Zulip

An open-source team chat app that sorts every conversation into topics, so teams can follow both live and asynchronous discussions.

26.2k stars, 10.5k forks Python On GitHub since September 2015

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is Zulip?

Zulip is a team chat app built around topic-based threading: each message belongs to a topic inside a channel, much like an email subject line. That lets people catch up on what matters to them hours later instead of scrolling one fast-moving stream, so the app works for live and asynchronous discussion alike. You can self-host the server on Ubuntu or Debian, in Docker or from prebuilt cloud images, or use Zulip Cloud. Open-source projects such as Rust use it, and the interface is translated into 42 languages.

Good fit if

  • Your team spans time zones and much of its discussion happens asynchronously.
  • You run an open-source community or a large organization where many conversations happen at once.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want the familiar channel layout of Slack with DevOps playbooks and calls: Mattermost.
  • You also chat with customers and other companies on the same platform: Rocket.Chat.

Before you adopt it

Zulip is Apache-2.0, and the repository has no paid parts: features of the self-hosted server are not split into an enterprise edition, while Zulip Cloud is sold as a hosted service. Development is broad, with 22 people committing in the last 90 days and over 1,500 contributors in total.

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

Zulip health: is it still maintained?

92 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    843 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 30 October 2026.
    30 / 30
  • Contributors
    22 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 22% of them.
    18 / 20
  • Releases
    6 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, 12.3, on 21 September 2026.
    17 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 100% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 6 hours.
    20 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 7 of 10.
    7 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

Zulip license: is it open source?

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

  1. September 2015First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayApache-2.0.

How to run Zulip yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
42 languages

Install instructions: zulip.com or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to Zulip

  • Rocket.ChatThe Secure CommsOS™ for mission-critical operations 82 health · MIT · 46.4k stars
  • MattermostMattermost is an open source platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development… 74 health · Apache-2.0 · 39.5k stars

All 3 projects in Team chat

Questions about Zulip

Is Zulip open source?

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

Is Zulip still maintained?

Its health score is 92 of 100 (actively developed). It had 843 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 30 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 21 September 2026.

How do I run Zulip?

You can run it with Docker. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to Zulip?

Close alternatives in the Team chat category include Rocket.Chat, Mattermost.