SkypeKit in Pidgin


There’s been a couple of comments on my blog about this but I’ve been waiting until I saw what Skype had made public before I mentioned anything.

Yes, SkypeKit has been announced. A new way to connect to the Skype network. Yes, it still needs a Skype client running, however now that Skype client doesn’t have a user-interface. This new interface allows developers to use more parts of Skype that were previously untouchable, such as native-typing notifications and file transfers, which is a good thing. Sure, its not perfect in a pure open-source world but definitely a step in the right direction.

The bad news is that it’s GPL incompatible and needs a lot more work before a GPL compatible plugin for Pidgin can be made available. Yes, work is in progress.

  1. #1 by Mike on 2010-07-15 - 5:42 am

    On behalf of everyone who uses Skype with Adium, thank you for all of your hard work on this project!

  2. #2 by Sergey on 2010-07-16 - 8:49 am

    So I understand you are in progress of writing a plugin that would allow pidgin based based clients communicate via skype. Are you writing it on the pidgin level or libpurple so it can also be included in adium? In later case I would like to offer my help as a developer. I use both adium and skype a lot and would love not to have skype running most of the time so I can stick with just one client. I have decent knowledge of C and Objective-C and some time that I am willing to contribute to the cause.

  3. #3 by clcs on 2010-08-06 - 12:26 am

    Does the release of the Skype Library RC4 found at http://cryptolib.com/ciphers/skype/ make any difference when it comes to adding Skype support without using SkypeKit?

    • #4 by Eion on 2010-08-06 - 8:47 am

      I’ve been looking through the Skype RC4 implementation and while the work there is fantastic, it only provides one piece of the puzzle; the login/auth security keys are still to be worked out. Definitely exciting news though πŸ™‚

  4. #5 by Lifeboy on 2010-10-04 - 10:52 pm

    Does the skype-kit news mean that it would now be possible to also start skype conferences from Pidgin/Empathy? Currently this “add participant” is not available for Skype chats. Also, why would one not be able to make voice or video calls using Skype via Empathy? Is it a technology problem, or just a matter of resources (ie. having time to do it)? I’m very glad to have discovered this project! Well done so far!

    • #6 by Eion on 2010-10-05 - 7:03 am

      I think that’s something to do with Telepathy-Haze (the library that links libpurple with Empathy), that it’s not set up for voice/video and that it doesn’t bring through all the menu options yet. The options you’re after are already in the plugin but from the sounds of it, Haze isn’t doing its job πŸ™‚

  5. #7 by Stuart on 2010-12-21 - 10:17 pm

    clcs : Does the release of the Skype Library RC4 found at http://cryptolib.com/ciphers/skype/ make any difference when it comes to adding Skype support without using SkypeKit?

    I think a major problem with any type of 3rd party “cracking” of the Skype internals is that Skype will move to stop it by changing thinks – making everything using it break until the new system is cracked, etc. making the 3rd party use work, then break, then work, then break, etc. It would need Skype to approve of something for it to be stable in the longer term. Running without Skype would be brilliant but solutions that work and are stable are important to many (though maybe not as much fun).

    • #8 by Eion on 2010-12-31 - 6:20 pm

      Possibly, but then it’s the same problem with every other protocol that Pidgin supports.

  6. #9 by Svoop on 2011-10-16 - 12:24 am

    As time goes by – any news on SkypeKit integration in Pidgin/libpurple?

    • #10 by Eion on 2011-12-16 - 1:55 pm

      It’s unlikely to happen. The SkypeKit terms and conditions specifically forbid any open-source project using SkypeKit code. πŸ™

  7. #11 by Chris on 2011-10-30 - 11:59 pm

    Hope to hear about new info of a skypekit implementation for pidgin πŸ™‚

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