Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients

Short description: none

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

For a comparison of instant messaging clients (including multi-protocol clients that support IRC), see Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients. For a comparison of mobile Internet Relay Chat clients, see Comparison of mobile Internet Relay Chat clients.

The following tables compare general and technical information between a number of notable IRC client programs which have been discussed in independent, reliable prior published sources.

## Contents

* 1 General
* 2 Release
* 3 Operating system support
* 4 Protocol support
* 4.1 Direct Client-to-Client (DCC) support
* 4.2 IRCv3 Support
* 4.2.1 IRCv3 SASL Mechanisms
* 5 Features
* 6 See also
* 7 References

## General

Basic general information about the notableclients: creator/company, license, etc. Clients listed on a light purple background are no longer in active development.

Client | Primary developers | Distribution model  | Software license | User interface | Programming language

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Adium | Thijs Alkemade  | Free software | GPL-2.0-or-later | GUI  | Objective-C and C
Ambassador[1] | Isengrim  | Free software | MPL | GUI[Note 1] | JavaScript, XUL
AmIRC | Oliver Wagner, Nicolas Sallin, Costel Mincea  | Free software | GNU General Public License | GUI  | ?
AndroIRC[2] | Madalynn  | Freeware | Proprietary | GUI  | ?
Bersirc[3] | Jamie Frater, Nicholas Copeland  | Free software | LGPL | GUI  | C (Delphi originally)
BitchX | Colten Edwards  | Free software | BSD | TUI, GUI  | C
ChatZilla | James Ross, Robert Ginda, Samuel Sieb, Gijs Kruitbosch  | Free software | MPL, GPL, LGPL
tri-license  | GUI[Note 2] | JavaScript, XUL
Colloquy | Timothy Hatcher, Kiji Roshi  | Free software | Desktop: GPL
Mobile: BSD | GUI  | Objective-C
ERC | Alexander L. Belikoff, Sergey Berezin  | Free software | GPL-3.0-or-later | TUI, GUI  | Emacs Lisp
GrumpyChat[4] | Petr Bena  | Free software | LGPL | GUI  | C++
HexChat[5] | Berke Viktor  | Free software | GPL-2.0-or-later | TUI, GUI  | C
IceChat[6][7] | Paul Vanderzee  | Free software | GPL | GUI  | C# (Visual Basic until 2004)[8]
Igloo[9] | Jordan Koch  | Commercial  | Proprietary | GUI  | Swift
Instantbird | Florian Quèze  | Free software | GPL | GUI | C++, JavaScript, CSS, XUL
Irccloud[10] | IRCCloud Ltd.  | Freemium | Proprietary | Web | JavaScript frontend, Erlang backend
ircII | Michael Sandrof  | Free software | BSD | TUI  | C
Ircle | Onno Tijdgat  | Commercial, 30-day trial  | Proprietary | GUI  | C
Irssi | Timo Sirainen  | Free software | GPL-2.0-or-later | TUI  | C
KVIrc | Szymon Stefanek  | Free software | GPL | GUI  | C++
Konversation | KDE | Free software | GPL-2.0-or-later | GUI  | C++
LeafChat[11] | Samuel Marshall  | Free software | GPL-3.0-or-later | GUI  | Java
LimeChat[12][13][14] | Satoshi Nakagawa  | Free software | GPL-2.0-only[15] | GUI  | RubyCocoa (2007–2010)[14][15]
Objective-C (2010–)[16]
Linkinus | Conceited Software  | Commercial, 15-day trial  | Proprietary | GUI  | Objective-C
Mibbit | Jimmy Moore  | Textual Adbar | Proprietary | Web | JavaScript frontend,
Java backend
mIRC | Khaled Mardam-Bey  | Shareware, 30-day trial[17] | Proprietary | GUI  | C/C++[18]
Monochrome[19] | Peter Pawlowski  | Free software | GPL-2.0-only | GUI  | C#
Nettalk | Nicolas Kruse  | Free software | Apache-2.0  | GUI  | Visual Basic
Pidgin |  | Free software | GPL-2.0-or-later | GUI  | C
PIRCH | Northwest Computer Services  | Shareware | Proprietary | GUI  | Delphi
PJIRC | Philippe Detournay  | Free software | GPL | GUI  | Java
Quassel | Manuel Nickschas, Marcus Eggenberger, Alexander von Renteln  | Free software | GPL-2.0-or-3.0 | TUI[Note 3], GUI[Note 4] | C++
rcirc | Ryan Yeske  | Free software | GPL-3.0-or-later | TUI  | Emacs Lisp
Smuxi | Mirco Bauer  | Free software | GPL-2.0-or-later | GUI, TUI, server[Note 4] | C#
Snak | Kent Sorensen  | Commercial  | Proprietary | GUI  | ?
Thunderbird | Mozilla Foundation | Free software | MPL-2.0 | GUI  | C, C++, JavaScript
Visual IRC | Jesse McGrew  | Free software | GPL | GUI  | Delphi
WeeChat | Sebastien Helleu  | Free software | GPL-3.0-or-later | TUI, GUI[Note 5] | C
XiRCON | Mark Hanson  | Freeware | Proprietary | GUI  | Borland C++, scripted with Tcl
Client | Primary developers | Distribution model  | Software license | User interface | Programming language

