Chat, threads & DMs
- Public channels, private groups & direct messages
- One-level threads, reactions, @mentions, presence
- Disappearing messages with a per-channel TTL
- GIF picker, voice messages, @/# autocomplete
0
Container to deploy
0
People per call · 16 cameras
0
Telemetry · zero tracking
$0
License cost · AGPL-3.0
What is sharp?
An open-source Slack alternative you host yourself
sharp is an open-source, self-hosted team communication platform. A single Rust binary serves chat, collaborative docs, whiteboards, kanban boards, a calendar, LiveKit voice and video calls, a flexible idea boards and an AI assistant — backed by Postgres, deployed as one container, licensed AGPL-3.0.
It is built for teams that want the whole Slack-plus-Notion-plus-Linear bundle without per-seat pricing, capped message history, or their conversations sitting in someone else's data centre.
Version 0.3.0 · last updated ·architecture docs
- License
- AGPL-3.0 · no paid tier
- Server
- Rust (axum) · one binary
- Database
- Postgres 16 + pgvector
- Realtime
- WebSocket · Redis pub/sub for replicas
- Calls
- Self-hosted LiveKit SFU
- Clients
- Web · macOS · Windows · Linux
- Storage
- Your own S3 or MinIO bucket
- Telemetry
- None
Why sharp
One workspace. Chat, docs, canvas, boards, calls & AI.
Everything a team needs to talk, write, draw, meet and ship — and nothing that phones home.
Collaborative docs
- Block-based docs living inside any channel
- Real-time co-editing over Yjs with live cursors
- Owner / editor / viewer roles per doc
[[doc]]chips bridge chat and docs
Canvas & boards
- Infinite Excalidraw whiteboards, self-hosted assets
- Flexible kanban boards for capturing team ideas
- Same permissions and inbox as docs
- One shared entry point before Jira or Linear
Voice, video & screen share
- LiveKit SFU calls in any channel, DM or standalone room
- Up to 25 participants, 16 cameras, 1 screen share
- Picture-in-picture keeps the call floating
- Guest links — join by name, no account
Sharpy, the AI assistant
- RAG answers grounded in your own workspace
- Every retrieval re-checks channel and doc permissions
- Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including local models
- No API key set? The whole feature disappears
Calendar & meetings
- Workspace calendar with scheduled meetings
- Two-way Google Calendar sync (opt-in)
- Meetings open straight into a call room
- Live transcription and meeting notes
Polls & decisions
- Polls in channels, sticky to the top while open
- In-call poll overlay for live votes
- Results broadcast in real time
- Everyone gets a
poll_endednotification
Files & search
- Drag-and-drop uploads, images inline
- Instant Postgres full-text search across channels
- Files on your own S3 or MinIO bucket
- Quick switcher jumps to channels, docs and boards
Notifications you control
- Unified inbox across chat, docs, canvas and boards
- Web push, native macOS APNs, in-app toasts
- Per-channel mode: all, mentions only, or muted
- Do-not-disturb with scheduled quiet hours
Privacy & encryption
- Opt-in end-to-end encrypted DMs with per-device keys
- Passkeys plus password login, argon2 hashes
- Notification previews you can strip back
- Streaming mode blurs the workspace while you share
Yours, everywhere
- One container plus Postgres; Redis for multi-replica
- AGPL-3.0, zero telemetry, zero tracking
- Web app plus native macOS, Windows and Linux builds
- Every integration is optional and inert until configured
Compare
sharp vs hosted chat SaaS
The trade is simple: you take on a container and a database, and you get your data, your limits and your bill back.
| sharp (self-hosted) | Typical hosted chat SaaS | |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | $0 · AGPL-3.0, no seat count | Per-seat, per-month, per-tier |
| Where messages live | Your Postgres, your disk | The vendor's cloud |
| Message history | Unlimited — until you delete it | Often capped on free and lower tiers |
| Docs, canvas & boards | Built in, same permissions as channels | Add-on product or separate subscription |
| AI assistant | Built in · your model, your keys | Paid upgrade on the vendor's model |
| Video calls | Self-hosted LiveKit · 25 people, 16 cameras | Vendor SFU, tier-limited |
| End-to-end encrypted DMs | Optional, per-device keys | Rare |
| Telemetry | None | Product analytics by default |
| Source code | Public, forkable, auditable | Proprietary |
| You operate | One container, Postgres, backups | Nothing |
Already looking at self-hosted options?Mattermost, Rocket.Chat and Zulip are all mature, open-source and worth your shortlist — Zulip especially if threading is your whole religion. sharp is the newer, narrower bet: one workspace where chat, docs, canvas, boards, calls, calendar and AI ship together in a single container, with every integration optional and inert until you configure it.
