What it does
Campfire by ONCE is an installable group chat system that organizations run on their own server. It provides rooms, direct messages, mentions, search, notifications, mobile support, and an API for bot integrations; the product is free and licensed under MIT.
Keep the chat service on infrastructure you control
ONCE Campfire is an installable group chat system rather than a hosted SaaS subscription. The product page lists rooms, direct messages, @mentions, search, web push notifications, mobile support, and an API for bot integrations. Rooms can be open to the organization or restricted to selected members, and the project describes customization for the team's own use.
The software is free, but operations are yours
The FAQ says Campfire is free and open source under the MIT License. One person installs it on a server the organization controls, then invites coworkers to sign in through the web or mobile client. That removes recurring per-user chat charges, but the organization remains responsible for hosting, updates, access, and backups. The project repository documents a single-machine Docker deployment. No installation or live chat was tested.
Strengths
- The MIT-licensed product is free to use and does not require a recurring chat subscription.
- Rooms, direct messages, mentions, search, notifications, and mobile access cover core group-chat workflows.
- The repository documents a self-hosted Docker deployment and an API for bot integrations.
Watch out for
- The organization must provision and operate its own server; the cited product page does not offer a managed hosted plan.
Best for
- Small teams that want self-hosted group chat without a recurring software subscription
- Organizations that prefer to keep chat data and server operations under their own control
Sources
- ONCE — Campfire (Oct 25, 2026)
- ONCE — License Agreement (Oct 25, 2026)
- basecamp/once-campfire repository README (Oct 25, 2026)