1. ↑ Can be used as a standalone application or as part of a XUL-based web browser
2. ↑ Can be installed as part of a web browser
3. ↑ Incomplete, proof of concept
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Separate client and daemon
5. ↑ No official GUI, several options available (e.g. Glowing Bear, a web frontend)

## Release

A brief overview of the release history.

| First public release  | First stable release  | Latest stable release

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Client | Date  | Version  | Date  | Version
AmIRC | 1995  |  |  |  |
Bersirc | 1999  |  |  |  | 2.2.14 (12 August 2005; 20 years ago (2005-08-12)) [±]
BitchX | 1996  |  |  |  | 1.2.1 (November 14, 2014; 11 years ago (2014-11-14)) [±]
ChatZilla | 2001  |  |  |  | 0.9.93 (November 8, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-11-08)[20]) [±]
Colloquy  | 2005  |  |  |  | 2.4.3 (6011) (March 22, 2014; 12 years ago (2014-03-22)) [±]
degesch  | 2015  | 0.9  | 2015  | 0.9  |
DMDirc  | 2007  |  |  |  | 0.7 (January 5, 2013; 13 years ago (2013-01-05)[21]) [±]
ERC | 1999?  |  |  |  | ERC improvements are now released as part of Emacs.  [±]
F-IRC  | 2006?  | 0.1  |  |  | 1.36 (February 23, 2014)
HexChat | 2009-10-04  | r249  | 2009-10-09  | 2.86.0  |
HydraIRC  | 2002  |  |  |  | 0.3.165 (December 12, 2008; 17 years ago (2008-12-12)) [±]
IceChat | 2002  | 3.0  | 2002-04-08  | 3.0  |
ircII | 1989  | 2.0.0  | 1989  | 2.0.0  | 20210314 (March 14, 2021; 5 years ago (2021-03-14)) [±]
IRCjr  | 2008  |  | 2008  |  | mTCP_2023-03-31 (March 31, 2023; 3 years ago (2023-03-31)[22]) [±]
Ircle | 1995  |  |  |  | 3.5a6 (November 17, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-11-17)) [±]
Irssi | 1999  |  |  |  | 1.4.4 (March 31, 2023; 3 years ago (2023-03-31)) [±][23]
jIRCii  | ?  | ?  |  |  | ?
kirc  | 2020  | 0.0.1  |  |  |
KVIrc | 1998  | 0.6.0  | 1999-12-21  | 1.0.0  | 5.0.0 (January 1, 2019; 7 years ago (2019-01-01)[24]) [±]
Konversation | 2002  |  |  |  | Error: first parameter is missing. ()
LeafChat | ?  | 1.0  |  |  | 2.5 (July 29, 2012; 13 years ago (2012-07-29)) [±]
LimeChat  | 2007  |  |  |  | Mavericks / Mountain Lion

2.43 (January 26, 2018; 8 years ago (2018-01-26)[25]) [±]

Lion
2.38 (September 12, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-09-12)) [±]

