{ "schema": "tesign-radar/item/1", "generated_at": "2026-09-17T01:56:13.055Z", "lang": "en", "slug": "zapfast", "url": "https://tesign.com/en/item/zapfast/", "alternates": { "ko": { "html": "https://tesign.com/item/zapfast/", "json": "https://tesign.com/item/zapfast/index.json", "markdown": "https://tesign.com/item/zapfast/index.md" }, "en": { "html": "https://tesign.com/en/item/zapfast/", "json": "https://tesign.com/en/item/zapfast/index.json", "markdown": "https://tesign.com/en/item/zapfast/index.md" } }, "name": "ZapFast", "use_label": "Lightweight native WhatsApp client", "one_liner": "A from-scratch Rust WhatsApp client with no browser engine — about 150MB idle RAM on Linux, versus 1.13GB for WhatsApp Web.", "text": { "why": "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.", "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.", "build": [ "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": [ { "role": "Anyone who keeps WhatsApp open all day and wants it to use less memory", "situation": null }, { "role": "Someone on an older or low-power laptop where Chromium-based apps drag", "situation": null }, { "role": "Linux or Windows users who want a native feel where there's no official app", "situation": null } ], "start": [ { "command": false, "text": "Install: get the file for your OS at https://zapfast.rocks (macOS: brew install --cask crmne/tap/zapfast; Arch: yay -S zapfast-bin)" }, { "command": false, "text": "On first launch, scan the QR code from WhatsApp's Linked Devices menu" }, { "command": false, "text": "Build from source (needs Rust, CMake, Perl):" }, { "command": true, "text": "cargo install --path ." }, { "command": true, "text": "zapfast" } ], "caveat": [ "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" ] }, "cta": { "type": "install", "label": "INSTALL", "url": "https://zapfast.rocks/" }, "ready": "install", "categories": [ "social" ], "categories_confirmed": true, "tags": [ "whatsapp", "rust", "native-app", "desktop", "messaging" ], "platform": [ "macos", "windows", "linux" ], "license": { "spdx": "MIT", "scope": "permissive", "scope_text": "Use, change and redistribute, commercially too. Keep the notice.", "url": "https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html", "note": null, "open_source": true }, "language": "Rust", "source_urls": { "canonical": "https://zapfast.rocks/", "github": "https://github.com/crmne/zapfast", "huggingface": null, "app_store": null, "sightings": [ { "source": "github", "url": "https://github.com/crmne/zapfast", "posted_at": "2026-09-15T16:00:00.000Z", "hn_url": null } ] }, "numbers": { "as_of": "2026-09-16T21:00:00.000Z", "stars": 107, "stars_unit": "GitHub stars", "stars_checked_at": "2026-09-15T21:33:33.705Z", "stars_observed_since_check": 11, "star_delta_24h": 11, "star_delta_7d": 39, "star_delta_30d": 39, "star_delta_unit": "GitHub stars gained in the window, GH Archive events summed to as_of", "spark_14d": [ null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, 31, 8 ], "hf_likes": null, "hf_likes_observed_at": null, "hn_points": null, "hn_points_observed_at": null, "store": null, "method": "Star total = the value last checked on GitHub (stars_checked_at) + increases observed via GH Archive since. The 24h · 7d · 30d gains are GH Archive hourly events summed to the reference time (as_of). No score of ours." }, "ranks": { "as_of": "2026-09-16T21:00:00.000Z", "all_time": null, "rising": { "24h": null, "7d": 59, "30d": null }, "categories": [] }, "activity": { "pushed_at": "2026-09-15T18:40:18.000Z", "owner_type": null, "open_issues": null, "contributors": null, "releases_count": null, "latest_release": null, "checked_at": null, "core_checked_at": "2026-09-15T21:33:33.705Z" }, "signals": [], "images": { "og": "https://tesign.com/img/zapfast-ac29caa5d5.png", "cover": "https://tesign.com/img/zapfast-ac29caa5d5.png", "cover_width": 1387, "cover_height": 1040, "gallery": [ "https://tesign.com/img/zapfast-ac29caa5d5.png", "https://tesign.com/img/zapfast-76d00f599d.png", "https://tesign.com/img/zapfast-a11014e822.png", "https://tesign.com/img/zapfast-3ce40757e8.png" ], "alt": "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!\"", "tier": 2 }, "dates": { "first_seen_at": "2026-09-15T21:33:03.258Z", "source_created_at": "2026-08-29T15:52:40.000Z", "discovery_hours": 413.6731272222222, "launch_signal_at": "2026-09-15T16:00:00.000Z", "kept_at": "2026-09-17T01:24:00.688Z", "first_published_at": "2026-09-17T01:24:00.858Z", "updated_at": "2026-09-17T01:26:30.172Z", "ingestion_mode": "live" }, "notes": [ "This file was produced by the same build, from the same data, as the tesign.com item page. The text is editorial; the numbers are stored observations.", "null in the JSON means not observed — never zero. The Markdown writes [unconfirmed] for it.", "Star total = the value last checked on GitHub (stars_checked_at) + increases observed via GH Archive since. The 24h · 7d · 30d gains are GH Archive hourly events summed to the reference time (as_of). No score of ours.", "A summary, not legal advice." ] }