A self-hosted Windows chat platform with real-time messaging, voice/video, file sharing, and a web admin panel. Run your own server and keep everything under your control — zero cloud dependencies, works fully on LAN.

Features

Chat

Real-time text messaging over WebSocket
Message editing, deletion, and replies
Emoji reactions with per-message counts
Typing indicators
Full-text message search (SQLite FTS5)
Pinned messages per channel
Rich link previews with Open Graph metadata
YouTube embed support with cached titles
GIF picker powered by Tenor with inline rendering
Inline image previews with lightbox viewer

Voice & Video

Voice channels powered by LiveKit SFU
Webcam video chat with responsive grid layout
Mute, deafen, camera, and screenshare controls
Push-to-talk with global hotkey (non-consuming, works while unfocused)
Per-user volume control (right-click user in voice channel)
RNNoise ML noise suppression
Voice activity detection with speaker indicators
LiveKit server runs as a companion process alongside chatserver.exe

Channels & Organization

Text and voice channels organized by categories
Create, edit, delete, and reorder channels
Unread message indicators
Quick channel switcher (Ctrl+K)

Drag-and-drop and clipboard paste uploads
Inline image previews with persistent caching (IndexedDB)
File download with native save dialog
Configurable max upload size

Users & Permissions

Invite-only registration with invite codes
Role-based permissions with custom roles
Member list with online/offline presence
User profiles with status (online, idle, dnd, offline)

Administration

Web-based admin panel at /admin (IP-restricted to private networks by default)
Dashboard with server stats and recent activity
User management (ban, kick, role assignment) with modals
Channel management (create, edit, delete)
Settings management (server name, MOTD, limits, security)
Live server log streaming via SSE with level filters, search, auto-scroll, pause/resume, copy, and clear
Audit log with search, action type filter, copy, and CSV export
Database backup and restore with pre-restore safety backups
Server update checker and one-click apply (GitHub Releases)

Security

TLS encryption (self-signed, Let's Encrypt, or custom cert)
Trust-on-first-use certificate pinning in the client
Ed25519-signed client auto-updates
Rate limiting on all endpoints
CSRF protection and security headers

Desktop Client

Native Windows app built with Tauri v2
System tray integration
Desktop notifications with taskbar flash and sound
In-app auto-update with progress notification
Credential storage via Windows Credential Manager
Custom emoji picker and soundboard
Compact mode for information-dense layouts

Quick Start

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
Run chatserver.exe — generates config.yaml on first run
Open https://localhost:8443/admin to access the admin panel
Generate an invite code and share it with friends
Friends download the client installer and connect using your server address

Architecture

Two components: a Go server and a Tauri v2 client (Rust + TypeScript).

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

WebSocket — chat messages, typing, presence, voice signaling
REST API — message history, file uploads, channel management, auth
LiveKit — voice and video via LiveKit SFU (companion process)

Project Structure

OwnCord/
├── Server/                  # Go server
│   ├── api/                 #   REST handlers + middleware
│   ├── ws/                  #   WebSocket hub + SFU
│   ├── db/                  #   SQLite queries + migrations
│   ├── auth/                #   Authentication + rate limiting
│   ├── config/              #   YAML config loading
│   ├── updater/             #   GitHub Releases update checker
│   ├── admin/               #   Web admin panel (static SPA)
│   └── storage/             #   File upload storage
├── Client/
│   └── tauri-client/        # Tauri v2 desktop client
│       ├── src-tauri/       #   Rust backend (plugins, commands)
│       ├── src/             #   TypeScript frontend
│       │   ├── lib/         #     Core services (API, WS, LiveKit, updater)
│       │   ├── stores/      #     Reactive state (auth, channels, messages, voice)
│       │   ├── components/  #     UI components (28 modules)
│       │   ├── pages/       #     Page layouts
│       │   └── styles/      #     CSS
│       └── tests/           #   Unit, integration, and E2E tests
└── docs/                    # Project documentation (Obsidian vault)

Building from Source

Prerequisites

Go 1.25+
Node.js 20+
Rust (stable)
Windows 10/11

Server

cd Server
go build -o chatserver.exe -ldflags "-s -w -X main.version=1.2.0" .

Client

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

The installer is output to Client/tauri-client/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/nsis/.

Running Tests

# Server
cd Server && go test ./...

# Client
cd Client/tauri-client
npm test                    # unit tests (vitest)
npm run test:e2e            # Playwright E2E tests
npm run test:coverage       # coverage report

Configuration

The server generates a config.yaml on first run. Key settings:

Setting	Default	Description
`server.port`	`8443`	HTTPS port
`server.name`	`OwnCord Server`	Display name
`tls.mode`	`self_signed`	TLS mode (self_signed, acme, manual, off)
`upload.max_size_mb`	`100`	Max upload size
`voice.livekit_url`	`ws://localhost:7880`	LiveKit server WebSocket URL
`voice.livekit_api_key`	—	LiveKit API key (required for voice)
`voice.livekit_api_secret`	—	LiveKit API secret (min 32 chars, required for voice)
`voice.livekit_binary`	—	Path to `livekit-server` binary (empty = don't auto-start)
`voice.quality`	`medium`	Voice quality (low, medium, high)
`server.admin_allowed_cidrs`	private nets	CIDRs allowed to access `/admin`
`github.token`	—	Token for update checks (optional, for higher rate limits)

Auto-Updates

The client checks for updates after connecting to the server. Updates are Ed25519-signed and verified before install.

To enable signed releases in CI, add these GitHub repository secrets:

TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY — Ed25519 private key (via npx tauri signer generate)
TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD — key password

Documentation

Detailed docs live in the docs/brain/ Obsidian vault:

Tech Stack

Component	Technology
Server	Go, chi router, LiveKit server SDK
Database	SQLite (pure Go, embedded)
Client	Tauri v2 (Rust + TypeScript)
Voice/Video	LiveKit SFU (companion process)
Build	NSIS installer, GitHub Actions CI

License

MIT

README.md

OwnCord