Linkinus | 2007  |  |  |  | 2.4.3 (August 23, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-08-23)[26]) [±]
Mibbit | 2008  |  |  |  | web application, no version
mIRC | 1995  |  |  |  | 7.76 (7 January 2024; 2 years ago (2024-01-07)[27]) [±]
Nettalk | 2004  |  |  |  | 6.7.16 (October 30, 2012; 13 years ago (2012-10-30)[28]) [±]
PIRCH | 1995  |  |  |  | 1.0.1.1190 (January 1, 2001; 25 years ago (2001-01-01)) [±]
PJIRC | 2002  |  |  |  | 2.2.1 (November 29, 2004; 21 years ago (2004-11-29)) [±]
Quassel | 2008-08-27  | 0.3.0  |  |  | 0.14.0 (January 1, 2022; 4 years ago (2022-01-01)) [±]
qwebirc  | 2009  | 0.81  |  |  | 0.92 (February 13, 2012; 14 years ago (2012-02-13)) [±]
rIRC  | 2010  | Preview Release 1  | 2012  | 1.44  | 1.4.4 (January 16, 2012)
Scrollback  | 2013  |  | 2013  |  |
rcirc | ?  | ?  |  |  | rcirc improvements are now released as part of Emacs.  [±]
Smuxi | 2008-07-29  | 0.6  | 2010-09-03  | 0.8  | 1.2.1 (April 23, 2023; 3 years ago (2023-04-23)) [±]
Snak | 1997  |  |  |  | 5.3.4 (March 11, 2012; 14 years ago (2012-03-11)[29]) [±]
Visual IRC | 1995  |  |  |  | 2.0pl2 (December 30, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-12-30)) [±][30]
WeeChat | 2003  |  |  |  | 4.2.1 (January 22, 2024; 2 years ago (2024-01-22)[31]) [±]
Client | Date  | Version  | Date  | Version  | Latest stable release
First public release  | First stable release

## Operating system support

The operating systems on which the clients can run natively (without emulation).

Client  | Windows 7, Vista | XP, 2000 | NT 4.0 | NT 3.x | Me, 98 | 95 | 3.1x | ReactOS | macOS (Intel/PPC)  | OS 9 | OS 8 | System 7 (PPC/68k)  | BeOS, Haiku | OS/2, eCS, ArcaOS | AmigaOS (68k)  | AmigaOS 4, MorphOS (PPC)  | DOS

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AmIRC | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No
Bersirc | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | ?  | ?  | No  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
BitchX | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | No  | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | No  | ?  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
ChatZilla | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | No
Colloquy | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
degesch  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
ERC | Yes  | Yes[34] | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | Yes[35] | Yes[36] | ?  | ?  | Yes[37]
HexChat | Yes  | Dropped (2.9.5)  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No
HydraIRC  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
IceChat | Yes  | Dropped (9.50)  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
IRCCloud  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
ircII | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | No  | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | No  | ?  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No
IRCjr  | No  | Yes[Note 2] | Yes[Note 2] | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes
Ircle | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes[Note 3] | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Irssi | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | ?  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | No
jIRCii  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | No
KiwiIRC  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
Konversation | Partial  | Partial  | Partial  | No  | Partial  | Partial  | No  | ?  | Partial  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
KVIrc | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes[39] | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | Yes[40] | No  | No  | No
LeafChat | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
LimeChat  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes[Note 4] | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Linkinus | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes[Note 3] | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Mibbit | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
mIRC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Partial  | Yes  | Yes  | Partial  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Nettalk | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | Partial[Note 5] | No  | No  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
PIRCH | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
PJIRC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No
Quassel | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No
qwebirc  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
rIRC  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
rcirc | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Scrollback  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
Smuxi | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Snak | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Visual IRC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
WeeChat | Partial[Note 1] | Partial[Note 1] | Partial[Note 1] | No  | Partial[Note 1] | Partial[Note 1] | No  | ?  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | Partial  | No  | No  | No  | No
Client  | Windows 7, Vista  | XP, 2000  | NT 4.0  | NT 3.x  | Me, 98  | 95  | 3.1x  | ReactOS  | OS X (Intel/PPC)  | OS 9  | OS 8  | System 7 (PPC/68k)  | BeOS, Haiku  | OS/2, eCS  | AmigaOS (68k)  | AmigaOS 4, MorphOS (PPC)  | DOS

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Requires Cygwin[32][33]
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Requires SwsVpkt[38]
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Requires OS X v10.4.3 or later
4. ↑ Requires RubyCocoa 1.0.0 or later
5. ↑ Does not support Windows 95 or Windows 98[41]

