JSXC vs Profanity
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | JSXC | Profanity |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 12 · At risk | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 731 | ★ 1,542 |
| First released | 2013 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack |
What are JSXC and Profanity?
JSXC
JSXC is a real-time XMPP chat application that runs in the browser and can be integrated into web platforms like Nextcloud and SOGo. It supports OTR and OMEMO encryption.
- Browser-based XMPP client
- OTR and OMEMO encryption
- Integrates with Nextcloud
- Audio and video via WebRTC
Profanity
Profanity is a console XMPP client whose interface is inspired by irssi. It supports OMEMO and OTR encryption, group chats, and a fully keyboard-driven workflow for the terminal.
- Terminal interface
- OMEMO and OTR encryption
- Keyboard-driven workflow
- Plugin support
JSXC vs Profanity: key differences
JSXC is written in TypeScript, while Profanity is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for JSXC versus GPL-3.0 for Profanity. Profanity is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 64 MB for JSXC. Profanity has the considerably larger community, at 1,542 GitHub stars versus 731.
Why pick each one
Choose JSXC if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Needs an XMPP backend
- Integration-focused
Choose Profanity if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is JSXC or Profanity better?
Neither is universally better. Profanity has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are JSXC and Profanity free and open-source?
Yes. JSXC is licensed under MIT and Profanity under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run JSXC and Profanity with Docker?
JSXC: check the project docs for container support. Profanity: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, JSXC or Profanity?
Profanity has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for JSXC. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.