Servers

Jabber is federated, just like email or Mastodon. Many servers connect together to create the Jabber network.

You get to pick a server you like and from there connect to your friends, no matter what server they chose.

Jabber addresses (also called JIDs) look just like email addresses. So if you create the account emma.goldman on server example.org, then your address will be emma.goldman@example.org.

Group chats have similar addresses, like chat@groups.example.org.

First you need to decide which of the following categories best describe what you are looking for.

I would like to open a:

Personal account

This category is for individuals looking for a reliable place to open an account.

I am interested in a service for my:

Collective

This category is for groups and organisations that need multiple accounts and professional hosting.

I would like to run my own:

Self-hosted server

This category is for adventurous people willing to put in a bit more work themselves.

Why are there so many options to chose from?

The Jabber network is a large and decentralized effort run by many people and organizations. There is no central company calling all the shots and protocol development is organized collectively through the XMPP Standards Foundation. This means that there are a lot of servers to choose from, so it can be a bit overwhelming. There are attempts (1, 2, 3) to list all this diversity with varying success, but here at JoinJabber.org we tried to come up with our own recommendations to help you choose.

Migrating accounts

You changed or mind or made a mistake when originally selecting a server? Not a big deal! While account portability is still a work in progress for most of the Jabber network, there is a website that mostly automates it for you here. As it currently requires your user-credentials to function, it would be probably good to change the passwords of both accounts after using this tool.

Can't I just get an account with you?

Sorry, but we do not provide Jabber accounts ourselves. You can learn more about the reasons why here.