Unix and Unix-like operating systems:

* Unix (BSD): 386BSD, BSD/OS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, SunOS, ULTRIX
* Unix (System V): AIX, A/UX, HP-UX, IRIX, SCO OpenServer, Solaris, UnixWare
* Unix-like: Linux, NeXTSTEP, OpenVMS[citation needed], OSF/1, QNX, Tru64 UNIX

Client  | 386BSD | BSD/OS (BSD/386, BSDI)  | FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD | SunOS | ULTRIX  | AIX | A/UX  | HP-UX | IRIX | SCO OpenServer  | Solaris | UnixWare  | Linux | NeXTSTEP | OpenVMS | OSF/1  | QNX | Tru64 UNIX

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Bersirc | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?
BitchX | ?  | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | ?  | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | ?  | Yes[Note 1] | Yes  | Yes[Note 1] | Yes  | ?  | Yes[Note 1] | Yes[Note 1] | ?
ChatZilla | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes
Colloquy | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
degesch  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
DMDIrc  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
ERC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
HexChat | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes
HydraIRC  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
IceChat | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
IRCCloud  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
ircII | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
IRCjr  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Ircle | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Irssi | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
KiwiIRC  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
Konversation | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes
KVIrc | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
LeafChat | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
LimeChat  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Linkinus | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Mibbit | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes
mIRC | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Nettalk | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
PIRCH | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
PJIRC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
Quassel | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
qwebirc  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes
rcirc | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
Smuxi | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Snak | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
Visual IRC | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
WeeChat | ?  | ?  | Yes[Note 2] | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Partial[Note 3] | ?  | Yes[Note 2] | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes[Note 2] | ?
Client  | 386BSD  | BSD/OS (BSD/386, BSDI)  | FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD  | SunOS  | ULTRIX  | AIX  | A/UX  | HP-UX  | IRIX  | SCO OpenServer  | Solaris  | UnixWare  | Linux  | NeXTSTEP  | OpenVMS  | OSF/1  | QNX  | Tru64 UNIX

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 BitchX is known to work on BSDI 2.0, 2.1, 3.1, 4.0; FreeBSD 2.x, 3.x, 4.0; NetBSD 3.x, 4.x; SunOS 4.1.4; Ultrix; AIX; HP-UX 9.x, 10.x; IRIX 5.x, 6.x; Solaris 5.x and later; Linux; OSF/1 (DEC Alpha); QNX
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 WeeChat tested on FreeBSD 4.11, 5.4, 6.0; NetBSD 2.0, 2.1; OpenBSD 3.6, 3.7, 3.8; Solaris 5.10; QNX 6.3[42]
3. ↑ In development[42]

## Protocol support

What IRC related protocols and standards are supported by each client.

Client | IPv6 | SSL  | TLS | DANE | OCSP | CRL | SASL | OTR

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Bersirc | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
BitchX | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
ChatZilla | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | script  | No
Colloquy  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No[43]
degesch  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
DMDirc  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
ERC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes[Note 1] | No
HexChat | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes[Note 2]
HydraIRC  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | No
IceChat | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No
IRCCloud  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No
ircII | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
IRCjr  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No
Ircle | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
Irssi | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | ?  | Yes  | Yes[44]
jIRCii  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
KiwiIRC  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | No  | Yes  | No
Konversation | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No
KVIrc | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | No  | Yes  | No
LimeChat  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No
Linkinus | No  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No
Mibbit | No  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No
mIRC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No
Nettalk | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
PIRCH | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
PJIRC | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
Quassel | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | No  | Yes  | No[45]
qwebirc  | No  | Yes  | No  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No
rcirc | No  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
Scrollback  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No
Smuxi | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No[46]
Snak | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
Visual IRC | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
WeeChat | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Yes[47][48][Note 2]
Client  | IPv6  | SSL  | TLS  | DANE  | OCSP  | CRL  | SASL  | OTR

1. ↑ Supported via patch
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Supported via plugin

### Direct Client-to-Client (DCC) support

The Direct Client-to-Client Protocol (DCC) has been the primary method of establishing connections directly between IRC clients for a long time now. Once established, DCC connections bypass the IRC network and servers, allowing for all sorts of data to be transferred between clients including files and direct chat sessions.

