Atlas: Jami’s biggest step toward reliable communication
It rolls months of engineering into visible gains you can feel in daily use: stronger reliability, smoother calls and messaging across devices, and better behavior on slow or unstable networks. Atlas is about maturity and endurance, not flashy features !
This article walks through the meaning of the name Atlas, what has changed in Jami, and what is coming next.
Why Atlas?
- Atlas, in Greek myth, is the Titan condemned by Zeus to hold up the sky for eternity. He embodies strength and the duty to carry a burden, so others can move freely. We chose this name as a commitment to help protect private communication and digital freedom, at a time when both face growing pressure from state surveillance, data brokers, and AI systems that feed on personal traces.
- Atlas also means a collection of maps, which fits Jami’s global mission. We build Jami for everyone, across borders and backgrounds, so anyone can connect for free in a dependable, privacy-respecting way.
- In English, ‘Atlas’ also echoes ‘at last’, a nod to a year of collective work that put reliability at the center of the experience.
Eighteen months of steady improvements
Over the last year and a half, we focused on reliability in everyday use. Much of this work was invisible, and we documented it in our Dev Updates.
What you will notice
| Aspect | Improvements |
|---|---|
| 📞 Smoother communications | Smoother calls and conferences, with clearer audio, more stable video, better continuity on poor-quality networks. |
| ✉️ Reliable messaging & transfers | Delivery receipts with a not sent/received checks, fewer retries and dropouts, more predictable delivery. |
| 📈 Higher performance | Faster startup and account loading. |
| 🖥️ Cleaner interface | Simpler screens that surface the essentials. |
| 🌍 Consistent across platforms | More consistent behavior on desktop, mobile, and common Linux distributions. |
Under the hood
- Fewer packet-loss issues and stronger session handling in the distributed network.
- A refined protocol and APIs, plus hundreds of bug fixes that cut edge-case failures and improve resource use.
What comes next?
Atlas is a foundation, not a finish line. The roadmap ahead is rich.
Priority 1: Reliability
- Device linking: fix reconnects after a wrong password, make multi-device linking solid.
- Invitations and 1-to-1 chats: restore multiple conversations with the same contact, redesign the invitation flow. The replay feature stays off until it is provably safe.
- History and sync: load messages reliably and in order, correct send and read states, fix cases where messages appear only after restart or old messages reappear on iOS.
- Calls: clearer audio, steadier video, better bitrate selection, fix the group-call freeze on exit, optional auto-answer for simultaneous calls.
- Network core: reduce long-run instability in relay nodes, fix a memory leak, improve packet-loss handling and session stability.
- PJSIP library: unblock a stalled send path, address crashes and rare timeouts during connection setup.
- Location sharing: ensure delivery is reliable.
Priority 2: Test smarter
- Broader coverage: generate realistic scenarios automatically instead of writing them one by one, with fuzzing, property-based tests, and deterministic simulations.
- Find hidden bugs early: inject failures in a safe lab and use strict internal checks to surface timing issues and regressions quickly.
- Faster diagnosis: add clearer call and network diagnostics to speed up fixes and keep bugs from returning.
Our donation campaign
Building Jami takes more than code. It takes time, resources, and a community that cares.
We are launching our second donation campaign to accelerate development and secure Jami’s long-term sustainability. Your contribution directly funds the engineers who build, test, and maintain Jami, keep the project independent, and ensure it remains reliable for everyone.
Your support is essential to keep the project on solid ground. It lets Jami grow without compromising its core principles : freedom, privacy, and respect for your data.