Self-host
Up and running in 5 minutes
One container plus Postgres. Copy, paste, and you own your team's workspace.
bash
git clone https://github.com/davide97g/sharp \
&& cd sharp/deploy \
&& cp .env.example .env \
&& docker compose up -d1 Point DNS at your box
2 Set secrets in
.env3 Register the first account
Required
- Docker Compose on a Linux host
- Postgres 16 with
pgvector(bundled) - A domain — Caddy handles TLS
- Two secrets:
JWT_SECRET,POSTGRES_PASSWORD
Optional & inert until set
REDIS_URL— multi-replica fanoutLIVEKIT_*— voice, video, screen shareS3_*— uploads on your own bucketAI_*— Sharpy, embeddings, transcriptionGOOGLE_*,GITHUB_OAUTH_*— calendar sync & sign-inRESEND_API_KEYorSMTP_*— password reset
Download
Get the desktop app
Native builds for every platform. Point it at your server URL and sign in through your browser.
Prefer the browser? The web app runs on any modern browser and is responsive on phones. A React Native mobile app is in development.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Licensing, hosting requirements, encryption, AI, and what happens when you skip an environment variable.
What is sharp?
sharp is an open-source, self-hosted team communication platform — a Slack alternative you run yourself. One Rust binary serves chat, collaborative docs, whiteboards, flexible idea boards, a calendar, voice and video calls, and an AI assistant, backed by Postgres. It is licensed AGPL-3.0.
Is sharp free?
Yes. sharp is AGPL-3.0 licensed with no paid tier, no seat count and no feature gates — the software costs $0. You pay only for the machine you run it on, which for a small team is a $5–10/month VPS plus whatever object storage you use for uploads.
What do I need to self-host sharp?
Docker Compose and a Postgres 16 database with the pgvector extension — the bundled compose file provides both. Everything else is optional: Redis for multi-replica fanout, S3 or MinIO for uploads, LiveKit for calls, an OpenAI-compatible API for the AI assistant, SMTP or Resend for email.
How long does setup take?
About five minutes. Clone the repo, copy .env.example to .env, set a JWT secret and a Postgres password, then run docker compose up -d. Migrations apply automatically on startup and the first account you register becomes the workspace owner.
Does sharp send data to third parties?
No. sharp ships zero telemetry and zero tracking, and calls no external service on its own. Every integration — Google Calendar, GitHub, GIFs, AI, push, email — stays completely inert until you set its environment variable, and the feature disappears from the UI.
Does sharp support voice and video calls?
Yes, through a self-hosted LiveKit SFU. Any channel, DM or standalone room becomes a call with webcam video and screen sharing including system audio. Limits are 25 participants, 16 cameras and 1 screen share per room. Picture-in-picture keeps a call floating while you work elsewhere.
Are direct messages end-to-end encrypted?
Optionally, yes. E2EE DMs use per-device X25519 and Ed25519 keys; the server performs zero cryptography and stores only opaque ciphertext plus public keys. It is a Keybase-style design without forward secrecy, and encrypted DMs are never indexed by the AI assistant.
How does the AI assistant work?
Sharpy is retrieval-augmented: workspace messages and docs are embedded into pgvector, and every retrieval re-checks channel membership and doc roles, so Sharpy can never surface content the asker cannot already read. It talks to any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including a local model.
Can I use sharp on desktop and mobile?
sharp runs in any modern browser, and native Tauri 2 desktop builds are published for macOS, Windows and Linux — you point them at your own server URL and sign in through the system browser. A React Native mobile app is in development; the web app is responsive in the meantime.
How does sharp handle ideas and execution work?
Boards are the flexible capture point for ideas, context and early shaping. When an idea becomes committed execution work, move it into the Jira, Linear or other issue tracker your team already uses.
Does sharp scale beyond one server?
Yes. Set REDIS_URL and WebSocket events fan out through Redis pub/sub, so several replicas stay in sync behind a load balancer. Media never touches the app server: LiveKit carries call traffic with simulcast, dynacast and adaptive subscriptions.
What does the AGPL-3.0 license mean for me?
Run it, fork it, even sell hosting for it — you just have to publish your modifications under the same license. Internal use inside your own company carries no obligation beyond that, and there is no contributor license agreement or commercial edition behind a paywall.