Campfire (37signals)

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Campfire (37signals)

A curated collection of the 2 best self hosted alternatives to Campfire (37signals).

Campfire is a web-based team chat service providing real-time chat rooms, persistent message history, file sharing, and basic collaboration tools. Developed by 37signals as part of the Basecamp ecosystem; later largely discontinued in favor of Basecamp features.

Alternatives List

#1
Zulip

Zulip

Open-source team chat server with topic-based threading for focused, asynchronous, and real-time communication in distributed teams.

Zulip screenshot

Zulip is an open-source team chat platform designed for both real-time and asynchronous communication. Its distinctive topic-based threading keeps conversations organized, making it easier to follow multiple discussions without losing context.

Key Features

  • Topic-based threading within channels (streams) to keep discussions focused
  • Inbox-style view to prioritize unread conversations
  • Real-time messaging with searchable history
  • Powerful integrations and bots, including webhook-based workflows
  • Granular permissions and administration for organizations and communities
  • Multi-platform clients, including web, desktop, and mobile apps

Use Cases

  • Team communication for engineering, product, and operations groups
  • Open source or community collaboration with many parallel discussions
  • Async-first coordination across time zones while preserving context

Zulip is a strong fit for teams that want the immediacy of chat without sacrificing long-term clarity. Its conversation organization model scales well as the number of channels and active threads grows.

24.2kstars
9.4kforks
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#2
Ergo

Ergo

Ergo is a modern IRC server (ircd) written in Go, with integrated account management, history storage, bouncer-like features, and strong IRCv3 support.

Ergo screenshot

Ergo (formerly Oragono) is a modern IRC server daemon written in Go. It combines an IRCd with built-in services functionality to provide accounts, persistent history, and bouncer-like behavior in a single deployable server.

Key Features

  • IRC server daemon (ircd) designed to be simple to set up and operate
  • Integrated account management and channel registration/services-style commands
  • Persistent message history and bouncer-like user experience without separate software
  • Strong IRCv3 support, suitable for modern IRC clients and networks
  • Highly customizable, runtime-reloadable YAML configuration (rehashable config)
  • SASL authentication support for automatic account login from clients

Use Cases

  • Hosting a private or community IRC network with modern IRCv3 features
  • Running an IRC server with built-in accounts and registered channels without extra services
  • Providing persistent history for users across reconnects without an external bouncer

Ergo is a strong choice for running an IRC network that needs modern protocol capabilities while keeping operations straightforward. Its integrated approach reduces the need to deploy separate services components for many common IRC network needs.

3kstars
220forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running