Client | CHAT | SEND  | RESUME | TSEND | SEND T | XMIT | Passive DCC | Server | RDCC | REVERSE | RSEND | Reverse / Firewall DCC | File servers (FSERVs) | XDCC | VOICE | Whiteboard

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Bersirc | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
BitchX | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | No
ChatZilla | Yes  | Yes  | No[49] | ?  | ?  | No  | No[Note 1] | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | No
Colloquy  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?
degesch  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
DMDirc  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | ?  | No
ERC | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
HexChat | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | No
HydraIRC  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | No
IceChat | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | No
IRCCloud  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
ircII | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No
IRCjr  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No
Ircle | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Irssi | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
KiwiIRC  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No
Konversation | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes
KVIrc | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes[Note 2] | Yes[Note 2] | Yes[Note 3] | No
LimeChat  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Linkinus | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Mibbit | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
mIRC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes[Note 4] | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes[Note 5] | ?  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes[Note 5] | ?  | ?
Nettalk | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Partial  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
PIRCH | Yes  | Yes  | Yes[Note 4] | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No
PJIRC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No
Quassel | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No
qwebirc  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No
rcirc | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | No
Smuxi | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Snak | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Visual IRC | ?  | ?  | Yes[Note 4] | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes[Note 3] | Yes
WeeChat | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?
Client | CHAT | SEND  | RESUME | TSEND | SEND T | XMIT | Passive DCC | Server | RDCC | REVERSE | RSEND | Reverse / Firewall DCC | File servers (FSERVs) | XDCC | VOICE | Whiteboard

1. ↑ Planned for a later version
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Supported via scripting
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Incompatible with other IRC clients[50]
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Supports the DCC Resume protocol[51]
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Supported via a script[52]

### IRCv3 Support

This software is compliant natively; other software may be compliant with extensions.[1][2]

Clients | CAP | CAP 302 | Cap-notify | Account-notify | account-tag | Away-notify | batch | Bot Mode | chghost | echo-message | extended-join | Invite-notify | labeled-response | message-tags | Monitor | msgid | multi-prefix | SASL v3.1 | SASL v3.2 | server-time | setname | sts | userhost-in-names | UTF8ONLY | WHOX | +typing | draft/chathistory | WebIRC | draft/account-registration | draft/extended-monitor | draft/multiline | +draft/react | +draft/reply

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Adium | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Ambassador | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
AndroIRC | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Bersirc | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
BitchX | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
ChatSharp | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
ChatZilla | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Colloquy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | No | No | No | No
Communi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
CoreIRC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | No | No
ERC | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
F-IRC | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Glirc | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Goguma | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | No | No | No
GrumpyChat |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
HexChat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2.16 | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | 2.16 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2.16 | No | Yes | 2.16 | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
IRC for Android | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | No | No
IRCCloud | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes
IRCjr | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
IceChat | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Igloo | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Instantbird | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Ircle | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Irssi | Yes | Git | Git | Git | No | Git | No | No | Git | No | Git | Git | No | Git | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Git | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
KVIrc | Yes | No | No | Git | No | Git | No | No | Git | No | Git | No | No | No | No | No | Git | Yes | No | Git | No | No | Git | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Kitteh IRC Client Library | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Kiwi IRC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | No | ? | No | No | No | No | No | No
Konversation | Yes | v20.11.80+ | v21.03.80+ | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | v21.03.80+ | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | v21.04.0+ | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
LeafChat | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
LimeChat | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | No | No | No | No
Linkinus | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Mibbit | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | ? | No | No | ? | No | No | No | No | No | No
Mobile | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Monochrome | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Mozilla Thunderbird | Yes | 72.0+ | 72.0+ | No | No | No | No | No | No | 73.0+ | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 72.0+ | 60.0+ | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Net::Async::IRC | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Nettalk | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
PIRC.pl web client | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No | No | No
PIRCH | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
PJIRC | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Palaver | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | draft cap | draft cap | Yes | draft tag | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | draft cap | Yes | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | Yes | No
Pidgin | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Quassel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0.14+ | Yes | No | No | Yes | 0.14+ (opt in) | Yes | 0.14+ | No | 0.14+ | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0.14+ | 0.14+ | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Quasseldroid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0.14+ core | Yes | No | No | Yes | 0.14+ core (opt in) | Yes | 0.14+ core | No | 0.14+ core | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0.14+ core | 0.14+ core | No | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | No | No
Rust irc | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Smuxi | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Snak | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Srain | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Swirc | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Textual | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | v7.1.1+ | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
The Lounge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | ? | Yes | No | No | No | No | No
Tiny | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Visual IRC | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
Warren | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
WeeChat | Yes | 2.2+ | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | 2.2+ | No | Yes | 2.2+ | No | 3.3+ | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 3.3+ | Yes | 3.3+ | No | Yes | No | Yes | 3.3+ | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
XiRCON | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
catgirl | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | TLS-only | Yes | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
gamja | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | Yes | No | ? | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No
girc | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
irc-framework | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
ircII | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
ircrobots | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
kirc | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
mIRC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 7.62+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.62+ | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
pydle | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
qwebirc | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
rcirc | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
senpai | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
tri-license | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?
zIRC | Yes | 1.2.4+ | 1.2.4+ | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 1.2.4+ | No | No | No | No | ? | No | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?

