runs voice servers in 16 geographic regions and assigns calls to the closest region automatically. Noise suppression and echo cancellation run client-side.

Text chat with threads, forums, and announcements

Channels cover standard chat, threaded discussions, forum-style boards, and announcement channels that members can follow without joining the full server. Messages support Markdown, code blocks, file attachments, link previews, and LaTeX math. Full-text message search with filters is included.

Self-hosting for private instances

Operators can run their own Fluxer server instead of relying on the hosted service. Documentation at docs.fluxer.com/operator/get-started/ covers setup. Client apps connect to any instance, so self-hosted communities use the same desktop and mobile clients as the hosted service.

Privacy-first design with no ads or tracking

Fluxer does not sell user data, does not show advertising, and does not require ID verification or face scans to sign up. Users can export all their data and delete all their messages. A personal notes channel stores private notes in the same interface without leaving the app.

Native packages for Linux with signed repositories

Fluxer ships signed packages for Flatpak, Flathub, Debian/Ubuntu (apt), Fedora/RHEL (dnf), and Arch Linux (pacman). The Flatpak repository gets updates the day they release. On Arch, the repository is key-signed so pacman verifies every update automatically.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

No ads, no data selling, full data export includedFluxer does not show ads, does not sell user data to third parties, and includes a data export feature. Users can also delete all their messages. These are written commitments from the product, not add-ons that could be removed later by a pricing change.
AGPL-3.0 source with first-class self-hosting supportThe source is available under AGPL-3.0, so anyone can audit the code, run their own instance, and verify what the server does with their data. Self-hosting is a first-class feature with dedicated operator documentation, not an afterthought.
Active development across all major platformsThe repository has over 10,000 stars and 862 forks, with the last commit pushed on 2026-11-12. Client apps are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, with iOS in beta. The project was created in January 2026 and has been actively maintained since.
44 languages and 16 geographically distributed voice regionsFluxer ships with 44 languages and runs voice servers in 16 regions including Frankfurt, Singapore, São Paulo, Seoul, and Sydney. Each call connects to the closest region to the first participant, or to a pinned region if the channel is configured for one.

Trade-offs

-iOS app is in beta with availability currently pausedThe iOS TestFlight beta was paused as of late 2026. Android users have Google Play and APK options. iOS users can use the web app at fluxer.com as a workaround, but there is no native iOS app available until the beta resumes.
-AGPL-3.0 requires releasing modifications to hosted instancesIf you run a modified version of Fluxer as a network service, you must release your source changes to users. This is standard AGPL behavior and not a limitation for most self-hosters running unmodified instances, but it matters for operators planning to build proprietary extensions on top of the server.
-Self-hosting requires maintaining a server backendFluxer is not a peer-to-peer application. Running a private instance means provisioning and maintaining a server. The operator documentation covers setup, but unlike desktop apps that run entirely locally, a self-hosted Fluxer instance is an ongoing infrastructure commitment.

versus alternatives

Fluxer vs alternatives#

Fluxer vs Discord

Fluxer and Discord cover the same core need: organized communities with voice channels, text chat, roles, and moderation. The key difference is the deployment model and data ownership.

Feature	Fluxer	Discord
License	AGPL-3.0	Proprietary
Self-hosting	Yes	No
Data export	Yes	Partial (request required)
Ads	No	Yes
Data selling	No	Yes
Voice regions	16	Global CDN
Mobile (iOS)	Beta paused	Yes
Bots and webhooks	Yes	Yes
Price	Free	Free (Nitro paid tier)

Fluxer is the better choice when data ownership and self-hosting matter. Communities that do not want their conversation data processed for advertising, that need a private server they control, or that have privacy requirements incompatible with Discord's terms of service will find Fluxer covers the full feature set at no additional cost.

Discord remains the better choice for communities that need a large existing user base, tight integration with gaming platforms, or a fully working iOS mobile client. Discord's Nitro tier includes higher-quality audio, larger file uploads, and animated avatars; Fluxer has no paid tier and does not currently match Nitro's file size limits. Discord also has a broader ecosystem of community bots with more years of development behind them.

The migration path from Discord to Fluxer requires recreating server structure manually: channels, roles, and permissions. There is no automated import from Discord.

install · quick start

Quick start#

bash

Install Fluxer on Linux via Flatpak; Windows and macOS installers are available from pkgs.fluxer.com.
```bash
flatpak install https://pkgs.fluxer.com/flatpak/fluxer.flatpakref
```

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: CErlangGoJavaScriptRustTypeScript
Frameworks: React
Databases: PostgreSQL
Infrastructure: AWS
Search: Elasticsearch
Cache: Redis
Tooling: esbuild

frequently asked

FAQ#

Is Fluxer free to use?

Yes. The hosted service at fluxer.com is free and requires no ID verification. You can browse without an account. Fluxer is also free to self-host: the AGPL-3.0 license allows anyone to run their own instance without paying licensing fees.

Can I self-host a Fluxer instance?

Yes. Fluxer supports self-hosting. The operator documentation at docs.fluxer.com/operator/get-started/ covers setup. Client apps connect to any instance, so users on a self-hosted server use the same desktop and mobile applications as the hosted service.

Is the iOS app available?

The iOS TestFlight beta was paused as of late 2026. Android is available on Google Play, via APK download, and through Obtainium for degoogled phones. The web app at fluxer.com works in a mobile browser as an interim option for iOS users.

What license does Fluxer use?

Fluxer's source is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later. You can run it, modify it, and self-host it freely. If you distribute a modified version as a network service (a server others connect to), you must release your source changes. Artwork uses CC BY-SA 4.0.

What desktop and mobile clients does Fluxer support?

Fluxer ships signed installers for Windows (x64 and ARM64), macOS (Apple silicon and Intel via the same disk image), and Linux (Flatpak, Flathub, deb, rpm, AppImage, tar.gz for x64 and ARM64). Android is available on Google Play and via APK. iOS is in beta with availability currently paused.

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Keep it running 24/7, even when your laptop is off. A Hostinger VPS gives it a server of its own.

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Fluxer vs Discord

Fluxer and Discord cover the same core need: organized communities with voice channels, text chat, roles, and moderation. The key difference is the deployment model and data ownership.

Feature	Fluxer	Discord
License	AGPL-3.0	Proprietary
Self-hosting	Yes	No
Data export	Yes	Partial (request required)
Ads	No	Yes
Data selling	No	Yes
Voice regions	16	Global CDN
Mobile (iOS)	Beta paused	Yes
Bots and webhooks	Yes	Yes
Price	Free	Free (Nitro paid tier)

The migration path from Discord to Fluxer requires recreating server structure manually: channels, roles, and permissions. There is no automated import from Discord.