Spectral
Abandoned unmaintainedQt/QML desktop client built on libQuotient; development stopped in early 2021, and NeoChat started as a fork of it.
desktop · licence GPL-3.0-or-later
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Last commit
- Jan 2021 6 years ago · 14 Jan
- Commits, last year
- 0 0 in 90 days
- Authors, 90 days
- 0 0 in a year, 17 ever
- Bus factor
- — no commits in the last year
- Last release
- 854 16 Apr 2020 · 0 tags in a year
- Lines of code
- 13k C++
AI
Nothing found on any of the three axes. What we look for
PolicyNo policy found (fits the chosen stance)(against the chosen stance) Dev useNone found (fits the chosen stance)(against the chosen stance) In productNone found (fits the chosen stance)(against the chosen stance)- AI in development: No agent files at 30028a27; last commit 2021-01-13, so no commits in the last 365 days.
- Collector: 0 of 0 commits in the last year credit an AI tool (—). 0 agent files, 0 AI workflows. A lower bound: most AI use leaves no trace.
Activity
No commits in the last 365 days; the last one was on 14 Jan 2021. Bots are not counted.
Languages
Apps
Features
| Feature | Value | How we know | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDK | libQuotient libQuotient as a git submodule; README also credits C++ models taken from Quaternion. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Encryption (E2EE) | No: No Only shows the "activated End-to-End Encryption" state event; no handling of encrypted messages found in the client code. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Cross-signing | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Key backup | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Sliding sync | No: No Last commit 2021-01-13 | — | — |
| Next-gen auth (OIDC) | No: No Last commit 2021-01-13 | — | — |
| Multiple accounts | Yes: Yes The controller keeps a list of connections, with an account switcher in the UI. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Threads | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Spaces | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| 1:1 calls | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Group calls | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Reactions | Yes: Yes | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Edits | Partial: Partial Shows replaced (edited) messages; sending edits not found. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Replies | Yes: Yes | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Polls | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Custom emoji | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Stickers | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Location | Partial: Partial Recognises the m.location message type; sending a location not found. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Voice messages | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Rich text editor | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| URL previews | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Push notifications | Partial: Partial Desktop notifications (D-Bus on Linux, WinToast on Windows); no push gateway (it is a desktop client). | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Private read receipts | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Presence | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Room upgrades | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Moderation tools | Partial: Partial Kick a user and redact messages; no ban button found in the UI. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Accessibility | Not found: Not found | — | — |
| Translations | Not found: Not found No translation files in the repo. | — | — |
| Telemetry | none-found No analytics or crash-report SDK found in the source or CMake files. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/tree/30028a278 |
| Default homeserver | matrix.org The login dialog's homeserver field is pre-filled with https://matrix.org. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
| Fork-friendliness | partial About 17k lines (C++ and QML), CMake, Qt 5.12 and a libQuotient submodule pinned to a 2020-era commit; GPL-3.0. NeoChat is the maintained fork. | code | gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral/-/blob/30028a278 |
Health signals
- Bus factor (last year)
- —
- Issue first response
- not measured (the forge did not give it)
- Release cadence
- 0 tags in the last year, latest 854 (16 Apr 2020)
- CI
.gitlab-ci.yml- Tests
- none found
- Security policy
- none found
- Licence
- GPL-3.0-or-later
- Funding
- none listed
- Telemetry SDKs in manifests
- none found
Repositories
| Repository | Role | Activity | Last commit | Commits 1y | Authors 90d | Measured at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gitlab.com/spectral-im/spectral | main | Abandoned | 14 Jan 2021 | 0 | 0 | 30028a278 |
Notes
Not on the matrix.org clients list; found through the LinuxLinks roundup, which still lists it. The default branch's last commit is 2021-01-13 and the GitLab project's last activity 2022-08-28 (API, checked 2026-11-05); the forge does not mark it archived. Flathub marks org.eu.encom.spectral end-of-life ("This application is no longer maintained.", https://flathub.org/api/v2/eol/message) and lists org.vranki.spectral as its rebase target (https://flathub.org/api/v2/eol/rebase); the last Flathub release is 648 (2019-05-22). The former homepage spectral.im, linked from the GitLab description and the README's docs links, now serves an unrelated site, so homepage is null. NeoChat's README says "NeoChat is a fork of Spectral" (https://invent.kde.org/network/neochat/-/blob/2bcdbc0f7ba8eb25ba4a21c06f2a4da7d498533b/README.md). Licence: LICENSE is GPL-3.0 and the one source header present says "version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version"; the AppStream file says GPL-3.0. Fedora packaging per the README; not re-checked. Searched GitLab issues for AI, LLM, ChatGPT, Copilot, "generated": nothing about AI.
Researched by an AI agent (Claude) on 5 Nov 2026, not checked by a person; metrics collected on 5 Nov 2026. Source file: data/projects/client/spectral.yaml. Spotted a mistake? Open an issue with a link.