Zulip is an open source chat and collaborative software created by Jeff Arnold, Waseem Daher, Jessica McKellar, and Tim Abbott in 2012. It is one of the free and open source alternatives to Slack.
In 2014, Dropbox acquired Zulip. The service did not receive much attention at Dropbox and the company open sourced Zulip in 2015. In 2016, Tim Abbott left Dropbox and established Kandra Labs to continue development of Zulip.
In 2026, the Zulip Foundation was formed and became the steward of the project. It also became owner of Kandra Labs.
In Zulip, communication occurs in streams (which are like channels in IRC). Each stream can have several topics – Zulip features a unique threading model, in which each message also has a topic, along with the content. Zulip claims that this improves productivity by "making it easy to catch up after a day of meetings". Apart from this, Zulip offers standard features found in collaboration apps like message reactions, message search history, polls, private messaging, group messaging etc. Zulip streams can be private or public – only people invited to a private stream can view messages in it, while anyone within an organization can join a public stream. Messages in Zulip can be sent in plain-text or formatted using Markdown, along with images, links, and file attachments. Zulip also offers support for native integrations with hundreds of services,
What is Zulip?
Zulip by Kandra Labs, Inc. (developed by Jessica McKellar) is open-source Windows software in the chat & messaging category. It ranks 8th by popularity among chat & messaging in this catalogue. The first release dates back to 2012. It is written in Python and JavaScript. Besides Windows, it is available for macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) and MSI installers for 64-bit Windows. It can be installed for the current user only, without administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches. An MSI package is available for deployment with Group Policy, Intune or Configuration Manager.
Updates and version history
The current version is 5.13.2, released on September 21, 2026. The version history goes back to June 28, 2021: 24 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 4.5 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 97,442 times. The source code on GitHub (zulip/zulip-desktop) has 992 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 8 of our languages. Similar programs include Signal, Slack and Rocket.Chat.
Project description on GitHub: “Zulip Desktop client for Mac, Windows and Linux.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- MSI package for managed deployment
- Documented silent install
- Installs without administrator rights
- Updated in the last two months
- Also runs on macOS, Linux and Android
- Mature project (since 2012)
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
In short: Zulip is an open-source chat & messaging tool for 64-bit PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Screenshots
Is Zulip safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
7DF8435936E11AC1D26CC8307E1DE056DFB28B1DF69281D36A66F71F1EBB1F28· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the zulip/zulip-desktop repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- Actively maintained10
- No dangerous workflows10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Restricted token permissions10
- Pinned dependencies10
- Licence declared10
- Static code analysis10
- Code review0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Security policy0
- Fuzzing0
- Branch protection0
- Signed releases0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 24 versions ›24 versions over 5 years · about 4.5 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.13.2Latest | September 21, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit MSI64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 5.12.4 | June 26, 2026 | — | 32-bit EXE (NSIS)32-bit MSI64-bit MSI64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 5.12.3 | December 12, 2025 | — | 64-bit MSI64-bit EXE (NSIS)32-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 5.12.2 | September 1, 2025 | — | 32-bit MSI32-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit MSI |
| 5.12.1 | August 29, 2025 | — | 32-bit MSI64-bit MSI32-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 5.12.0.0 | March 13, 2025 | — | 32-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS)32-bit MSI64-bit MSI |
| 5.11.1.0 | August 24, 2024 | — | 64-bit MSI32-bit MSI |
| 5.11.0.0 | March 23, 2024 | — | 32-bit MSI64-bit MSI |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Zulip.Zulip -echoco install zulip -yscoop install extras/zulipZulip-Web-Setup-5.13.2.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask zulipflatpak install flathub org.zulip.ZulipInformation
- Publisher
- Kandra Labs, Inc.
- Developer
- Jessica McKellar
- Category
- Chat & messaging
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/zulip/zulip-desktop
- Written in
- Python and JavaScript
- Content rating
- 13+
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS), MSI
- Other platforms
- macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
- Version
- 5.13.2
- Released
- September 21, 2026
- First release
- 2012
- Added to the catalogue
- June 11, 2021
- Versions listed
- 24
- Updates / year
- 4.5
- Chocolatey downloads
- 97,442
- GitHub stars
- 992
- GitHub forks
- 548
- Website
- zulip.com
- winget ID
- Zulip.Zulip
- Chocolatey package
- zulip
- Scoop package
- extras/zulip
- MSI product code
- {1CF79D2F-62F2-4F0A-A2EC-96584F48E287}
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Zulip
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zulip free?
Yes. Zulip is open-source software under the Apache-2.0 licence.
Is Zulip safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Zulip with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Zulip be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer, including msiexec for the MSI package.
Does Zulip run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Zulip?
The versions page lists all 24 versions with links to their official installer files, back to June 28, 2021.
Can I use Zulip without administrator rights?
Yes, there is a per-user installer that does not need administrator rights.
What are alternatives to Zulip?
Signal, Slack, Rocket.Chat, Telegram Desktop and Discord. The alternatives page compares them.
