Life & fun · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to Retro AIM Server revives AOL Instant Messenger clients from the 2000s
Self-hostable instant messaging server compatible with classic AIM and ICQ clients written in golang. (Independently developed, not affiliated with or endorsed by AOL) - mk6i/open-oscar-server
Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Retro AIM Server revives AOL Instant Messenger clients from the 2000s launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.
- 1TG
Hi there HN community. I'm excited to show my personal project -- an open-source code and hardware approach that connects my 1980's TRS-80 Model III computer to an OpenAI server. The TRS-80 can hold a chat session with OpenAI, and it's all very retro feeling. There were challenges along the way, as the approach to interfacing between ancient hardware and modern software interface wasn't immediately available. Please see https://github.com/druid77/trs-gpt for all the details, and let me know if you have any ideas for improvements. For example, adding support for voice.
2023 · druid77.github.io · its alternatives →
- 2
Open-source live-chat, email support, omni-channel desk. An alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud etc. 🔥💬 - chatwoot/chatwoot
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 3
:inbox_tray: IMAP based message broker client. Contribute to mikaa123/imapmq development by creating an account on GitHub.
2016 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 4
Client library for Minimal Chat. Contribute to minimalchat/client development by creating an account on GitHub.
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 5
- 6
What's under the hood: - Real-time messaging powered by Firebase - Buddy lists, groups & online presence - Away messages with auto-reply (and the classic %n, %d, %t variables) - Buddy icons & editable profiles - Group chat rooms - The actual AIM sounds - Full Windows 98 desktop UI — taskbar, desktop icons, start menu, the works. If you have any suggestions or feedback I would greatly appreciate hearing it. There's still more work to be done with it, but it's been a labor of love. Right now every user that logs on is automatically put on to your Buddy list. I thought this would be a great way…
Jun 2026 · webaim.xyz · its alternatives →
- 7
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2023 · openapistack.co · its alternatives →
- 9TW
2015 · chezapps.com · its alternatives →
- 10
Hey HN, I am proud to show you guys that I have built an open source alternative to Azure OpenAI services. Azure OpenAI services was born out of companies needing enhanced security and access control for using different GPT models. I want to build an OSS version of Azure OpenAI services that people could self host in their own infrastructure. "How can I track LLM spend per API key?" "Can I create a development OpenAI API key with limited access for Bob?" "Can I see my LLM spend breakdown by models and endpoints?" "Can I create 100 OpenAI API keys that my students could use in a classroom…
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 11
Write Language Servers that comply with 3.17 of the LSP Specification - owenrumney/go-lsp
Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
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- 14
Self-hosted SMTP for AI agents. The internet
May 2026 · aimx.email · its alternatives →
- 15
Hello HN, I’ve always loved building frontend-only apps—those you can prototype over a weekend, host for free on GitHub Pages, and scale to millions of users. Unfortunately, AI-enabled apps complicate things, as exposing your OpenAI key to the world is obviously a no-go. This also means mobile developers often have to run their own servers. That’s why I built ServerlessAI, an API gateway that lets you securely call multiple AI providers directly from client side using OpenAI-compatible APIs. You can authenticate users through any identity provider, like Google or Apple, and set per-user…
2024 · serverlessai.dev · its alternatives →
- 16
Self-hosted alternative to OpenAI's Responses API compatible with Agents SDK and works with all model providers (Claude/R1/Qwen/Ollama etc) - open-responses/open-responses
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 17
Retroscope▲67Three smileys and a hashtag. Connecting made simple.
2017 · retroscope.co · its alternatives →
- 18
Retrochat▲66Slack bot for running retrospectives with action items
2019 · retrochat.xyz · its alternatives →
- 19WA
2013 · kato.quora.com · its alternatives →
- 20
Admittedly I work on this, but I anthropic's decision to finally embrace http, auth (at least a little), and other RFCs that are coming out is just great. With OpenAI behind it too, this ecosystem will be built around projects like this. Not saying it's MCP or not, but it'll be one of them
2025 · twitter.com · its alternatives →
- 21
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 22
Open-source live-chat, email support, omni-channel desk. An alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud etc. 🔥💬 - chatwoot/chatwoot
2022 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 23
Open-source AI agent platform — own it, run any model
Jul 2026 · ibl.ai · its alternatives →
- 24
Instant, disposable, single-binary web based live chat server. Go + VueJS. - knadh/niltalk
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
Also compare
- TRS-GPT – ChatGPT client/server for the TRS-80 alternatives
- Open-Source Alternative to Intercom, Drift, Zendesk, FreshChat alternatives
- IMAP-based message broker client written in Go alternatives
- Open Source alternative to services like Intercom.io and Smooch alternatives
- Jan alternatives
- I recreated AOL Instant Messenger in the browser alternatives
Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →