Alternatives

Products that do what Retro AIM Server revives AOL Instant Messenger clients from the 2000s does

1. 1
   Emily is Away▲104

   A retro AIM simulator. Chat with Emily.

   2015

2. 2TW
   Twitter with the UI of 90s-era AOL instant messenger▲13

   2015 · chezapps.com

3. 3IR
   I recreated AOL Instant Messenger in the browser▲5

   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

4. 4TF
   Turned Facebook Messenger into a JavaScript REPL▲171

   2016 · github.com

5. 5RR
   RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser▲195

   RetroTick parses PE/NE/MZ binaries, emulates an x86 CPU, and stubs enough Win32/Win16/DOS APIs to run classics like FreeCell, Minesweeper, Solitaire and QBasic, entirely in the browser. Built with Preact + Vite + TypeScript. Demo: https://retrotick.com GitHub: https://github.com/lqs/retrotick

   Feb 2026 · retrotick.com

6. 6IB
   IMAP-based message broker client written in Go▲87

   2016 · github.com

7. 7
   Total.js Messenger▲181

   A small, open-source alternative to Slack

   2017

8. 8
   Node.js Messenger▲140

   A small alternative to Slack

   2017

9. 9CI
   ClapChat – Instant messaging for HN users▲120

   2016 · clap.chat

10. 10A2
    Angular 2 HN – A progressive Hacker News client that works offline▲134

    2016 · github.com

11. 11
    Swelly 3.0▲160

    A social voting app fully integrated in Messenger 🐳

    2017

12. 12RT
    Retronews – TUI for HN and Lobsters emulating classical Usenet readers▲109

    2024 · github.com

13. 13RM
    Revived my personal website to join the nostalgia▲116

    2020 · gasoved.github.io

14. 14AM
    Actor Messaging platform▲110

    2015 · github.com

15. 15
    HipChat 2.0▲120

    Group chat and IM built for teams.

    2014

16. 16
    Soma▲99

    The world's fastest messenger

    2015

17. 17FA
    From a “hello world” project to a complex messenger▲88

    2020 · github.com

18. 18
    Retro▲80

    The click wheel is back

    2021

19. 19EA
    Echoplexus – An OSS alternative to Hipchat, Flowdock, and others▲51

    2013 · echoplex.us

20. 20HI
    Hipmob is Olark for mobile apps. (Live support chat, now on Android)▲51

    2012 · hipmob.com

21. 21ED
    Ensichat – Decentralized instant messenger for Android▲27

    2015 · github.com

22. 22WD
    What do you think about Retro Design for Social Networks? Nowadays▲5

    2020 · unblnd.com

23. 23CA
    Convos, a OSS persistent IRC web client built using Mojo and Redis▲47

    2013 · convos.by

24. 24
    Samba▲57

    Reactive video messaging

    2014

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