#### IRCv3 SASL Mechanisms

IRC SASL authentication primarily uses the same mechanisms as SASL in other protocols. Most commonly:

* PLAIN as defined by RFC 4616
* EXTERNAL as defined by RFC 4422
* SCRAM-SHA-256 as defined by RFC 7677

Client | EXTERNAL | PLAIN | SCRAM-SHA-256

|
|
|

Ambassador | No | No | No
BitchX | No | Yes | No
ChatSharp (lib.) | No | No | No
Colloquy | No | Yes | No
Colloquy | No | Yes | No
Communi(lib.) | No | Yes | No
CoreIRC | Yes | Yes | Yes
Glirc | Yes | Yes | Yes
Goguma | No | Yes | No
HexChat | Yes | Yes | No
IRC for Android | No | No | No
IRCCloud | No | Yes | Yes
IceChat | No | Yes | No
Irssi | Yes | Yes | No
KVIrc | Yes | Yes | No
Kitteh IRC Client Library(lib.) | Yes | Yes | No
Kiwi IRC | No | Yes | No
Konversation | Yes | Yes | No
LimeChat | No | Yes | No
LimeChat | No | Yes | No
Mibbit | No | Yes | No
Mozilla Thunderbird | No | Yes | No
Net::Async::IRC(lib.) | No | No | No
PIRC.pl web client | No | Yes | No
Palaver | No | Yes | No
Quassel | Yes | Yes | No
Quasseldroid | No | Yes | No
Rust irc(lib.) | No | Yes | No
Srain | Yes | Yes | No
Swirc | No | Yes | Yes
Textual | Yes | Yes | No
The Lounge | Yes | Yes | No
Warren(lib.) | No | Yes | No
WeeChat | Yes | Yes | 3.2+
catgirl | Yes | Yes | No
gamja | No | Yes | No
girc(lib.) | Yes | Yes | No
irc-framework(lib.) | No | Yes | No
ircrobots(lib.) | No | Yes | Yes
mIRC | Yes | Yes | 7.68+
pydle(lib.) | No | Yes | No
senpai | No | Yes | No
zIRC(lib.) | Yes | Yes | No
Client | EXTERNAL | PLAIN | SCRAM-SHA-256

## Features

Information on what features each of the clients support.

Client | Multi-server  | UTF-8 | Proxy server | irc:// URI scheme  | Automatic updates  | Scripting language

