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EnglishHow Does Moment Relate to Mirage?
Updated
Moment is a maintained fork of Mirage. That single fact answers the core question: Moment is not a from-scratch Matrix client, but a continuation of Mirage's codebase that is kept up to date by its own maintainers. If you are choosing between the two, the practical difference is maintenance status rather than a fundamentally different feature set.
What "fork" means here
A fork is a copy of an existing project that then develops on its own path. In Moment's case, the official site states directly that "Moment is a maintained fork of Mirage." Two things follow from that wording:
- Inherited foundation. Moment starts from Mirage's existing functionality rather than a blank slate. The features listed on its site — end-to-end encryption, decentralization, multi-account support, keyboard bindings, themes, and responsive layout — describe the client as it exists now, built on that inherited base.
- Independent upkeep. The word "maintained" signals that someone is actively keeping the fork current. This is the part that distinguishes it from the original project's status.
Why the distinction matters to a user
For most people evaluating a Matrix client, the fork relationship is only relevant insofar as it affects what they actually use. The relevant question is not "is it a fork?" but "is the version I install being looked after?"
| Consideration | What Moment's site tells you |
|---|---|
| Origin | A fork of Mirage |
| Maintenance | Described as "maintained" |
| Platform | Linux |
| Cost model | Described as "free and open-source" |
| Encryption | End-to-end encryption |
| Hosting | Decentralized — pick your host or self-host |
| Compatibility | Works with many clients and bridges to other protocols |
| Accounts | Multi-account support |
| Interface | Keyboard-operable, responsive, themeable |
If you were already considering Mirage, Moment is the variant whose maintainers are presenting it as actively kept up. If you were not, the fork detail is mostly background — the feature list is what you would evaluate either way.
What this does not tell you
The site describes Moment as a maintained fork, but it does not publish a comparison against Mirage, a changelog of divergences, or a statement about how far the two have drifted apart. So you cannot conclude from this page alone:
- Which specific features Moment has added beyond Mirage.
- Whether Mirage is still maintained in parallel.
- How frequently Moment receives updates.
Those are the questions to check directly in the project's repository or release history if the fork relationship is decisive for you.
A reasonable way to decide
- If you want a Linux Matrix client with encryption, multi-account support, and keyboard-driven control, evaluate Moment on its own listed features — the fork origin does not change what it does.
- If you specifically want the actively maintained line of the Mirage codebase, Moment is the one described that way, and it is the safer default between the two on that criterion alone.
- If you need to know exactly how the two differ, treat the official site as insufficient and go to the source repository, where commits and releases will show the actual divergence.
In short: Moment is Mirage's codebase under continued maintenance, and that maintenance claim — not the fork label itself — is the reason to prefer it.