# Forma Chat

> Forma Chat is free, open-source (Apache-2.0), self-hosted team chat. It runs as one Go binary with an embedded React web app and a SQLite database. It includes channels, direct and group messages, threads, reactions, mentions, permission-filtered full-text search, tasks created from messages, an explainable personal focus ranking, and automatic daily standups drafted from each person's own task activity, reviewed privately before sharing, with no AI provider or subscription required. Optional AI agents use the workspace's own Anthropic (Claude) or OpenAI-compatible API key, or a person's own Claude Code or Claude Desktop connected over MCP.

Status: early release. Messaging, threads, search, tasks, standups and AI agents work; files, huddles and an app platform are planned. Not affiliated with Slack or Anthropic.

## Key facts
- Install: clone https://github.com/pandeyvishwas51-oss/forma-chat, run `make setup build`, then `./bin/forma serve`; the server prints a one-time owner setup link.
- Data: one SQLite file in the data directory; not end-to-end encrypted; back up the directory.
- Privacy: one permission policy covers reads, search, threads and realtime; standups never include private work without the person's choice; no ranking of people.
- Price: free; no paid edition, per-seat fee or licence server. AI usage is billed by the customer's own provider.
- AI agents: mention an agent in a channel and it answers live in a thread, using search and task tools with the asking person's permissions and only what that channel can see. MCP endpoint: POST /api/v1/mcp with an agent token (Bearer fma_...); tools list_conversations, read_messages, post_message, search_messages, list_tasks, create_task.
- Connect Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http forma https://<server>/api/v1/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer fma_..."`.

## Links
- [Website](https://pandeyvishwas51-oss.github.io/forma-chat/)
- [Free automatic daily standups](https://pandeyvishwas51-oss.github.io/forma-chat/standups.html)
- [AI agents with your own Claude key or Claude Code over MCP](https://pandeyvishwas51-oss.github.io/forma-chat/agents.html)
- [74-second video](https://pandeyvishwas51-oss.github.io/forma-chat/assets/forma-promo.mp4)
- [Open-source Slack alternative](https://pandeyvishwas51-oss.github.io/forma-chat/slack-alternative.html)
- [Source code](https://github.com/pandeyvishwas51-oss/forma-chat)
- [Feature status](https://github.com/pandeyvishwas51-oss/forma-chat/blob/main/docs/feature-status.md)
- [Architecture](https://github.com/pandeyvishwas51-oss/forma-chat/blob/main/docs/architecture.md)
- [API (OpenAPI)](https://github.com/pandeyvishwas51-oss/forma-chat/blob/main/api/openapi.yaml)