µTox

µTox is a lightweight, cross-platform client for Tox.

Repository: https://github.com/uTox/uTox
Maintainers: GrayHatter
Language: C
Operating Systems: Windows, Linux, OSX, BSD, Android
Current Version: 0.17.2
Status: Active

History

Features

Audio features

uTox supports audio notifications for received messages and the option to turn them off or on.

uTox supports audio calls for both contacts and group chats using ToxAV.

Video features

uTox supports video calls and desktop sharing, adjustable in the settings.

Messaging

uTox supports messaging for contacts and group chats and message splitting for messages that are larger than 1372 bytes. uTox does not support emoticons or text formatting.

Typing notifications are shown to and from contacts, if the feature is enabled in the settings.

It is possible to message offline contacts, in which case the message will be stored and sent once both users are online.

uTox has support for chat history, with the option to enable or disable the feature.

File transfers

uTox has support for file transfer and file resuming.

uTox has support for inline images using its built-in screenshot tool (see screenshots).

Group chats

uTox has support for persistent group chats, but file transfers and typing notifications in group chats aren't possible yet until the feature is implemented by c-toxcore.

Profile & Contact Management

uTox has support for avatars and setting custom aliases for contacts.

uTox supports encryption of its Tox profile and save files using a password.

Tox URIs are supported.

General

uTox has support for translations, including 27 languages.

uTox has support for SOCKS5 proxies. For an example of a proxy configuration, see Tox over Tor.

uTox has support for themes, including the built-in Default, Light, Dark, High contrast, Zenburn, Solarized-light, Solarized-dark, and custom themes.

Screenshots

 µTox  A screenshot of uTox's inline images

Features

qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen TRIfA Antox Isotoxin jTox Protox aTox
Interface Desktop Desktop CLI Desktop Mobile Mobile Desktop Mobile Mobile Mobile
Linux Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
OSX Yes Yes Yes Untested No No No No No No
Windows Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes No No No
BSD Yes Yes Yes Untested No No No No No No
Android No Minimal1) No No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
iOS No No No No No No No No No No
SailfishOS No No Yes No No No No Yes No No
Audio features qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen TRIfA Antox Isotoxin jTox Protox aTox
Audio Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No
Audio filtering Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes No No No
Audio notifications Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes
Group audio Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes No No No
Video features qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen TRIfA Antox Isotoxin jTox Protox aTox
Desktop sharing Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes No No No
Video Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No
Messaging qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen TRIfA Antox Isotoxin jTox Protox aTox
1v1 messages Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Chat logs Yes Yes (export possible) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Emoticons Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Inline images Semi2) Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Message splitting Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Faux offline messaging Yes Yes Semi3) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
File transfer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
File resuming Semi4) Yes Yes Yes Untested No Yes No Semi5) No
Spell check Yes No No No No Yes Yes No No No
Screen/Desktop notifications Semi6) Yes Yes Unknown Yes Yes Unknown Unknown Yes Yes
Typing notifications Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Semi7) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Group chats qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen TRIfA Antox Isotoxin jTox Protox aTox
Group chats Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No
Persistent group chats Yes Yes Yes Prealpha Yes No Yes No No No
Group chat history Planned8) No No Unknown Yes No Unknown No No No
Group file transfers No No No No No No No No No No
Group inline images No No No No No No No No No No
Group offline messaging No No No No No No No No No No
Group typing notifications No No No No No No No No No No
Profile & Contact Management qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen TRIfA Antox Isotoxin jTox Protox aTox
Avatars Yes Yes Semi9) Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Changing nospam Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Contact aliases Yes Yes No Yes Untested Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Contact blocking Yes No Yes Yes Untested Semi10) No No No No
Multiprofile Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No
Profile import/export Yes No Semi11) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Save file encryption Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No
tox: URI Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No No Yes
General qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen TRIfA Antox Isotoxin jTox Protox aTox
Multilingual Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Proxy support Yes (Socks5 only) Yes Yes (Tor only) No Yes No No Yes
qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen TRIfA Antox Isotoxin jTox Protox aTox
 

Installation

Windows

Latest binaries are provided here.

OSX

OSX builds are posted on the releases section of the github repo by publicarray.

If you want to build from source, OSX specific instructions can be found here.

Linux

Arch Linux

Should be available in the community repo, to install:

# pacman -S utox

Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint

# apt-get install utox

openSUSE

uTox is available in openSUSE Factory.

To install in openSUSE 15.2 or newer:

# zypper in utox

If your distribution is not listed, or you want / need to compile uTox, there are provided instructions on GitHub.

FreeBSD

Binary

Use pkg utility to install binary package:

pkg install uTox

Compiling

Update ports tree:

portsnap fetch update

Compile and install client with all dependencies:

cd /usr/ports/net-im/uTox
make install clean

Usage

A conversation over uTox uTox is about as basic and self-explanatory as Tox clients come. The first time you open it you're directed to the Add Friend page where you can add your first friend. Once you've added some people, you can open up your chat session with them by Left-clicking on their names.

Adding and Removing Friends

  • Adding a friend is done through the Add Friend menu, which is presented to the user first.
  • Removing a friend is done by right-clicking on the friend's name and selecting Remove Friend.

Copy-Paste and Clearing Message History

  • Copy-Paste is done by highlighting text and right-clicking. It can be copied with or without a username. Pretty familiar.
  • Clearing the message history is done by right-clicking on a friend's name and selecting “Clear History.”

Sending a Screenshot

  • The little square button to the left of the “Send” button takes a screenshot of the current screen and sends it.

Initiating Voice or Video calling

  • The phone button at the top-right of the µTox window initiates a voice request. The recipient will be prompted to accept the voice session.
  • The videocamera button at the top-right of the µTox window initiates a voice request. The recipient will be prompted to accept the video session.

File Transfers

  • The paperclip button at the top-right of the µTox window starts a file transfer by prompting you to select a file. The file transfer request is sent as soon as the file is selected. Files are only transferred with the recipient's approval.

Other clients

The following is a list of some other Tox clients that you may be interested in using.

Popular Tox clients
qTox µTox Toxic Toxygen aTox Antidote
 
1)
Currently stalled
2)
Preview for saved images only
3)
Messages are not stored, and thus they won't be sent across client restarts
4) , 5)
Transfers can be paused and resumed, but broken transfers will not be resumed
6)
Supported but not included in builds
7)
Sends typing notifications but does not show received ones
9)
You are only able to set your own avatar, avatars of friends aren't displayed
10)
You can block, but not unblock contacts
11)
Only by manually specifying which save file should be used.
Print/export