Databag
Federated, end-to-end encrypted messaging service for the web, iOS, and Android, supporting text, photos, video, and WebRTC video and audio calls.
Description from awesome-selfhosted (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Still maintained? Slowing: no commits in the last 90 days, last push Jun 2026.
Comparisons in Communication - Custom Communication Systems: Slack alternatives, WhatsApp alternatives, Microsoft Teams alternatives, Discord alternatives.
At a glance
Databag quick facts
- Health score
- 33/100 STALE
- Stars
- 1,508
- Last commit
- 5 months ago (Jun 2026)
- Latest release
- v1.1.1021, Jun 2024
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
Top alternatives to Databag
In its own words
The project's README opens: "Databag is designed for efficiency, consuming minimal hosting resources. Notable features include: - Decentralized (direct communication between app and server node) - Federated (accounts on different nodes can communicate) - Public-Private key based identity (not bound to any blockchain or hosting domain) - End-to-End encryption (the hosting admin cannot view topics if sealed) - Audio and Video Calls (nat traversal requires separate relay server) - Topic based threads (messages organized by topic not contacts) - Unlimited participants (no limit on…"
Why it ranks here
Health score explained
Databag scores 33/100, #36 of 44 in Communication - Custom Communication Systems: 0 commits in the last 90 days earn 0.0 of 35 points, the latest release (v1.1.1021, 2.4 years ago) earns 0.0 of 25, 1,508 stars add 12.7 of 20, an active, unarchived repository keeps 10 and Docker support adds the final 10. That places it in the stale band (below 40). The biggest shortfall is commit activity, worth 35.0 more points.
Recomputed nightly from the GitHub API. How the score is calculated.
- Commit activity biggest shortfall 0.0 / 35
0 commits in 90 days (30+ scores full marks)
- Release recency 0.0 / 25
v1.1.1021 released 2.4 years ago
- Stars 12.7 / 20
1.5k stars on GitHub (logarithmic)
- Not archived 10.0 / 10
Repository is active
- Docker support 10.0 / 10
Docker image or Compose file available
Commit activity
- 0
- Last 90 days
- 4
- Last 12 months
- 5 months ago
- Last push
Ranked #36 of 44 tools in Communication - Custom Communication Systems by health , between Stoat (#35) and PushBits (#37) .
Details
| Licence | Apache-2.0 |
| Platforms | Docker |
| Latest release | v1.1.1021 · 2.4 years ago |
| Stars | 1,508 |
| Open issues | 57 |
| Docker | Yes |
| Repository | balzack/databag ↗ |
Databag vs its top 5 alternatives
Active tools that share a category with Databag (Communication - Custom Communication Systems), scored on the same five terms.
| Tool | Health | Stars | Licence | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ntfy | 98 | 35k | Apache-2.0 | today |
| Gotify | 97 | 16k | MIT | 2 days ago |
| Centrifugo | 96 | 11k | MIT | yesterday |
| Element | 87 | 14k | Apache-2.0 | today |
| Tinode | 87 | 14k | GPL-3.0 | 5 days ago |
| Databag (this tool) | 33 | 1.5k | Apache-2.0 | 5 months ago |
Databag: common questions
Is Databag still maintained?
Databag had 0 commits in the last 90 days and its last push was 5 months ago; the latest tagged release, v1.1.1021, is from 2.4 years ago. Repoly recomputes this nightly.
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