Centrifugo

A self-hosted real-time messaging server that pushes updates to users over WebSocket, SSE, gRPC or WebTransport, in place of Pusher or Ably.

10.9k stars, 753 forks Go On GitHub since March 2015

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

Centrifugo at a glance

Open sourceYes, Apache-2.0No paid parts in the repository
Health74 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDocker, Desktop appsCompose file, 8 services
AppsWindows, macOS, Linux, including ARMBuilds in GitHub releases
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~11 hoursMedian first reply; 84% of recent issues answered

What is Centrifugo?

Centrifugo is a user-facing publish-subscribe server. Your backend publishes into channels through an HTTP or gRPC API, and browsers or apps subscribed to those channels receive messages instantly over WebSocket, HTTP streaming, Server-Sent Events, gRPC or WebTransport. Official client SDKs exist, and a unidirectional mode works without any. It suits chat, live comments, multiplayer games, dashboards, collaborative tools and streaming AI responses, and keeps real-time transport separate from business logic. An embedded admin UI shows live connections.

Good fit if

  • You want to add live updates to an app built in any backend language.
  • You pay for a hosted real-time service and want to run your own.

Look elsewhere if

  • You only need push notifications to phones from scripts: ntfy.

Before you adopt it

Centrifugo moved from MIT to Apache-2.0 in August 2021 with version 3. No paid parts are in the repository. One developer writes nearly all of the code, which is a risk to weigh for infrastructure. Binaries for Linux, macOS and Windows and a Docker image are available; scaling uses Redis or similar brokers.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

How to run Centrifugo yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
docker-compose.yml: 8 services (postgres, kafka, redis)
Setup effort
5 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Windows, macOS, Linux, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: centrifugal.dev or the README on GitHub.

Centrifugo health: is it still maintained?

74 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~8 daysLatest: v6.10.2, 23 October 2026
Issue repliesWithin ~11 hoursMedian first reply; 84% of recent issues answered
Bus factorHigh riskThe most active of 4 authors wrote 93% of recent commits
  • Activity
    112 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 3 November 2026.
    25 / 30
  • Contributors
    4 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 93% of them.
    6 / 20
  • Releases
    15+ releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v6.10.2, on 23 October 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 84% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 11 hours.
    19 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 5.4 of 10.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 5 November 2026. How the score works

Centrifugo security practices

OpenSSF Scorecard checks how a project is developed and released: reviews, protected branches, pinned dependencies, signed releases. It does not audit the code itself.

OpenSSF Scorecard5.4 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyYesExplains how to report a vulnerability
Signed releasesPartlyOnly some downloads can be checked against a signature

What each check found

  • Binary files10 / 10No compiled binaries checked into the repository
  • Dangerous workflows10 / 10No risky patterns in GitHub Actions
  • License file10 / 10A license file is present
  • Maintained10 / 10Steady commits and issue activity in the last 90 days
  • Packaging10 / 10Releases are published as packages from CI
  • Security policy10 / 10Explains how to report a vulnerability
  • Signed releases4 / 10Some releases are signed
  • Pinned dependencies3 / 10Some dependencies use fixed versions
  • Best-practices badge0 / 10No OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Code review0 / 10Changes are merged without review
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Static analysis0 / 10No static analysis found
  • Token permissions0 / 10CI tokens have broad write rights

From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 2 November 2026. Checks that do not apply to Centrifugo are left out.

Centrifugo license: is it open source?

Centrifugo uses Apache-2.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. March 2015First published on GitHub under MIT.
  2. 31 August 2021Changed to Apache-2.0. Commit: Centrifugo V3 (#458)
  3. TodayApache-2.0.

Centrifugo for developers

Written in

  • Go 95%
  • PLpgSQL 2%
  • Shell 2%
  • HTML 1%
  • Python <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues21On GitHub
Authors, 90 days4Of the latest 100 commits
DonationsGitHub SponsorsListed on GitHub

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to Centrifugo

  • ntfySend push notifications to your phone or desktop using PUT/POST 76 health · Apache-2.0 · 35.3k stars
  • TykOpen Source API and AI Gateway supporting REST, GraphQL, TCP, gRPC and MCP (Model Context Protocol) 62 health · MPL-2.0 · 10.9k stars
  • GotifyA simple server for sending and receiving messages in real-time per WebSocket. (Includes a sleek web-ui) 77 health · MIT · 16.2k stars
  • OpikDebug, evaluate, and monitor your LLM applications, RAG systems, and agentic workflows with comprehensive… 91 health · Apache-2.0 · 23.2k stars
  • code-serverVS Code in the browser 85 health · MIT · 79.8k stars

All 18 projects in Developer tools

Questions about Centrifugo

Is Centrifugo open source?

Yes. Centrifugo is published under Apache-2.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Centrifugo still maintained?

Its health score is 74 of 100 (actively developed). It had 112 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 3 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 23 October 2026.

Did Centrifugo change its license?

Yes. It moved from MIT to Apache-2.0 on 31 August 2021.

How do I run Centrifugo?

You can run it with Docker, as an app for Windows, macOS, Linux, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is Centrifugo written in?

Centrifugo is written mainly in Go (95% of the code), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to Centrifugo?

Close alternatives in the Developer tools category include ntfy, Tyk, Gotify.