Chirpy

Chirpy is a self-hosted chat widget that lets you add live commenting or messaging to any static site without spinning up a database. It stores everything as flat files in your own Git repository, so you keep full ownership of your data. The widget loads fast and works with any static site generator or plain HTML page.

Setup is straightforward. You add a small script tag to your site, point Chirpy to a GitHub or GitLab repo, and it handles the rest. Messages are stored as Markdown files in your repo, meaning every comment becomes a version-controlled file. It supports real-time updates, reactions, and markdown formatting. The project is built on Node.js and can run on your own server or a cloud function.

Chirpy is open source under the MIT license and ideal for developers who want a lightweight, self-sovereign alternative to third-party comment services. There is no pricing plan or data lock-in. It is especially well-suited for personal blogs, documentation sites, and small project pages where privacy matters.