Pulse Chat

A self-hosted chat platform built for privacy, voice, and connecting communities.
plse.chat · Self-Hosting Guide · Releases

---

[!NOTE] Pulse Chat is in alpha (v0.1.3). Expect bugs and breaking changes between updates.

Why Pulse?

Pulse is a self-hosted alternative to Discord and Slack that puts you in control. Every message can be end-to-end encrypted, voice and video stay on your infrastructure, and federation lets separate instances talk to each other — no central service required.

What's included

Encrypted messaging	Signal Protocol (X3DH + Double Ratchet) for DMs and channels
Voice & video	WebRTC-powered calls with screen sharing via Mediasoup
Federation	Link multiple Pulse instances so users can discover and join across servers
Forum channels	Threaded discussions with tags for long-form topics
Channels & DMs	Real-time text with file uploads, reactions, threads, and mentions
Roles & permissions	Granular access control at the server, channel, and user level
Custom emojis	Upload and manage emojis per server
Automod	Keyword filters, regex rules, mention limits, and link blocking
Webhooks	Push events to external services
OAuth login	Google, Discord, Facebook, Twitch — toggle each on or off
Invite-only mode	Lock down registration so only invited users can join

Getting started

Pulse needs a Supabase backend (auth + database). You can use Supabase Cloud or self-host everything together — see the Self-Hosted Guide for the full Docker Compose setup with PostgreSQL, GoTrue, and Kong.

Docker

docker run \
  -p 4991:4991/tcp \
  -p 40000-40020:40000-40020/tcp \
  -p 40000-40020:40000-40020/udp \
  -v ./data:/root/.config/pulse \
  --name pulse \
  ghcr.io/plsechat/pulse-chat:latest

For production with Supabase bundled, use docker-compose-supabase.yml from the Self-Hosted Guide.

Linux binary

curl -L https://github.com/plsechat/pulse-chat/releases/latest/download/pulse-linux-x64 -o pulse
chmod +x pulse
./pulse

After first launch

1. Open http://localhost:4991
2. A security token prints to the server console on first run — save it
3. Register and log in
4. Claim ownership: open the browser console and run useToken('your_token_here')

Configuration

A config file is generated at ~/.config/pulse/config.ini on first run.

Section	Key	Default	What it does
server	port	4991	HTTP / WebSocket port
server	debug	false	Verbose logging
server	autoupdate	false	Auto-check for updates
http	maxFiles	40	Max files per upload
http	maxFileSize	100	Max file size (MB)
mediasoup	worker.rtcMinPort	40000	WebRTC port range start
mediasoup	worker.rtcMaxPort	40020	WebRTC port range end
mediasoup	video.initialAvailableOutgoingBitrate	6000000	Bandwidth per stream (bps)
federation	enabled	false	Turn on federation
federation	domain	—	Your public domain (required for federation)

[!IMPORTANT] The port range rtcMinPort–rtcMaxPort controls how many concurrent voice/video connections are possible. Each connection uses one UDP port. Open these ports (TCP + UDP) in your firewall, and map the range in Docker if applicable.

HTTPS

Pulse doesn't terminate TLS. Put a reverse proxy in front — Caddy, Nginx, or Traefik all work. The Self-Hosted Guide has example configs for Caddy and Nginx.

Built with

Bun · React · tRPC · Drizzle ORM · Mediasoup · Tailwind CSS · Supabase · Signal Protocol

License

AGPL-3.0