Ergo vs Hookshot
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ergo
Modern IRC server with IRCv3 and bouncer features
VS
Hookshot
Matrix bridge for GitHub, GitLab, Jira and webhooks
| Feature | Ergo | Hookshot |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 79 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,333 | ★ 453 |
| First released | 2016 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack |
What are Ergo and Hookshot?
Ergo
Ergo, formerly known as Oragono, is a modern IRC server written in Go that combines an IRCd with bouncer-like features. It supports IRCv3, has built-in account management, and stores message history.
- Full IRCv3 support
- Built-in account registration
- Persistent message history
- Single binary deployment
Hookshot
Hookshot is a Matrix integration bridge that connects rooms to GitHub, GitLab, Jira, RSS feeds, and generic webhooks. It lets teams receive and act on notifications inside Matrix.
- GitHub, GitLab and Jira integration
- Generic inbound and outbound webhooks
- RSS and Atom feed support
- Interactive notification actions
Ergo vs Hookshot: key differences
Ergo is written in Go, while Hookshot is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Ergo versus Apache-2.0 for Hookshot. Ergo is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Hookshot. Ergo is the more established project (first released 2016), while Hookshot arrived in 2021. Ergo has the considerably larger community, at 3,333 GitHub stars versus 453.
Why pick each one
Choose Ergo if…
- No external services needed
- Easy to run
Watch out for
- IRC protocol limitations
- No web UI included
Choose Hookshot if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Requires a Matrix homeserver
- Configuration is YAML-heavy
Frequently asked questions
Is Ergo or Hookshot better?
Neither is universally better. Ergo has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ergo and Hookshot free and open-source?
Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and Hookshot under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ergo and Hookshot with Docker?
Ergo: yes. Hookshot: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ergo or Hookshot?
Ergo has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Hookshot. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.