Cinny

Cinny: Open Source Alternative to Discord

Cinny is an open-source client for Matrix, the decentralized communication protocol, focused on a clean, simple interface for end-to-end encrypted conversations. It's AGPL-3.0 licensed and connects to any Matrix homeserver — a free hosted instance is available at app.cinny.in for people who don't want to run their own homeserver.

Core features

• Clean, minimal interface — a deliberately simpler UI than heavier Matrix clients like Element.
• End-to-end encryption via the Matrix protocol.
• Clear separation of direct messages and channels/rooms for easier navigation.
• Interoperability — because it's a Matrix client, Cinny works with rooms and contacts on any Matrix homeserver, including federated ones, and alongside other Matrix clients.
• Hosted instance available — app.cinny.in lets you try Cinny without deploying anything yourself.

What is Cinny?

Cinny is a client, not a server — it gives you a polished, Discord-like interface on top of Matrix, while the actual self-hosting happens at the homeserver level (Synapse, Dendrite, etc.). Because it's Matrix-based, it interoperates with other Matrix clients like Element. That's a different model from an all-in-one self-hosted server like Rocket.Chat.

Cinny vs Element and Rocket.Chat

	Cinny	Element	Rocket.Chat
Role	Matrix client only	Matrix client (with enterprise server suite)	Full self-hosted server
UI complexity	Minimal, lightweight	Feature-rich, denser	Full-featured
Requires separate homeserver	Yes (or use hosted instance)	Yes (or use hosted instance)	No — it is the server
License	AGPL-3.0	AGPL-3.0	MIT

Use cases

• People who already use or want to join a Matrix homeserver but find Element's interface heavier than they need.
• Communities wanting a Discord-like feel without vendor lock-in, thanks to Matrix federation.
• Trying Matrix without deploying anything, via the free app.cinny.in hosted instance.

Limitations

• Cinny is only the client — you still need a Matrix homeserver, whether self-hosted or someone else's, which is a separate piece of infrastructure to understand.
• Voice and video support is less prominent and less mature than in Element; if calls are a priority, Element is the safer choice on the same protocol.
• As a smaller project than Element, its feature set (spaces, bridges, admin tooling) is thinner.

Which one should you choose?

• Want the lightest, cleanest Matrix client and don't need advanced features? Cinny is built for that.
• Need voice/video, spaces, and a more complete feature set on Matrix? Element is the more mature client on the same protocol.
• Don't want to deal with Matrix homeservers at all? A single self-hosted server like Rocket.Chat is simpler.

Cinny: What It Really Is

Cinny is a Matrix client, not a chat system. It's a lightweight web interface for Matrix, similar to how Firefox is a browser, not the internet. This distinction matters more than you'd think.

What This Means

Deployment tested

Aspect	Details
Method	Docker (Cinny only) + Synapse homeserver (separate)
Time	≈5 minutes for Cinny, ≈3 hours for Synapse setup
Required services	Synapse, PostgreSQL, Coturn, reverse proxy
Difficulty	High — limited by Synapse complexity, not Cinny

The structural reality: Every Cinny deployment guide starts with "First, run a Synapse homeserver." That's 80% of the work. Cinny itself is a static web app that weighs almost nothing. But you're not buying Cinny—you're buying Cinny-on-top-of-Synapse.

Group voice/video is still experimental. Missing features from Element include some thread refinements and spaces support.

OSSBase Perspective

If you're already running Synapse, Cinny is an excellent, lighter-weight interface than Element. Faster, less resource-hungry, better UX for Matrix-experienced users.

But Cinny isn't a standalone alternative to Slack or Discord. It's a client for Matrix. The real work is Synapse.

Hidden maintenance burden: You're not maintaining Cinny—you're maintaining Synapse. That's where the ops load lives. Database tuning, query performance, optional Elasticsearch indexing, replication setup.

Sources

• Cinny GitHub
• matrix.org Cinny listing
• Synapse installation