Strafe: A new open-source, E2E Encrypted, and federated alternative to Discord

Strafe is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted, federated chat platform positioned as an alternative to Discord that emphasizes privacy, self-hosting, and community control. The codebase is published under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 and the project markets itself as free from trackers, ads, and data harvesting. It frames governance and development as community-driven, offers transparent development practices, and provides legal and policy documentation (privacy policy, terms of service, acceptable use) alongside project resources and a public repository.

Functionally, Strafe delivers a Discord-style feature set: persistent text channels with full Markdown and rich embeds, role and permission management, communities/rooms/spaces, and default end-to-end encryption for messages. It supports voice and video calls with screen sharing, unrestricted file sharing, low-latency messaging, and cross-device sync via desktop, web, and mobile clients. The desktop app can connect to multiple instances with easy account switching and automatic updates. The site highlights self-hosting for full control, export and migration options to avoid vendor lock-in, and developer resources such as documentation and an API reference.