Zulip 9.0 release is now available, offering a server platform for deploying corporate messengers designed for communication among employees and groups of developers. Initially developed by Zulip and later released under the Apache 2.0 license following its acquisition by Dropbox, the server code is written in Python using the Django framework. Clients are available for Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, with a built-in web interface also provided.
The system supports both direct messaging between individuals and group discussions. Zulip can be likened to Slack and is considered an internal corporate version of Twitter, used for communication and discussing work-related issues among large groups of employees. It allows for tracking the status and participation in multiple discussions simultaneously using a threaded message display model, striking a balance between Slack’s room-based approach and Twitter’s unified public space. The threaded display of discussions enables users to stay abreast of all group chats in one place while maintaining logical separation.
Zulip boasts features such as sending messages to users in offline mode (to be delivered upon becoming online), retaining a complete discussion history on the server with archive search capabilities, drag-and-drop file sending, syntax highlighting for code in messages, built-in markup language for quick list formatting and text styling, group notification tools, closed group creation, integration with various services like Trac, Nagios, GitHub, and more, as well as visual markers for message referencing.
The main innovations in Zulip 9.0 include a redesigned user interface with larger fonts and increased spacing for improved readability. Users can switch to a compact mode in settings to revert to the old design style, and the option to hide side panels even in full-screen mode is provided. The right panel now features a visual selection of users in the current channel or personal chat, and there have been significant improvements in loading topics and messages in the web interface or desktop application.