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# Slack Alternative Zulip 6.0 Releases With Massive Upgrades
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/zulip-6-0-release/
- Published: 2022-11-22T11:19:36.000Z
- Updated: 2022-11-22T11:19:36.000Z
- Description: Zulip is an impressive Slack alternative with what it offers. And, a new release makes it even more interesting!
- Author: Sourav Rudra
- Tags: Open Source, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15

Zulip is a free and open-source team communication platform that offers a range of customization options, unlike Slack.

We looked at it [last year](https://itsfoss.com/zulip/), and it seemed like a promising open-source alternative to Slack with its features and accessibility.

It is **free to get started** using its official hosted version on the web but comes with certain restrictions (like *message history retention limit and no custom branding*).

If you want to unlock its full potential and host it with them, you can opt for the **standard subscription/enterprise options**. Either way, **you can self-host it** to get control of your data and maintenance.

Recently, it announced the release of its next major version, i.e., v.**6.0**.

### Suggested Read 📖

[Top 6 Open Source Slack Alternatives for Team ChatLooking for an open source alternative to Slack? Here are some of the best open source team communication software you can try.![](https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cropped-Logo-redsigned-without-name-270x270.png)It's FOSSAnkush Das![](https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Open-Source-Team-Communication-Software.jpg)](https://itsfoss.com/open-source-slack-alternative/)

## 🆕 Zulip 6.0: What's New?

![zulip chat](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2022/11/zulip-chat.png)

This release has brought a lot of improvements and feature additions to [Zulip](https://zulip.com/?ref=itsfoss.com). Some of the key highlights include:

- **Read Receipts**
- **Mark Messages as Unread/Read**
- **Redesigned Sidebar**
- **Improved Navigation**
- **Scroll to Bottom Button**
- **Public Access Option out of beta**

And these are just the tip of the iceberg; you can find more technical details in its release changelog linked at the bottom of this article.

### 🛠️ User Experience Improvements

Zulip has finally received the option to mark messages as unread/read; this should be handy for managing your chats.

You can also see read receipts for any message; it doesn't matter who sent it or where it was sent. 

![zulip chat privacy](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2022/11/zulip-privacy.png)

This can be turned off to stop sharing your read receipts, and administrators can also choose whether to enable it for their organization.

**Then there are the navigation updates:** You can now see all your recent conversations in the same place, and the left sidebar has been redesigned to make navigation easier.

![zulip 6.0 recent conversations](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2022/11/Zulip_6.0_Recentconv.png)

The '**Streams**' section of the sidebar has gotten more organized and now features different labels such as '**Pinned', 'Active', and 'Inactive**', with muted streams at the very bottom.

![zulip 6.0 left sidebar](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2022/11/Zulip_6.0_LeftSidebar.png)

Another addition is the scroll-to-bottom button, which lets you quickly skip to the bottom of the screen.

![zulip chat](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2022/11/scroll-button.png)

Other user experience improvements include:

- Ability to see who reacted to a message
- Support for Unicode 14 emojis
- The right sidebar now shows the user status message by default
- Improved message notification emails

### Feature Additions

You can now select up to two custom profile fields to add to your user card and turn on '**Invisible Mode**' to appear offline to other Zulip users.

In addition, the **public access option** is no longer in beta and is now generally available for organizations.

![zulip web stream](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2022/11/web-stream.png)

💡

The public access option enables a user to make Zulip Streams (or channels) shareable through a link to anyone on the Internet. If you want someone to view the discussions of a channel (say, a support/issue stream), this should come in handy. However, a user needs to log in to write a message.

You can now also compose a message in a different conversation view and send it to someone else if you change your mind.

### Self-Hosting Improvements

This has been a mixed bag of support being added and support being dropped.

Zulip now supports Ubuntu 22.04 LTS but drops support for Debian 10 and PostgreSQL due to them approaching end-of-life.

Other than that, the documentation for self-hosting has received a few tweaks here and there.

## 📥 Download Zulip 6.0

To learn more about the technical bits or download Zulip 6.0, head over to the official [GitHub repo](https://github.com/zulip/zulip/releases/tag/6.0?ref=itsfoss.com).

You can also refer to the [documentation](https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/stable/production/install.html?ref=itsfoss.com) for help with installation or upgrading.

*💬 Do the new features encourage you to try it out if you already use Slack for team communication? Share your thoughts in the comments below.*