Libervia 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 | Libervia | Miaou |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 50 | ★ 553 |
| First released | 2009 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Slack, Facebook | Discord, Slack |
What are Libervia and Miaou?
Libervia
Libervia, formerly Salut a Toi, is a communication ecosystem built on XMPP that offers desktop, web, and command-line frontends. It supports chat, blogging, file sharing, and more over a single decentralized network.
- Multiple frontends on XMPP
- Blogging and file sharing
- End-to-end encryption
- Command-line interface
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
Libervia vs Miaou: key differences
Libervia is written in Python, while Miaou is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Libervia versus MIT for Miaou. Libervia is the more established project (first released 2009), while Miaou arrived in 2014. Miaou has the considerably larger community, at 553 GitHub stars versus 50.
Why pick each one
Choose Libervia if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Miaou if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Libervia or Miaou better?
Miaou is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Libervia if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Libervia and Miaou free and open-source?
Yes. Libervia is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Miaou under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Libervia and Miaou with Docker?
Libervia: check the project docs for container support. Miaou: check the project docs for container support.