Blog

Why Slack is slow, how to fix it, and what we built instead.

June 2026

Slack Alternatives for Small Teams: Free and Open-Source Options Worth Considering

Small teams evaluating Slack alternatives in 2026 face a genuine set of tradeoffs: per-seat pricing, Electron memory overhead, self-hosting complexity, and feature completeness all pull in different directions.

msga is a free, open-source native Slack client built in C++/Qt6 that starts in under a second and uses a fraction of the memory of the official client — a practical option for teams already on Slack who want to stay there without the resource cost.

June 2026

Slack Alternative Self-Hosted: What Your Options Actually Look Like in 2026

Self-hosted Slack alternatives split into two categories: full server replacements (Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, Zulip, Matrix) and lightweight native clients that connect to the existing Slack backend.

Each path solves a different problem. Full replacements give you complete data ownership but require ongoing infrastructure work. A native client like msga reduces resource consumption without any server migration.

June 2026

Why Is Slack So Slow? The Real Reason — and a Fix

Slack is slow because it is built on Electron — a bundled Chromium browser that consumes over a gigabyte of RAM and keeps background CPU activity high even when you are not using it.

msga is a free, open-source native Slack client written in C++/Qt6. It starts in under a second, idles near 0 % CPU, and uses a fraction of the memory the official client requires.

June 2026

The Best Slack Alternatives in 2026: Free, Open-Source, and Lightweight Options

Slack alternatives fall into two broad camps: full platform replacements like Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, and Matrix for teams that need data ownership, and lightweight native clients like msga for individuals stuck on Slack who want to escape the Electron memory tax.

msga is a free, open-source C++/Qt6 desktop client for Slack that starts in under a second and uses roughly 60–80 MB of RAM — a fraction of the gigabyte-plus footprint of the official app — while running natively on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

June 2026

A Native Slack Client for macOS, Windows, and Linux

msga is a native Slack desktop client for macOS, Windows, and Linux built in C++/Qt6. Unlike the official Electron-based app, it compiles to a native binary with no embedded browser engine, resulting in a fraction of the memory usage and startup in under a second.

The application is open source under GPL-3.0 and covers core Slack functionality — channels, direct messages, and threads — with additional features on the roadmap. It is an honest alternative for users who find the official client too resource-heavy for their hardware or workflow.

June 2026

Is Slack Open Source?

Slack is proprietary, closed-source software. Its desktop client, mobile apps, and backend infrastructure are all controlled by Salesforce with no public source code, no self-hosted edition, and no published protocol specification.

msga is a GPL-3.0 open-source Slack client built in C++/Qt6. It connects to existing Slack workspaces, starts in under a second, and uses a fraction of the memory that the official Electron-based client requires.

June 2026

The Lightest Slack Client for Linux

Slack is the application Linux users most commonly complain about in terms of resource usage. The official client uses over 400 MB at startup and can climb past 2 GB after a few hours.

Here's where every option sits on the memory spectrum — official app, browser tabs, Tauri wrappers, native clients, and terminal clients — with the feature tradeoffs at each tier…

May 2026

Native Slack Clients for Linux in 2026: What's Still Alive?

A quick search for a native Slack client on Linux turns up a handful of projects. Most of them haven't seen a commit in years — Slacken (2017), slaq (2019), ScudCloud (archived 2018).

Here's what "native" actually means for a Slack client, which projects are still maintained, and why the list is shorter than it looks…

May 2026

Best Slack Desktop Clients in 2026

A clear-eyed comparison of every real option: official app, browser, multi-protocol wrappers, terminal clients, and native alternatives.

The official app is feature-complete but uses 400 MB–2 GB+. The browser is surprisingly competitive on memory. Terminal clients go ultra-light at the cost of most functionality. Each option has a clear best-fit use case…

May 2026

How to Reduce Slack Memory Usage

Six practical steps to bring Slack's RAM use down — before you consider switching clients entirely.

The biggest driver is how many workspaces you're signed into — each one runs its own background sync process. Signing out of the ones you rarely use is the single fastest way to reclaim memory…

April 2026

Slack is draining my laptop battery — here's why

The fan noise and battery drain aren't a coincidence. Slack works your CPU even when you're not typing — because Chromium, the browser engine bundled inside Slack, runs background tasks continuously.

A well-designed native app idles at close to 0% CPU. Slack's client typically runs at 1–5% even when untouched, which translates to roughly 15–30 minutes of lost battery life per workday…

April 2026

Why does my computer slow down when Slack is open?

You're not imagining it, and it's not your computer's fault. Slack is built on Electron — which packages a full copy of the Chrome browser engine inside the app. Opening Slack is effectively launching a second web browser, even if Chrome is already running.

RAM gets most of the attention, but there are two other effects: sustained CPU load from background tasks, and memory pressure that can push your other apps to swap to disk…

April 2026

Why Does Slack Use So Much RAM?

Slack routinely uses 1–2 GB of RAM after a few hours. The reason is Electron: Slack bundles the full Chromium browser engine, which requires 100–200 MB before any application logic even starts.

Each additional workspace multiplies the load. Three workspaces means eight or more background processes running simultaneously — and the total adds up fast…

April 2026

Slack Desktop vs Browser: Which Uses Less Memory?

The answer is counterintuitive — and the numbers make a clear case for one option over the other.

Slack's desktop app is built on Electron, which is itself a bundled copy of Chromium. When you use Slack in a browser tab, it shares the browser process already running — so you're not adding a second Chromium to your system…

March 2026

Why We Built a Faster Slack Client

We wanted to fix one specific thing: Slack should not make your computer feel slow. Here's the story.

The frustration isn't niche — years of forum posts and Reddit threads say the same thing. Slack's architecture hasn't changed: it's still a full browser bundled inside a chat client, and the overhead compounds over a workday…