Hookshot vs The Lounge

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureHookshotThe Lounge
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 442★ 6,309
First released20212014
ReplacesSlackIRCCloud, Slack

Why pick each one

Choose Hookshot if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in TypeScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Hookshot details

Choose The Lounge if…

  • Great IRC experience in the browser
  • Multi-user support
The Lounge details

Frequently asked questions

Is Hookshot or The Lounge better?

The Lounge is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Hookshot if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Hookshot and The Lounge free and open-source?

Yes. Hookshot is licensed under Apache-2.0 and The Lounge under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Hookshot and The Lounge with Docker?

Hookshot: yes. The Lounge: yes.

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