gomuks vs Construct
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | gomuks | Construct |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 11 · At risk |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,727 | ★ 394 |
| First released | 2018 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are gomuks and Construct?
gomuks
gomuks is a terminal user interface client for the Matrix protocol. It supports end-to-end encryption and provides a keyboard-driven chat experience for people who prefer the command line.
- Terminal UI
- End-to-end encryption
- Keyboard-driven
- Single Go binary
Construct
Construct is a Matrix homeserver implementation written in C++ focused on raw performance and efficiency. It is one of the original alternative homeserver projects in the Matrix ecosystem.
- Written in modern C++
- Designed for low overhead
- Matrix federation support
- Embedded database
gomuks vs Construct: key differences
Gomuks is written in Go, while Construct is built with C++. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for gomuks versus BSD-3-Clause for Construct. Gomuks is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Construct. Gomuks has the considerably larger community, at 1,727 GitHub stars versus 394.
Why pick each one
Choose gomuks if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Choose Construct if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Complex to build
- Limited documentation
Frequently asked questions
Is gomuks or Construct better?
gomuks is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Construct if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are gomuks and Construct free and open-source?
Yes. gomuks is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Construct under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run gomuks and Construct with Docker?
gomuks: check the project docs for container support. Construct: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, gomuks or Construct?
gomuks has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Construct. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.