|
|
|
|
|
|

Bersirc | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | N/A
BitchX | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Enhanced IrcII script
ChatZilla | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | JavaScript
Colloquy  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes[Note 1] | AppleScript, Cocoa, F-Script, JavaScript, Python
degesch  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | N/A  | N/A  | Lua
DMDirc  | Yes  | Partial  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Custom Actions system, Java plugins
ERC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes[Note 2] | Yes[53] | Yes[Note 3] | Emacs Lisp
HexChat | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Perl, Python, Tcl, Lua[Note 4], JavaScript, C, C++, and via D-Bus.
HydraIRC  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No
IceChat | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | VBScript
ircII | Yes  | Yes[Note 5] | ?  | ?  | ?  | IrcII script
IRCjr  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | N/A
IRCCloud  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | N/A  | JavaScript
Ircle | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | AppleScript
Irssi | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | Perl
jIRCii  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | Sleep
KiwiIRC  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | N/A  | JavaScript, Node.js
Konversation | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Shell script, Ruby, Python, Perl, Java, C++, C#, JavaScript[Note 6]
KVIrc | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | KVS (custom), Perl, Python, C++
LeafChat | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | N/A  | Yes  | Java
LimeChat  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | N/A
Linkinus | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | AppleScript, Cocoa
Mibbit | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | N/A  | N/A
mIRC | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes[Note 7] | mIRC script
Nettalk | Yes  | Yes  | SOCKS | Yes  | Yes  | VBScript, custom
PIRCH | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | No  | Yes
PJIRC | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | No  | Partial, JavaScript
Quassel | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | No  | No
qwebirc  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No
rcirc | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | No  | Emacs Lisp
Smuxi | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes (language agnostic)
Snak | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | AppleScript, IrcII script
Visual IRC | Yes  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Versus
WeeChat | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | C, Perl, Python, Ruby, Lua, Tcl, Scheme (Guile)
Client  | Multi-server  | UTF-8  | Proxy server  | irc:// URI scheme  | Automatic updates  | Scripting language

1. ↑ Automatically updates via the Sparkle framework
2. ↑ Can be added with separate packages.
3. ↑ Supports automatic updates via the Emacs package manager
4. ↑ Since 2.9.5 HexChat is shipped only with Perl and Python.
5. ↑ Supported as of version 20050921
6. ↑ Any language which supports DCOP may be used for Konversation scripting. Virtually any language can be made to support Konversation scripting by executing the command line "dcop" program.
7. ↑ Only looks for updates, they need to be manually downloaded and installed.

## See also

* Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients
* Comparison of user features of messaging platforms
* Comparison of instant messaging protocols
* Comparison of mobile IRC clients
* Comparison of VoIP software
* List of SIP software
* Comparison of LAN messengers

