Productivitydocker-ready1-click-deploypermissive-license

Rocket.Chat: the best Open Source alternative to Slack in 2026

Rocket.Chat is a team messaging platform with channels, threads, video calls and an extensive API, built for organizations that need full control over their communications.

License MIT 46k stars liveUpdated hoyWebsite GitHub Repository

Technical profile

License: MIT
Category: Productivity
Replaces: Slack
Tech stack: Node.jsMeteorMongoDB

Preview

Public image provided by Rocket.Chat on its own website.

Key features

Native channels, threads and video calls
Bridging with Matrix, Slack and WhatsApp
Apps and bots via the Rocket.Chat Marketplace

Rocket.Chat vs. Slack

Pros

MIT license
No message history limit

Things to consider

MongoDB with a replica set adds operational complexity

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

docker-compose.yml

version: "3.9"
services:
  rocketchat:
    image: rocket.chat:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - MONGO_URL=mongodb://rocketchat-db:27017/rocketchat
      - ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3000
    depends_on:
      - rocketchat-db
  rocketchat-db:
    image: mongo:6
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: mongod --replSet rs0
    volumes:
      - rocketchat_mongo_data:/data/db
volumes:
  rocketchat_mongo_data: