Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 6, 2026

Adium

Adium is a free and open-source instant messaging client for macOS that supports multiple IM networks, including XMPP (Jabber) and IRC. Earlier versions also supported AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. Adium is written in Objective-C using macOS's Cocoa API and is released under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later, with some bundled components under separate licenses.

Last revised
Jun 6, 2026
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Adium
DeveloperAdium team
Initial releaseSeptember 28, 2001 (2001-09-28)1
Stable release1.5.10.4 (April 27, 2017 (2017-04-27)) [±]
Preview release1.5.11hgr5899 (January 15, 2015 (2015-01-15)) [±]
Written inObjective-C
Operating systemmacOS
Available inmultilingual2
TypeInstant messaging client
LicenseGNU General Public License
Websitewww.adium.im Edit this on Wikidata
Repository

Adium is a free and open-source instant messaging client for macOS that supports multiple IM networks, including XMPP (Jabber) and IRC. Earlier versions also supported AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. Adium is written in Objective-C using macOS's Cocoa API and is released under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later, with some bundled components under separate licenses.

First released in September 2001 with support for AIM only, Adium later integrated libpurple to support additional protocols. In 2005, it received a "Special Mention" at the Apple Design Awards. In 2014, the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded it 6 out of 7 points on its Secure Messaging Scorecard.

History

Adium was created by Adam Iser,3 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.1

At this point, the Adium team began a complete rewrite of the Adium code, expanding it into a multiprotocol messaging program. Pidgin's (formerly "Gaim") libpurple (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".4 Adium X 0.88 was the first version compiled as a universal binary, allowing it to run natively on Intel-based Macs.5

In 2005, Adium received a "Special Mention" at the Apple Design Awards.6

After version Adium X 0.89.1, the team changed the name back to "Adium", and "Adium 1.0" was released in early February 2007.7

Apple Inc. used Adium X 0.89.1's build time in Xcode 2.3 as a benchmark for comparing the performance of the Mac Pro and Power Mac G5 Quad,8 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.8

On November 4, 2014, Adium scored 6 out of 7 points on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's secure messaging scorecard. It lost a point because there has not been a recent independent code audit.9

Protocols

Adium supports a wide range of instant messaging networks through the libraries libezv (for Bonjour), STTwitterEngine (for Twitter), and libpurple (for all other protocols).

Adium supports the following protocols:10

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 notifications system, Sparkle for program updates, and support for encrypted messaging with the Off-the-Record Messaging library.79

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 emoticons, dock icons, contact list styles, and message styles.7 Adium can also be enhanced through the use of different sound sets. AppleScripts 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.11

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "Adium1xChangelog". The Adium Project. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
  2. "Adium – About". The Adium Project. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  3. Cohen, Peter (February 18, 2002). "Adium 1.5 released, AIM client for OS X". Macworld. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  4. "History Of Adium". The Adium Project. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  5. McNulty, Scott (January 24, 2006). "Adium X 0.88 an Universal application". Engadget. Retrieved May 25, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Cohen, Peter (June 10, 2005). "WWDC: Apple Design Award 2005 winners announced". Macworld. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  7. Cohen, Peter (February 4, 2007). "Adium chat software emerges from beta". Macworld. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  8. "Mac Pro – Performance: Science and technical computing". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on August 28, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
  9. "Secure Messaging Scorecard. Which apps and tools actually keep your messages safe?". Electronic Frontier Foundation. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  10. "List of services supported and their interoperability". The Adium Project. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  11. "Adium – About". adium.im. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
External links