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Has anyone tried this? It's discord reverse engineered.

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[-] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 74 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I set this container up yesterday. Technically it's running. But all the settings are in the fucking sql db, and I know fuck all about sql other than drop tables is funny meme from xkcd. But also, ignoring the settings, I would like to point out that there is effectively no client. I mean, there are two official ones - the depreciated one, and the alpha one, and the alpha one has a total of 4 releases with the newest being two years ago. How do you deprecate a client when the server is still in alpha? What the fuck? And on all pages it screams 'this is alpha testing software, do not use as a daily'. Also the docs are, uhh... rough. If rough was falling 4 stories into a bed of poisonous cacti. It took me 3 hours to get the container running properly and finally poking at the db. It's as organized as my bedroom ('it's somewhere in this dresser, I think...').

The idea, the potential, is brilliant. Literally everything about getting it working though...

[-] paraphrand@lemmy.world 34 points 2 weeks ago

Lots of great software ideas out there. It’s always the execution, availability of resources, and the reality of capitalism getting in the way.

[-] 30p87@feddit.org 8 points 2 weeks ago

Until I get in the way of capitalism (with a shotgun)

[-] Neptr 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

You can use the WebCord app for Spacebar.

[-] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I don't see any options or mention of changing instances, beyond discord canary and public testing...? I might be blind

[-] PointyFluff@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 weeks ago

Containers = Yet Another Attack Surface.

[-] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago

So you're offering to manage my ~40 services, and make sure that all the dependencies are met - and none conflict...?

I mean, I enjoy hosting things myself, but I'm not going to invite issues that have been resolved by simple solutions. I've been around the block with dependency hell, fuck all of that. Now if I was getting paid like 6 figures instead of zero, sure boss, whatever the fuck you say boss, job security all day long. But unless you're offering, I'm sticking with the easy way.

[-] Mic_Check_One_Two@reddthat.com 13 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, that’s true regardless of how it is running. If the service is externally available, it will be probed for vulnerabilities. At least with a container, you can ward off what files it has access to, so an attacker can’t just ransomware your entire NAS with a single vulnerable service.

[-] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

And thaaaat's why it's head/tailscale or nothing for me. I'm smart enough to know I don't know enough to be absolutely confident I won't get SHODAN'd and end up crying over a home network catastrophe, never feeling truly secure ever again.

Every now and then it's tempting to get those fun features in containers like Nextcloud, like public links and federation, but it's not worth the risk IMHO. Not when there's state-class adversarial bots written by stupidly smart people roaming the landscape. <_<

[-] 4am@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 weeks ago

Eh, containers are fine if you know what you’re doing. Just run them in a VM if you want more isolation.

Definitely not for the average user though.

[-] CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca 71 points 2 weeks ago

HHhhmm... Do container/docker install option. This is why it's probably stagnated in adoption from the selfhosted community.

It needs a container based install, no one likes installing dependencies and crud onto their pristine environments any longer.

[-] tofu@lemmy.nocturnal.garden 36 points 2 weeks ago
[-] hexagonwin@lemmy.today 26 points 2 weeks ago

last commit 3yrs ago.. seems unmaintained

[-] moonpiedumplings@programming.dev 84 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Docker compose's don't really need to be maintained though. As long as the app doesn't need new components old docker composes should work.

EDIT: Oops, it does look like spacebarchat's docker images have last been updated over 2 years ago:

https://hub.docker.com/r/spacebarchat/server

EDIT2: Although this is outdated, I think their github repo has an action to autobuild docker images on pushes. Still investigating.

EDIT3: Okay, they don't seem to be actually ran.

But using nix to build a docker image is pretty cool.

EDIT4: Oh shit, the docker image build workflows were added just 2 hours ago. Of course they haven't been ran!

Docker support soon, probably.

EDIT5: the workflow ran, but it looks like it's private for now.

[-] Railcar8095@lemmy.world 68 points 2 weeks ago

You got my heart racing with the twists!

[-] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 20 points 2 weeks ago

Right? Reading that was like watching an action movie!

[-] rudyharrelson@lemmy.radio 12 points 2 weeks ago

Perhaps more relevantly, the Docker image itself has not been updated in over 2 years: https://hub.docker.com/r/spacebarchat/server

[-] moonpiedumplings@programming.dev 9 points 2 weeks ago

Faster than my edits, I see.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

It’s weird that the server has a .dockerignore file without a Dockerfile.

[-] 4am@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 weeks ago

Seems like they’re working on Docker build actions right now according to some other comments

[-] irmadlad@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

no one likes installing dependencies and crud onto their pristine environments any longer

It just depends, however, containers sure do make things a lot cleaner.

[-] 30p87@feddit.org 3 points 2 weeks ago

I do. I just completed pulling the core piped components (piped-backend, -frontend and -prox as well as -html-proxy) from Docker to native installs from the AUR, as well as installing searxng without a venv. Spacebar (the server and client) even have AUR pkgs, but they're unmaintained... I'm gonna change that.

[-] savvywolf@pawb.social 24 points 2 weeks ago

Why would one use this rather than just using something like Matrix or self-hosted Stoat? I'm not sure what it being "Discord compatible" really gets this project. Bot compatibility is nice, but aren't most Discord bots closed source anyway?

[-] Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 21 points 2 weeks ago

Because Stoat is also riddled with problems and Matrix is a dysfunctional hot mess.

[-] traxex@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 2 weeks ago

How is Matrix dysfunctional?

