Glowing Bear vs Miaou
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Glowing Bear | Miaou |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 65 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 978 | ★ 553 |
| First released | 2014 | 2014 |
| Replaces | IRCCloud, Slack | Discord, Slack |
What are Glowing Bear and Miaou?
Glowing Bear
Glowing Bear is a web front end that connects to a WeeChat relay, giving the powerful WeeChat IRC client a modern browser interface. It supports notifications, themes, and mobile use.
- WeeChat relay front end
- Browser-based IRC
- Push notifications
- Theme support
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
Glowing Bear vs Miaou: key differences
Both projects are written in JavaScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Glowing Bear versus MIT for Miaou. Glowing Bear is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Miaou. Glowing Bear lists first-class Docker deployment; Miaou does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Glowing Bear if…
- Leverages WeeChat power
- Works on mobile browsers
Watch out for
- Requires WeeChat relay
- IRC focused
Choose Miaou if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Glowing Bear or Miaou better?
Neither is universally better. Glowing Bear has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Glowing Bear and Miaou free and open-source?
Yes. Glowing Bear is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Miaou under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Glowing Bear and Miaou with Docker?
Glowing Bear: yes. Miaou: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Glowing Bear or Miaou?
Glowing Bear 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.