Backspace

Open-source, self-hosted Discord alternative built with TypeScript.

Features

• Real-time text messaging with WebSocket
• Servers, channels, and role-based permission management
• Voice and video chat via LiveKit
• Screen sharing with configurable quality (VP9)
• Direct messages (1-on-1 and group DMs up to 10)
• DM voice/video calls with ringing
• Friend system with requests
• File uploads and image sharing
• Markdown message formatting with syntax highlighting
• Message reactions, replies, and editing
• Typing indicators, presence status, and read states
• Invite system with shareable codes
• Instance-level admin panel (streaming limits)
• Desktop app (Electron)
• Mobile-responsive web UI
• Docker deployment

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Backend	Fastify + TypeScript
Database	SQLite (better-sqlite3) + Drizzle ORM
Auth	JWT + bcrypt
Real-time	WebSocket (ws)
Frontend	React 18 + Tailwind CSS + Zustand
Voice/Video	LiveKit
Desktop	Electron
Build	Vite + pnpm workspaces

Quick Start with Docker

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-username/backspace.git
cd backspace

# Create environment file
cp .env.example .env

# Generate a JWT secret
echo "JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)" >> .env

# Start Backspace
docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser. A default server "Backspace" is created automatically.

Default admin account: admin / admin123 (change this after first login).

Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• pnpm 8+

Install

pnpm install

Configure

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your settings (generate a JWT_SECRET)

Run

# Start both server and web dev server
pnpm dev

# Or start individually
pnpm dev:server    # API server on :3005
pnpm dev:web       # Vite dev server on :5173

Build

pnpm build

This builds the shared types, server, and web frontend. The server serves the built frontend in production mode.

Project Structure

Backspace/
├── packages/
│   ├── shared/       # Shared TypeScript types & permissions
│   ├── server/       # Fastify API + WebSocket server
│   ├── web/          # React frontend (Vite + Tailwind)
│   └── desktop/      # Electron desktop app
├── data/             # SQLite DB + uploads (created at runtime)
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
└── .env.example

Voice & Video

Voice and video requires a LiveKit server. Set these in your .env:

LIVEKIT_URL=wss://your-livekit-server
LIVEKIT_API_KEY=your-api-key
LIVEKIT_API_SECRET=your-api-secret

Without LiveKit configured, text chat works fully but voice/video channels will not connect.

API

The server exposes a REST API and WebSocket endpoint:

• REST API: http://localhost:3000/api/*
• WebSocket: ws://localhost:3000/ws
• Health check: GET /api/health

See CLAUDE.md for the full API reference.

Desktop App

The Electron desktop app wraps the web UI and adds system tray, notifications, and native window controls.

cd packages/desktop
pnpm build:ts    # Compile TypeScript
pnpm dev         # Run in development
pnpm build       # Package for distribution

License

MIT