Ergo vs Miaou
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
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Miaou
Self-hosted multi-room chat with markdown and code blocks
| Feature | Ergo | Miaou |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 65 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,333 | ★ 553 |
| First released | 2016 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Discord, Slack |
What are Ergo and Miaou?
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
Miaou
Miaou is a real-time chat server geared toward developer communities, with markdown formatting, syntax-highlighted code blocks, polls, and per-room moderation. It is the software behind the public Miaou chat used by Rust developers.
- Markdown and code-block friendly chat
- Multi-room with moderation
- OAuth login support
- Popular with developer communities
Ergo vs Miaou: key differences
Ergo is written in Go, while Miaou is built with JavaScript. Ergo is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Miaou. Miaou is the more established project (first released 2014), while Ergo arrived in 2016. Ergo has the considerably larger community, at 3,333 GitHub stars versus 553. Ergo lists first-class Docker deployment; Miaou does not.
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 Miaou if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Ergo or Miaou 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 Miaou free and open-source?
Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and Miaou under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ergo and Miaou with Docker?
Ergo: yes. Miaou: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Ergo or Miaou?
Ergo has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Miaou. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.