Komai (γγΎγ)
A fine Matrix chat app you can get to love
π¦ Komai is a desktop-first Matrix chat application built with Rust, C++ and QML. It traces its origins to a usability-focused fork of nheko, rebuilt around the Rust matrix-sdk runtime with a growing Rust core.
π€ Komai is built with AI. Professional engineers + AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex) working together to build a complex native application in a language stack that isn't the team's primary expertise. We think AI in capable hands can deliver above-average results.
Komai was created by the etke.cc team, but contributions by anyone are welcome! It's fully Free Software (GPL-3.0-or-later), with no CLA and no contributor gatekeeping.
If you're curious about the origin of this project and its name, see the π¦ Identity documentation page.
- π₯οΈ Desktop-first UX β optimized for large screens
- π Readable and easy to use β comfortably readable text, great color contrast, large hit targets, and interaction patterns that respect Fitts's law
- π¨ Yours to shape β themeable, customizable, and config-management friendly via plain-YAML files
- β‘ Responsive by design β native performance is a design constraint
- π Educate, don't over-abstract away β like Arch Linux, we prefer exposing Matrix's real concepts over hiding them
- π§ For both grandma and power users β neither dumbed down nor buried in complexity
- π¬ Matrix messaging with end-to-end encryption support (powered by the Rust matrix-sdk runtime)
- π Attachments (file, image, audio) with a built-in media viewer featuring gallery navigation and in-app video playback
- ποΈ Voice transcription -- long-press Space to record speech and have it transcribed into the composer; works with OpenAI cloud or any OpenAI-compatible local server
- π Calls -- legacy 1:1 voice works; video and screen-share have known send-side bugs; no Element Call support yet. Disabled by default
- π Emoji messages (with custom emojis). Support for richer emoji discovery via localized Unicode CLDR keywords (for example,
:whiskeyfinds π₯) - π¬ Replies, Discord-style threads, and message forwarding
- π₯ Multi-account support via dedicated application profiles
- π¨ 10+ built-in themes, maintained to meet WCAG AA contrast for common UI text pairings. Also ποΈ user-themable
- π 30+ languages with inherited nheko translations and AI-assisted gap filling
- π§ Lots of configuration settings, grouped into tabs and searchable
- π§ Polished Room Directory with first-class Matrix Rooms Search support (enabled by default via matrixrooms.info by etke.cc), language filtering, and room size filtering
- π Good support for hundreds of rooms and spaces
- π Browser-style room tabs for juggling multiple conversations at once, with pinning and more (a power-user feature still rare among Matrix clients)
- β¨οΈ Keyboard-driven main chat workflow, with human and Vim-style shortcuts
- π Selection mode for bulk actions (forwarding, moderation)
- β‘ Quick & relatively lightweight native application (Rust, C++ and QML). No Electron here
- π€ Human- and agent-ready local automation via Model Context Protocol (MCP), CLI commands, and the D-Bus API
- ποΈ Fully Free Software (GPL-3.0-or-later), with no CLA and no contributor gatekeeping
Curious where Komai came from and what changed along the way? See π Differences from nheko.
A few more screenshots:
More screenshots are inlined on individual feature pages β see the π€ User Guide.
Komai ships as AppImage, Flatpak, and Snap packages on the GitHub Releases page, plus a komai package on the Arch Linux AUR.
Komai is Linux-only for now (x86_64). There are no official Windows or macOS builds, and building from source on those platforms has never been tested by the maintainers. If you'd like to try, see π Native build β Windows and macOS notes for tentative pointers.
See π Installation for download links and install commands. To build Komai yourself, see π Native build.
See π Documentation for the full list of guides, including settings, theming, translations, and packaging.
- π¨βπ» Development β building, testing, and code contributions
- π Translations β improving translations or fixing awkward wording
- π¬ Matrix room: #komai:etke.cc
- π GitHub issues: etkecc/komai/issues
Komai started as a fork of nheko by the Nheko-Reborn team. We're grateful for the original application and the Qt/QML groundwork that made Komai possible.
Komai's Matrix protocol and end-to-end encryption core is built on the matrix-rust-sdk by the matrix.org team β a polished, well-documented Rust runtime that made the move off mtxclient + libolm tractable for us, and that positions Komai for everything that comes next in the Matrix ecosystem.
- Boring Avatars β default avatar generation algorithms (Beam, Marble, Bauhaus styles), ported from TypeScript to C++
- Fluent UI System Icons β primary icon set (MIT)
- Font Awesome Free β supplementary icons and brand logos (CC BY 4.0)
- Tinted Theming (Base16)