PidginLets see how to configure Pidgin client for Facebook to make it work as Facebook messenger. Pidgin is the universal chat client that offers a single place to chat with your friends on MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, MySpace and many others and just now they have support for Facebook Chat. As Pidgin supports XMPP for instant messaging that automatically enables the IM client to be eligible for Facebook Chat.

Pidgin is perhaps the best chat client out there that can offer you a single place to chat with your friends on Facebook using a third party desktop based IM client. It’s open source and free to use. However configuring Facebook Chat on Pidgin is bit tricky and is not as easy as it was with AIM. In this little tutorial, we will try to guide you and show you, with screenshots, how to configure Pidgin client for Facebook Chat.

You can configure Pidgin for Facebook Chat in following steps:

Download and Install Pidgin

On launching Pidgin client, you will see following screen:

Pidgin Welcome

Click on “Add” button, this will open settings box for new account.

In basic settings, type information as:

  • Protocol: XMPP
  • Username: Enter your Facebook Username. You must have a username to use Facebook chat on 3rd party clients. If you don’t have one, go to facebook.com/username to get a username.
  • Domain: chat.facebook.com
  • Resource: Pidgin
  • Password: Enter your Facebook Account password

Here is how completed basic settings look like:

Pidgin Basic Settings

After filling up basic settings, go to “Advanced” tab

  • Disable the first checkbox, titled “Require SSL/TLS”. Fill in other advanced settings as:
  • Connect Port: 5222
  • Connect Server: chat.facebook.com
  • Let other information remain unchanged and click “Save” button.

Here is the screenshot of completed advanced settings box:

Pidgin Advanced Settings

You are all set to chat with your Facebook friends using Pidgin. You can also put your status online/offline.