[-] Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 47 points 2 weeks ago

Where do I even start…

  • The verification process constantly breaks
  • Sessions get randomly unverified
  • Pictures aren't being send occasionally
  • Their client is a UI/UX catastrophe
  • Room Events are incompatible (esp. w/ Element X)
  • The "experimental" voice rooms are total trash, settings are not working (e.g. auto-gain can't be disabled)
  • The Calls via Jitsi somehow have a worse UX than Skype had in its worst days
  • The verification via emojis uses different emoji styles, missing the point completely
  • Due to the session mess "Can't decrypt message" will be your best friend
  • Even if you got a verified session it sometimes fails to decrypt a message
  • The federation is SLOW. As in "wait many many minutes" slow.
  • The whole Spaces-with-detached-rooms concept is a mess
  • There're no proper moderation tools
  • There isn't even a god damn admin panel! For the longest time you had to MANUALLY CURL THE API. Even today you have to mess with third-party admin panels that usually don't have all options exposed
  • Encryption is nice, but Matrix leaking tons of metadata isn't.
  • They effectively stopped developing the Element client in favour of Element X, which isn't available in desktop. And also loves to break during verification.
  • Third-party clients sometimes work better, but certainly don't expect anything but text chats with pictures there.

I really tried to like it, I even attempted to move a community over, attempted to self-host, all the jazz. It's a steaming mess for years now with no end in sight, and literally everyone who tried it eventually left disenchanted. Don't even bother trying it.

[-] dev_null@lemmy.ml 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

This was my experience. Every time people suggest it as a Discord alternative I'm like, have you actually tried it? I hate Discord as much as the next guy but Matrix doesn't get anywhere close. I tried really hard to like it and give it a chance, but no.

[-] fastfomo7@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

They mock people for not self-hosting it, calling it a 'skill issue.' I mean, not everyone has the time and energy to deal with that level of friction.

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[-] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 14 points 2 weeks ago

Decentralized (no abuse of power and doesn't have a single point of failure)

There is a direct server though, is it federated? The readme doesn't say it's federated at all

[-] moonpiedumplings@programming.dev 12 points 2 weeks ago

It's not federated, just easy to self host and point custom clients at.

[-] Lumisal@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Are you sure? Because they also seem to be behind Fermi which sounds federated

[-] moonpiedumplings@programming.dev 6 points 2 weeks ago

Fermi is just a custom client for discord/spacebar. It's not federated.

[-] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 3 points 2 weeks ago

That's too bad, that's a hard line for me, it has to have the option of federation.

Also, so it's a direct server, so it is centralized, there's nothing decentralized about it

[-] aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

It is decentralized in the respect that communities run their own servers, in comparison to discord where there is an overarching corporation managing everything

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[-] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 13 points 2 weeks ago

3 years of abandonment? Absolutely not.

[-] SleveMcDichael@programming.dev 8 points 2 weeks ago

Where are you getting three years of abandonment from? The branding repo OP linked was last updated 10 months ago, while the server repo appears to have had pretty steady development for the last month at least (as far back as I bothered checking on mobile)

[-] nfreak@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 weeks ago

Interesting, seems like this has been around for a while but I haven't heard of it until now. With how much Discord's shitting the fan and becoming (well, always has been) a privacy nightmare, this seems worth a try. The alternatives out there either need time to mature (Stoat) or don't really fill the same role (Matrix).

[-] lemming@anarchist.nexus 12 points 2 weeks ago

shitting the fan

Huh, like a more disastrous and direct combo-approach. I like it.

[-] nfreak@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 weeks ago

You know I didn't even realize I said this and I'm gonna start using this one LMFAO

[-] Lemmchen@feddit.org 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Spacebar was called Fosscord before. Maybe you have heard of that.

[-] mrnobody@reddthat.com 4 points 2 weeks ago

Never heard of it either. Will check out cuz initially sounded like some vibecode app to quickly replace Discord since the news.

[-] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

It's been around a few years. I investigated it last year. It had a name change some times ago.

I can't vouch for the code quality, but it's too old to be slop.

[-] Comrade_Spood@quokk.au 8 points 2 weeks ago

This wont go anywhere until they have an app that is easy to download. And then everyone says Revolt/Stoat but that doesnt even fucking work cause their verification system is ass (probably because they use gen AI to code) and also is difficult to download the mobile app

[-] em2@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 weeks ago

Their verification system has been my boss fight the last 48 hours. I want to get off of discord. PLEASE LET ME!

[-] Truscape 2 points 2 weeks ago

Stoat has 3rd party clients that are easy to install, I already got the Clerotri app downloaded directly from Accrescent on GrapheneOS (although I believe they have an F-Droid release).

[-] Comrade_Spood@quokk.au 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Still has AI generated code. I tried setting up an account and despite it saying the email to verify your account would take up to 10 minutes, it actually would take hours. And I can't sign up with my proton email (managed to get it to work with my gmail), while my friend cant get it to verify with their gmail.

Edit: Also have I have not found clients on fdroid or aurora store. I could only find the old Revolt app by adding its own fdroid repository and it hasnt been updated in years

[-] Truscape 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Ah on the storefront side, sorry. I made an educated guess, but I guess it's not a good one XD.

Here is the Stoat/Revolt wiki with a complete list of clients (official and 3rd party) that you can check btw: https://wiki.rvlt.gg/index.php/Stoat_Clients

I wasn't aware of the AI-generated code part, I'll take a look at source to verify.

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[-] PointyFluff@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago

So is IRC and Matrix.

[-] ulkesh@piefed.social 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Doesn't seem terribly well-maintained.

EDIT>> As was properly pointed out to me, I was judging based on the wrong repo. The server repo indeed has work being done on it, so it looks like this is getting updates and moving forward.

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this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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