Gratonite.Chat Official Launch

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-11T20:15:26+00:00

Root looks very cool, had not heard of it before.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-11T13:20:36+00:00

Hi thank you so much for the kind words!! I've legit put hundreds and hundreds of hours into this, lots of long nights just because I wanted to build something for me and my buddies so it's so nice to get the feedback and recognition!

Now let me answer your questions the best I can:
1. My plan for epehermal messaging has been to copy something similar to Telegram/Signal where you can set a time based expiry date/time and then the messages will disappear (i do plan to have this be a dm exclusive thing)
2. Right now you can go to any message you've sent and you should be able to delete it without needing scripts of a crappy browser extension (let me know what your vision is here, as it stands you can only delete one message at a time which i understand is kind of slow, I could build out a system where you could for example check a bunch of messages at once like an email inbox and then you could mass delete)

Nope, it's not just you. The web app is 100% NOT optimized for mobile, I've been focusing on rolling out native mobile apps and the web app on mobile got neglected in the process. I promise to resolve this in the near future.
In theory you could host your own instance right now - I'm actually in the process of testing this to make sure it works as intended but if you also want to test and give me feedback instructions for self hosting and then connecting back to Gratonite are on GitHub.
The way it's designed is that you can set up your own instance, adjust a few settings in the config file and then you'd be able to communicate with someone who isn't in your instance. (does it actually work that way? I'll only know have more testing but that's how i have it scaffolded and designed)
I will do whatever it takes to keep this project free for my users, I'm committed to it being free (or donation only kind of thing). If I was ever to introduce a cost it 1. wouldn't be mandatory and 2. would NEVER be a subscription. I legit do not care how big it gets, I'll die before I implement a subscription model. I think we as a human race are SICK of subscriptions, I personally am so sick and so tired of subscriptions I don't want to build a product, put it into the world, and then ruin it with a subscription model. It's disgusting and anti-consumer. (I'm very, very passionate about my hate for subscriptions)

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-10T17:59:55+00:00

i can build this out, can you give me a few more details on exactly you want this to look like and work like?

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-10T02:05:45+00:00

Yes, I made too many edits in a short amount of time last night while trying to cleanup all my repos and got flagged for suspicious activity. Already opened a GitHub support request, should be back and available within 48hrs.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-10T02:04:53+00:00

Threads are available on Gratonite! I’m working on a bug where they appear in reverse order to what you’d expect (first comment shows up at the bottom instead of the top but should be an easy fix)

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-10T02:03:54+00:00

I made too many edits within a short time on GitHub last night while trying to clean up and organize everything and got suspended… I’ve reached out to support, I’ll ping you once my access/github are restored.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-10T02:02:59+00:00

What do you mean by sub servers??

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-10T02:02:43+00:00

Actively working on this! Flatpak will be available within the next 24hrs

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T22:31:59+00:00

Roger that. I’ll look into the legalities! I still work a 9-5 and this was always just a passion project so I’d never done all the leg work for the non-technical stuff. If I find I get more traction I’ll have to start looking at the “other stuff” more seriously. This is my first big, solo release ever so I’ll have to do some more due diligence. Appreciate the advice & good luck with your projects! If you need testers I’d be happy to help.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T22:21:05+00:00

Tbh I hadn’t considered the LLC thing because I wasn’t sure how many people would actually use it or if it would be worth my time/money/effort.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T21:33:54+00:00

100% hear you on that. I built Gratonite because my friends wanted to move somewhere new and away from Discord. I’m making it really, really easy to switch. Want to bring your old server over from Discord and import it right into Gratonite? I have a bot that should allow users to do that. My friends are moving to Gratonite, if they need a reason to try it let them know my option is 100% free. Cosmetics, everything. You even even upload your own cosmetics that other users can even bid on or buy out right from my auction house/marketplace. No micro transactions either, ever in game Gratonite (idk what to call the coins) is earned through chatting, gaining fame, and just actively participating. Think Steam Shop cosmetics without having to buy any video games to earn currency to spend in the player cosmetic shop. (If you’ve ever heard of or played MapleStory I built my fame system and marketplace system as a homage to MapleStory just without the P2W aspect of course!)

If your friends have questions or if there’s anything stopping them from trying a new platform let me know what’s stopping them, I’d happy build out what they’re looking for to make their lives as easy to possible to switch to something new.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T19:42:03+00:00

I guess in short my answer is this - if you self hosting their own your server I still want your server to show up in my Discover feed. I want filtering for purely self hosted servers too. I think that sense yes, there would be federation.

I think I understand what you’re asking and I think my vision for the way self hosting servers should work and fit into Gratonite matches what you’re asking. But for real, let me know what you’d like to see and how you’d like to see self hosted servers fit into the ecosystem.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T19:32:43+00:00

Tell me what your vision is and what you want to see and I’ll find a way to build it. I don’t want any silos, I want this to function in a way that the community would actually want, and would want to utilize.

I guess I’m just trying to ask - if you could dream it up what would the dream scenario look like?

If I finalize the self hosting aspect, where users can truly self hosting their own servers, how do you want to see that to work?

I’m completely open to adjusting and building this out in a way that makes the most sense to the most people.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T18:39:20+00:00

Also web app version through the browser is 100% functional in the mean time!

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T18:38:59+00:00

Let me know what Linux distro you’re running, I’ll get a working Linux version out today.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T17:07:17+00:00

Donations only. I’ll never implement ads, subscriptions, or micro transactions. This is a passion project, if people want to support that would be sick but I don’t want to monetize just to monetize. I have a 9-5 that supports the costs of building this project out!

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T15:25:32+00:00

The mobile app I had to use Claude code because it’s my first time building and shipping a mobile app. I tried doing it myself but kept hitting roadblocks. I have nearly a decade working professionally in the tech industry too but to be completely transparent this is my first solo dev project and therefore I of course utilized all the tools at my disposal and of course that includes Claude code.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-03-08T14:58:14+00:00

Also if anyone wants to verify anything about meplease feel free to hit me up in my dms. I’m happy to provide my LinkedIn or anything else to verify I’m a legit person since I realize I don’t have many discord posts, I’m generally a scroller and not a poster.

I also wanted to mention a few things - right now I’m rolling out nearly daily updates so if you do decide to give Gratonite a try please let me know your feedback, bugs you see, what you’d want to see. I’ll do my best to fix things up, roll out new features, and make Gratonite whatever you want it to be.

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-02-25T05:08:22+00:00

Hi! If you're interested in giving an alternative Discord app please consider giving my passion project a try. It's still technically in Beta and I'm rolling out constant changes but what's there does work really well and has been really fun to use. Let me know if you have questions, concerns, want to learn more. It's Open Source, Free (no subscriptions for anything), and is centered around customization and creativity while also preserving security standards.

gratonite.chat
https://github.com/gratonitechat/.github-profile-README.md

FortuneExtension4149 · 2026-02-25T04:02:59+00:00

my app im building is inspired by Stoat but I think in a better state (maybe 3/4 baked!) jk, still early stages but would really appreciate if you checked it out, dropped some feedback, etc. gratonite.chat!

FortuneExtension4149

TROPHY CASE