gomuks vs Dendrite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | gomuks | Dendrite |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,727 | ★ 5,625 |
| First released | 2018 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord |
What are gomuks and Dendrite?
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
Dendrite
Dendrite is a lightweight, efficient Matrix homeserver written in Go by the Matrix.org team. It is designed to be a more resource-efficient alternative to Synapse while remaining fully compatible with the Matrix protocol.
- Lower memory footprint than Synapse
- Federated Matrix protocol
- End-to-end encryption support
- Polylith and monolith deployment modes
gomuks vs Dendrite: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Dendrite's repository is archived and no longer developed, while gomuks is actively maintained. Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for gomuks versus Apache-2.0 for Dendrite. Gomuks is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Dendrite. Dendrite has the considerably larger community, at 5,625 GitHub stars versus 1,727. Dendrite lists first-class Docker deployment; gomuks does not.
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 Dendrite if…
- Much lighter than Synapse
- Active development by Matrix.org
Watch out for
- Some Synapse features still missing
- Less battle-tested at large scale
Frequently asked questions
Is gomuks or Dendrite better?
Neither is universally better. Dendrite has the larger community, while gomuks is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are gomuks and Dendrite free and open-source?
Yes. gomuks is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Dendrite under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run gomuks and Dendrite with Docker?
gomuks: check the project docs for container support. Dendrite: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, gomuks or Dendrite?
gomuks has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Dendrite. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.