A modern, cross-platform Hotline client built with Tauri, React, and Rust. This is a spiritual port of Dustin Mierau's wonderful Hotline app, with the goal of bringing the classic Hotline protocol to as many modern platforms as possible. It provides multi-session, single window interface and a responsive design.
This port is divergent from the original Swift/macOS Hotline client and is not a direct port, rather a recreation of it in Tauri using React and Rust, the source code providing valuable information about the protocol and how to implement it.
Hotline was a very popular Mac-centric chat/file-sharing service from the late 1990s to roughly 2001. Due to its completely decentralized nature, Hotline remains active, unlike many other early file-sharing services. At its core, it consists of three components: a client, a server, and a tracker. Clients connect to servers. Servers provide files, bulletin boards, and a chat room. Clients connect to said servers. Trackers are indexes of active Hotline servers that let users find Hotline servers.
Hotline in concept, was to replicate a BBS but for the internet age. Modern users would recongize more as a proto peer-to-peer or a Discord like application
Hotline's Navigator's website has a deeper drive the history of Hotline.
Right now the iOS, iPadOS, and Android versions are not in their respective app stores and must be built manually or sideloaded.
| Platform | Architecture | Status |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | x86_64, ARM64 (Universal) | ✅ Supported (macOS 11.0+) |
| Windows | x86_64 | ✅ Supported |
| Linux | x86_64, ARM64 | ✅ Supported |
| iOS | ARM64 | ✅ Supported (iOS 15.0+) |
| iPadOS | ARM64 | ✅ Supported (iPadOS 15.0+) |
| Android | ARM64, x86_64 | ✅ Supported (Android 7.0+) |
This is a Tauri-based Hotline client that provides a modern, cross-platform experience for the classic Hotline protocol. Built with React and Rust, it offers:
- Cross-Platform: Single codebase for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, iPadOS, and Android
- Modern Stack: React + TypeScript frontend, Rust backend
- Full Protocol Support: Chat, file sharing, news, message boards, and more
- Native Performance: Tauri's lightweight architecture for fast, efficient apps
Note: This project does not include server software. This is a client for connecting to and participating on Hotline servers. If you would like to host your own Hotline server (and you should!), please check out the very capable Mobius project or my port of Mobius with a GUI and Swift UI.
For more details about the Tauri client implementation, see the hotline-tauri/README.md.
The iOS/iPadOS IPA is unsigned and must be sideloaded using a signing tool:
- AltStore / SideStore — Free sideloading using your Apple ID. Apps must be refreshed every 7 days (or 365 days with a paid Apple Developer account).
- TrollStore — Permanent installs with no expiration, but only available on specific iOS versions (14.0–16.6.1, 17.0).
- Sideloadly — Desktop app for sideloading IPAs via USB.
Download the APK from the releases page and install it directly. You may need to enable "Install from unknown sources" in your device settings.
Looking for other Hotline Clients? see The Hotline Wiki and Hotline City