Adium is a free and

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of synchronous computer-mediated communication involving the immediate ( real-time) transmission of messages between two or more parties over the Internet or another computer network. Originally involv ...

client for

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

that supports multiple IM networks, including

XMPP Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (abbreviation XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an Open standard, open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Ext ...

(Jabber), IRC and more. In the past, it has also supported AIM, ICQ,

Windows Live Messenger MSN Messenger (also known colloquially simply as MSN), later rebranded as Windows Live Messenger, was a Cross-platform software, cross-platform instant messaging client, instant-messaging client developed by Microsoft. It connected to the now-di ...

and Yahoo! Messenger. Adium is written using macOS's Cocoa

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

, and it is released under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later and many other licenses for components that are distributed with Adium.

History

Adium was created by college student Adam Iser, and the first version, "Adium 1.0", was released in September 2001 and supported only AIM. Since then, the version numbers of Adium have followed a somewhat unusual pattern. There were several upgrades to Adium 1.0, ending with Adium 1.6.2c. At this point, the Adium team began a complete rewrite of the Adium code, expanding it into a multiprotocol messaging program.

Pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

's (formerly "Gaim")

libpurple Pidgin (formerly named Gaim) is a free and open-source software, free and open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library (computing), library named libpurple that has support for many instant messaging Protocol (comp ...

(then called "libgaim") library was implemented to add support for IM protocols other than AIM – since then the Adium team has mostly been working on the GUI. The Adium team originally intended to release these changes as "Adium 2.0". However, Adium was eventually renamed to "Adium X" and released at version 0.50, being considered "halfway to a 1.0 product". Adium X 0.88 was the first version compiled as a universal binary, allowing it to run natively on Intel-based Macs. In 2005, Adium received a "Special Mention" at the

Apple Design Awards The Apple Design Awards (ADAs) is an event hosted by Apple Inc. at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The purpose of the event is to recognize the best and most innovative Macintosh and iOS software and hardware produced by independent ...

. After version Adium X 0.89.1, however, the team finally decided to change the name back to "Adium", and, as such, "Adium 1.0" was released on February 2, 2007.

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

used Adium X 0.89.1's build time in

Xcode Xcode is a suite of developer tools for building apps on Apple devices. It includes an integrated development environment (IDE) of the same name for macOS, used to develop software for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. It w ...

2.3 as a benchmark for comparing the performance of the

Mac Pro Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals made by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of four desktop computers in the current ...

and Power Mac G5 Quad, and Adium 1.2's build time in Xcode 3.0 as a benchmark for comparing the performance of the eight-core Mac Pro and Power Mac G5 Quad. On November 4, 2014, Adium scored 6 out of 7 points on the

Electronic Frontier Foundation The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an American international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1990 to promote Internet civil liberties. It provides funds for legal defense in court, ...

's secure messaging scorecard. It lost a point because there has not been a recent independent

code audit A software code audit is a comprehensive analysis of source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to co ...

. From March 2019, Adium is no longer able to support the ICQ plugin.

Protocols

Adium supports a wide range of instant messaging networks through the

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

libezv (for Bonjour), STTwitterEngine (for

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

), and

(for all other protocols). Adium supports the following

protocols Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states * Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state * Etiquette, a code of personal behavior Science and technology ...

: *

(including

Google Talk Google Talk was an instant messaging service that provided both text and voice communication. The instant messaging service was variously referred to colloquially as Gchat, Gtalk, or Gmessage among its users. Google Talk was also the name o ...

Facebook Chat Messenger, formerly known as Facebook Messenger, is an American proprietary software, proprietary instant messaging service developed by Meta Platforms. Originally developed as Facebook Chat in 2008, the Client software, client application ...

, and

LiveJournal LiveJournal (), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as a way of keeping his high school ...

services) *

* Bonjour *

Internet Relay Chat IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for Many-to-many, group communication in discussion forums, called ''#Channels, channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via instant mess ...

Novell GroupWise GroupWise is a messaging and collaboration platform from OpenText that supports email, calendaring, personal information management, instant messaging, and document management. The GroupWise platform consists of desktop client software, which ...

* IBM Sametime * Gadu-Gadu *

Skype Skype () was a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for IP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also had instant messaging, file transfer, ...

with a plugin * Skype for Business Server (previously Microsoft Lync Server, Microsoft Office Communications Server) with a plugin *

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

with a plugin *

Tencent QQ Tencent QQ (), also known as QQ, is an instant messaging software service and web portal developed by the Mainland Chinese technology company Tencent. QQ offers services that provide online social games, music, shopping, microblogging, movies, ...

with a plugin * Steam Chat with the "Steam IM" plugin * NateOn with a plugin

Plugins and customization

Adium makes use of a plug-in architecture; many of the program's essential features are actually provided by plugins bundled inside the application package. These plugins include functionality such as file transfer, support for the

Growl Growling is a low, guttural vocalization produced by predatory animals; producing ''growls''. Growling or growl may also refer to: Sounds * Death growl, the dominant singing style in death metal music * Stomach rumble, Stomach growl, or borborygm ...

notifications system, Sparkle for program updates, and support for encrypted messaging with the

Off-the-Record Messaging Off-the-record Messaging (OTR) is a cryptographic protocol that provides encryption for instant messaging conversations. OTR uses a combination of Advanced Encryption Standard, AES symmetric-key algorithm with 128 bits key length, the Diffie–Hel ...

library. Adium is also highly customizable through the use of resources its developers call "Xtras". The program can be customized by the use of hundreds of third-party Xtras that alter the appearance of

emoticon An emoticon (, , rarely , ), short for emotion icon, is a pictorial representation of a facial expression using Character (symbol), characters—usually punctuation marks, numbers and Alphabet, letters—to express a person's feelings, mood ...

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

icons, contact list styles, and message styles. Adium can also be enhanced through the use of different sound sets.

AppleScript AppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. that facilitates automated control of Mac applications. First introduced in System 7, it is currently included in macOS in a package of automation tools. The term ''AppleScript'' may ...

s can also be utilized to automatically alter behavior in responses to certain triggers.

Icon

The icon of Adium is a green duck named Adiumy. It is also the mascot of the software.

References

External links