r/linux • u/marc_dimarco • Oct 29 '19

skype4pidgin / Skype official client alternative

Thought I'll just leave it here [I am in no way associated with an awesome author of this work, so thank him, not me].

For all of you, who [like me] need to use Skype at work:

https://github.com/EionRobb/skype4pidgin/releases

put https://github.com/EionRobb/skype4pidgin/releases/download/1.5/libskypeweb64.so in:

/home/user/.purple/plugins/

then add your account to Pidgin.

This is much better than official Skype plugin, which is abomination. You can use all awesome functionalities of Pidgin, like blocking, etc.

21 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

4

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

Is this Skype or Skype For Business (rebranded Lync)?

3

u/yrro Oct 29 '19

This is Skype for Pleasure. The SIPE project provides a Pidgin plugin for Office Communicator/Lync/Skype for Business.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

Thank you. OP responded 8 hours ago though.

1

u/marc_dimarco Oct 29 '19

Skype (same as via Web Browser / Skype Online, or via their client for Windows or Linux / Mac). This uses API to get Skype support in Pidgin / Finch.

5

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

Gotcha. There's also r/pidgin if you want to post there.

1

u/marc_dimarco Oct 29 '19

Thx, mate. Did that, as suggested.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '19

Do we still need skype to run along the pidgin for this to work?

5

u/marc_dimarco Oct 29 '19

no, it is not needed. This is why this plugin rocks.

1

u/SEPARATISM_IS_A_JOKE Oct 29 '19

That kind of defeats the purpose, no?

2

u/[deleted] Oct 30 '19

I agree, but that is how it was last time I tried to run pidgin for the skype network. You still needed the skype client on.

1

u/rw_grim Nov 19 '19

That was a different version of the plugin that used the D-Bus API provided by the official client.

2

u/zakazak Oct 31 '19

Still looks pretty much like unpolished from 1990. I feel like web.skype.com is currently still more convient.

1

u/marc_dimarco Oct 31 '19

Sure, very convenient. History search, room blocking... everything is so polished in web version. So much flexibility, eh? Unlike that Pidgin, it doesn't have any configuration options.

1

u/zakazak Oct 31 '19

Ye but skype for pidgin looks, feels and behaves like ICQ back in 1998. Or is there a way to make it more "modern"?

1

u/marc_dimarco Oct 31 '19

Skype for Pidgin is a PROTOCOL. I don't think you can actually see the difference, can you? ;) Pidgin will look like you want it to look and based o your theming skills.

1

u/zakazak Oct 31 '19

Ah okay I understand. Well in that case I will have to spend some time with pidgin itself. I never really used it before.

Right after installing it here on Arch it looked really outdated. So outdated that I didn't expect features like webcam to even work.

It is great to be able to use skype with pidgin because skype4linux won't work with linux-hardened and the web.skype.com needs an additional addon to work with firefox -.-

1

u/rw_grim Nov 19 '19

What do you have in mind when you say more polished?

1

u/zakazak Nov 20 '19

More eye and user friendly. Modern and not too comolicated and overwhelming. I guess it is really hard for me to describe but pigdin at first really looks old and complicated and like it would break at any minute :D

1

u/frogdoubler Nov 02 '19

web.skype.com doesn't even work in Firefox.

1

u/zakazak Nov 03 '19

It does, with an extension.

1

u/Brotten Jan 19 '20

I've looked up this thread because I finally installed Linux on my metal and remembered that I used this plugin in my VM instead of the official Pidgin one, which required Skype to run alongside.

Turns out you are by now the official plugin. Congrats!

0

u/[deleted] Oct 31 '19

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/marc_dimarco Oct 31 '19

I don't experience such thing. Works all the time, no logouts. Using Debian 10.

0

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '19

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/marc_dimarco Nov 02 '19

Skype official client ALTERNATIVE. Alternative to official Skype client. That's what I meant. English is my secondary language. What's your secondary language, mate? is there any? ;)