Cinny

Cinny is a Matrix client that puts the interface first. The stated goal is an instant messaging application that is easy on people, simple, elegant and secure, with a modern touch rather than the density of a power user tool.

It ships as a static web build. The hosted app updates on every release, a dev branch is continuously deployed for anyone who wants the newer and rougher version, and a separate repository packages the same client as a desktop application.

Self-hosting comes down to a handful of decisions.

• Tarball or container: serve the built files with any web server, or pull the published image from Docker Hub or the GitHub Container Registry.
• Homeserver defaults: the default homeservers and explore page live in a config file you edit before deploying.
• Redirects: example configurations for netlify, nginx and caddy ship with the repository.
• Hash routing: an option that avoids web server redirect configuration, at the cost of a hash segment in the address.
• Subdirectory deploys: change the base path in the build config and rebuild.

Releases are verifiable against a PGP public key published in the repository. Local development needs a current Node.js and two npm commands, and the included Dockerfile builds from source and serves the result with Nginx. One caveat for contributors: the team is replacing matrix-js-sdk with an SDK of its own and is not accepting pull requests until that work is done.