TESIGN
SAVED

EN · KO

  1. TESIGN / RADAR
  2. 2026.09.17
  3. ZapFast

ZapFast

Lightweight native WhatsApp client

WHO USES ITAnyone who keeps WhatsApp open all day and wants it to use less memory · Someone on an older or low-power laptop where Chromium-based apps drag · Linux or Windows users who want a native feel where there's no official app

Install to use

A from-scratch Rust WhatsApp client with no browser engine — about 150MB idle RAM on Linux, versus 1.13GB for WhatsApp Web.

★ 107▲ +39 / 7dDaily star increases over 14 days. Hollow bars mean no data. The last day may be partial.2026-09-03 no data2026-09-04 no data2026-09-05 no data2026-09-06 no data2026-09-07 no data2026-09-08 no data2026-09-09 no data2026-09-10 no data2026-09-11 no data2026-09-12 no data2026-09-13 no data2026-09-14 no data2026-09-15 +312026-09-16 +8largest one-day increase in the 14 days+31last 14 days · stars per dayhollow = no data

107 stars · checked on GitHub GitHub check 28 h late · incl. +11 observed via GH Archive since then · 7-day +39 observed via GH Archive (as of )

RANKS Rising this week #59

ZapFast's chat screen: a conversation with a photo, a document and a voice message, someone linking "btw I made my own Spotify app from scratch!"
ZapFast's chat screen: a conversation with a photo, a document and a voice message, someone linking "btw I made my own Spotify app from scratch!"
ZapFast's chat screen: a conversation with a photo, a document and a voice message, someone linking "btw I made my own Spotify app from scratch!"
ZapFast's chat screen: a conversation with a photo, a document and a voice message, someone linking "btw I made my own Spotify app from scratch!"

TESIGN TAKE

The point isn't "a lighter Chrome app" — there's genuinely no browser engine in it, and publishing its own measurements makes the claim easier to trust.

INSTALL

AT A GLANCE

LICENSE
MIT
USAGE
Use, change and redistribute, commercially too. Keep the notice.
LANGUAGE
Rust
PLATFORM
macos · windows · linux
ACTIVITY
last commit 1 day ago () · latest release [unconfirmed]
COMMUNITY
contributors [unconfirmed] · open issues [unconfirmed] · made by: [unconfirmed] Reference time unavailable
SOURCES
GitHub
OPEN SOURCE
YES
FIRST SEEN
CATEGORY
SOCIAL

A summary, not legal advice.

WHY IT MATTERS

WhatsApp Web and its desktop app are heavy because they embed a full Chromium engine. ZapFast is a from-scratch Rust/egui client that links to WhatsApp as a companion device with no browser engine at all. By the maker's own Linux measurements it opens in under a second and idles around 150MB, versus 1.13GB for WhatsApp Web and its Chromium processes. It covers most of WhatsApp's core features — replies, reactions, voice messages, polls, disappearing-message timers — and its local message archive is SQLCipher-encrypted, unlocked through the OS keyring.

BUILD FROM THIS

  • Swap a Chromium-based WhatsApp Web tab for a light native client
  • Keep WhatsApp open on an older or low-power machine
  • Match its theme with Spotifast (the same maker's Spotify client) since they share the same palette picker

WHO IT'S FOR

Anyone who keeps WhatsApp open all day and wants it to use less memory
Someone on an older or low-power laptop where Chromium-based apps drag
Linux or Windows users who want a native feel where there's no official app

START IN 5 MINUTES

# Install: get the file for your OS at https://zapfast.rocks (macOS: brew install --cask crmne/tap/zapfast; Arch: yay -S zapfast-bin)
# On first launch, scan the QR code from WhatsApp's Linked Devices menu
# Build from source (needs Rust, CMake, Perl):
$ cargo install --path .
$ zapfast

CAVEATS

  • MIT (a few fonts/icons are SIL OFL/ISC) · the README states plainly that it's an unofficial client and using one may violate WhatsApp's terms, which could get an account suspended
  • Calls, status posts, communities and group administration aren't supported yet
  • Flathub publication is still pending

RECEIPT

FIRST SEEN
AT SOURCE
KEPT
STAR DELTA
+11 ★ / 24h
CREATED → FIRST SEEN
17d
WHEN FIRST SEEN
96 ★
SOURCES
GitHub

The same facts in machine-readable form — View as Markdown · JSON

SIMILAR TOOLS

Up to five from SOCIAL by ★ total: edited entries first, then repository cards; this entry is highlighted. Drawn from the same stored snapshot as the rankings — a comparison, not a recommendation.

IMAGENAME★ TOTAL▲ 7dLICENSEPLATFORMLAST PUSH
ZapFast's chat screen: a conversation with a photo, a document and a voice message, someone linking "btw I made my own Spotify app from scratch!"
ZapFastLightweight native WhatsApp clientTHIS ENTRY★ 107▲ +39MITpermissivemacos · windows · linux
microsoft/vscodeCARD★ 192k▲ +258MITpermissive—
rclone/rcloneCARD★ 59.7k▲ +4MITpermissive—
makeplane/planeCARD★ 59.3k▲ +18AGPL-3.0copyleft—
imputnet/cobaltCARD★ 43k▲ +64AGPL-3.0copyleft—

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