OwnCord

The gaming chat platform you actually own.

Development Model

OwnCord follows an AI-assisted, iteration-focused development workflow. A significant portion of the implementation is generated with AI tooling, with quality validated through automated checks (CI, tests, linting) and real-world usage during alpha.

This approach enables rapid iteration and experimentation, but it also means behavior and internal structure may evolve quickly between releases.

OwnCord is a self-hosted chat stack with a Go server and a Tauri desktop client. It includes real-time messaging, voice/video via LiveKit, file sharing, and a web admin panel.

Current Project Status

Area	Status
Core chat flow	Working in alpha
Voice/video	Working in alpha
Admin panel	Working in alpha
Security hardening	In progress

Platform Support (Current Releases)

Component	Windows x64	Linux x64	Linux ARM64
Server binary	Yes	Not published yet	N/A
Desktop client	Yes	Not published yet	Not published yet
Docker server	N/A	Not published yet	N/A

Start Here

• New user quick path: docs/quick-start.md
• Linux Docker deployment: docs/deployment.md
• Remote access without router config: docs/tailscale.md
• Manual router/network setup: docs/port-forwarding.md

Quick Start

Option A: Prebuilt binaries

1. Download assets from GitHub Releases.
2. Run the server binary:
   • Windows: chatserver.exe
   • Linux: ./chatserver
3. Open https://localhost:8443/admin and create your Owner account.
4. Generate invite codes in the admin panel and share them with friends.

Option B: Docker (Linux server)

cd Server
cp .env.example .env
cp livekit.yaml.example livekit.yaml
# Edit both files before starting
docker compose up -d

See the full setup guide in docs/deployment.md.

The client uses TOFU (Trust On First Use) for self-signed certificates: it prompts once, then pins the certificate for future connections.

What OwnCord Already Has

• Real-time channels and direct messages over WebSocket
• Voice/video channels via LiveKit
• Invite-only registration and role-based permissions
• Web admin panel with logs, backups, and update tooling
• File uploads and inline media rendering
• TOTP 2FA support and API rate limiting
• Desktop client auto-update with signature verification

See deeper feature and architecture docs in docs/client-architecture.md and docs/protocol.md.

Architecture

Two main components:

• Go server (REST API, WebSocket hub, SQLite, admin panel)
• Tauri v2 desktop client (Rust backend + TypeScript frontend)

+---------------------+         +---------------------+
|   OwnCord Client    |         |   OwnCord Server    |
|   (Tauri v2)        |         |       (Go)          |
|                     |         |                     |
|  +---------------+  |  WSS    |  +---------------+  |
|  |  Chat UI      |--+------->|  |  WebSocket Hub|  |
|  +---------------+  |         |  +---------------+  |
|  +---------------+  |  HTTPS  |  +---------------+  |
|  |  REST Client  |--+------->|  |  REST API     |  |
|  +---------------+  |         |  +---------------+  |
|  +---------------+  | LiveKit |  +---------------+  |
|  |  Voice/Video  |--+------->|  |  LiveKit SFU  |  |
|  +---------------+  |         |  +---------------+  |
+---------------------+         |  +---------------+  |
                                |  |  SQLite DB    |  |
                                |  +---------------+  |
                                +---------------------+

Build and Test

Prerequisites

• Go 1.25+
• Node.js 20+
• Rust stable (client builds)

Build from source

# Server (Windows)
cd Server
go build -o chatserver.exe -ldflags "-s -w -X main.version=1.0.0" .

# Server (Linux)
cd Server
CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o chatserver -ldflags "-s -w -X main.version=1.0.0" .

# Client
cd Client/tauri-client
npm install
npm run tauri build

Core verification commands

# Server
cd Server
go test ./...

# Client
cd Client/tauri-client
npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm test

For the full command set, use docs/contributing.md.

Configuration

On first run, the server generates config.yaml and a local data/ directory:

data/
├── chatserver.db
├── certs/
├── uploads/
└── backups/

Key options include TLS mode, upload limits, LiveKit settings, and admin CIDR restrictions. See docs/server-configuration.md.

Security and Vulnerability Reporting

• For vulnerabilities, use GitHub Security Advisories (private disclosure flow).
• Do not open public issues for security bugs.
• Read full policy and hardening notes in docs/security.md.

Update Signing Notes (Maintainers)

Client and server update signing keys are intentionally separate.

Required Actions secrets for release signing:

• TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY
• TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD
• SERVER_UPDATE_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY
• SERVER_UPDATE_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD

When rotating the server updater key, update Server/updater/server_update_public_key.txt and use staged rollover for live fleets.

Docs Index

• docs/quick-start.md
• docs/deployment.md
• docs/livekit-setup.md
• docs/port-forwarding.md
• docs/tailscale.md
• docs/api.md
• docs/protocol.md
• docs/schema.md
• docs/client-architecture.md
• docs/contributing.md
• docs/security.md

Contributing

1. Create a branch from dev.
2. Keep changes focused and tested.
3. Open a PR targeting dev.

See docs/contributing.md for the full process.

License

AGPL-3.0