## References

1. ↑ Ambassador release statement
2. ↑ "AndroIRC - The best IRC client for Android your device need". http://www.androirc.com/.
3. ↑ Bersirc IRC Client - about Bersirc
4. ↑ GitHub project.
5. ↑ "HexChat website". http://hexchat.net/index.html.
6. ↑ "IceChat Networks website". http://www.icechat.net.
7. ↑ "IceChat IRC Client 7 review". download.com. CNET. October 16, 2006. http://www.download.com/IceChat-IRC-Client/3003-2150_4-10587439.html.
8. ↑ IceChat History. IceChat.net
9. ↑ "Igloo website". https://iglooirc.com/.
10. ↑ "IRCCloud website". https://www.irccloud.com/.
11. ↑ "Download leafChat Free". Mac.softpedia.com. 2010-01-21. http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Internet-Utilities/leafChat.shtml.
12. ↑ Cooper, Peter (2009). Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional. Apress. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-4302-2363-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=A78bYfzYKZ4C&q=LimeChat&pg=PA108. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
13. ↑ "LimeChat: IRC Client for Mac" . Official site.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "LimeChat for the Mac releases version 1.5". IRC-Junkie.org. February 3, 2010. http://www.irc-junkie.org/2010-02-03/limechat-for-the-mac-releases-version-1-5/.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Limechat". GitHub.
16. ↑ “do not load RubyCocoa” Commit on GitHub.
17. ↑ "mIRC: Register mIRC". http://www.mirc.com/register.html.
18. ↑ "mIRC: Personal FAQ". http://www.mirc.com/pfaq.html.
19. ↑ "Monochrome website". https://perkele.cc/software/monochrome.
20. ↑ "ChatZilla :: Versions :: Add-ons for Firefox". https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/chatzilla/.
21. ↑ Mc Cormack, Shane (January 25, 2013). "DMDirc 0.7". http://blog.dmdirc.com/2013/01/25/dmdirc-0-7/.
22. ↑ mbbrutman. "mTCP TCP/IP applications for DOS PCs". http://www.brutman.com/mTCP/.
23. ↑ "Irssi 1.4.4 Released". 31 March 2023. https://irssi.org/2023/03/31/irssi-1.4.4-released/.
24. ↑ "2019-01-01: KVIrc 5.0.0 "Aria" Released". http://www.kvirc.net/?id=news&story=2019.01.01.23.50.1.story&dir=latest&lang=en.
25. ↑ "limechat/LimeChat.xcodepro at master". 2018-01-26. https://github.com/psychs/limechat/tree/master/LimeChat.xcodeproj.
26. ↑ "Release Notes – Linkinus". Conceited Software. http://conceitedsoftware.com/releasenotes/linkinus.
27. ↑ "mIRC: Latest News". mirc.com. https://www.mirc.com/news.html.
28. ↑ "Nettalk - www.ntalk.de - IRC-Client". http://www.ntalk.de/Nettalk/en/.
29. ↑ "Snak - IRC for Mac". http://www.snak.com/.
30. ↑ https://sourceforge.net/projects/visualirc/files/ViRC/2.0pl2/
31. ↑ "Version 4.2.1". weechat.org. https://weechat.org/news/146/20240122-Version-4.2.1/.
32. ↑ "SourceForge: BitchX files See "INSTALL" included with BitchX". http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitchx/files/.
33. ↑ "WeeChat cygwin". http://wiki.flashtux.org/wiki/WeeChat_cygwin.
34. ↑ "Which versions of Windows are supported?". https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_mono/efaq-w32.html.
35. ↑ "Emacs 29 has been ported to the Haiku operating system.". https://raw.githubusercontent.com/emacs-mirror/emacs/master/etc/NEWS.29.
36. ↑ "Emacs | eCSoft/2". https://ecsoft2.org/emacs.
37. ↑ "EmacsForDOS". https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/EmacsForDOS.
38. ↑ "SwsVpkt". http://www.softsystem.co.uk/products/swsvpkt.htm.
39. ↑ Connect to the ReactOS IRC Channels
40. ↑ 2012-07-03: 4.2.0 Released!
41. ↑ "Nettalk: Download". http://en.ntalk.de/Nettalk/en/index.php?page=Download.
42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 "WeeChat: Supported OS". http://www.weechat.org/download/.
43. ↑ "Ticket 3915 requesting OTR support". http://colloquy.info/project/ticket/3915.
44. ↑ "Irssi 1.2.0 OTR Migration Path". https://irssi.org/posts/#irssi-1-2-0-otr-migration-path.
45. ↑ "Issue 1418 requesting OTR support". http://bugs.quassel-irc.org/issues/1418.
46. ↑ "Issue 651 requesting OTR support". https://smuxi.im/issues/show/651.
47. ↑ "Cypherpunks - OTR-Enabled Software". https://otr.cypherpunks.ca/software.php.
48. ↑ "GitHub - weechat-otr - WeeChat script for Off-the-Record messaging". https://github.com/mmb/weechat-otr.
49. ↑ "Mozilla ChatZilla: Bugzilla Bug 285630: chatzilla does not support resume for dcc downloads". 2009-02-20. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=285630.
50. ↑ "DCC negotiation and connection". http://www.kvirc.net/doc/doc_dcc_connection.html.
51. ↑ "DCC Resume protocol". http://www.mirc.com/help/dccresum.txt.
52. ↑ "SysReset mIRC FileServer". http://www.sysreset.com/.
53. ↑ "irc". https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/url/irc.html.

* v
* t
* e

Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

General topics

Common terms|

* BNC
* Bot
* Channel
* DoS attack
* Channel Operator
* Client
* Flood
* Hostmask
* IRC
* Netsplit
* Network
* Operator
* Script
* Server
* Services
* Takeover
* vhost

Lists and comparisons|

* List of IRC commands
* Comparison of IRC bots
* Comparison of IRC clients
* Comparison of mobile IRC clients
* Comparison of IRC daemons

Related protocols|

* IRC
* IRCX
* MSN Chat
* P10
* CTCP
* DCC
* XDCC
* Ident

See also|

* IRC subculture
* Jarkko Oikarinen

Clients (comparison)

macOS|

* Colloquy
* Fire
* Homer (Mac OS)
* Ircle
* Linkinus
* MacIrssi
* Snak

Microsoft Windows|

* Bersirc
* mIRC
* Microsoft Comic Chat
* PIRCH
* Shareaza
* Visual IRC

Unix-like|

* ircII

Cross-platform|

* BitchX
* Irssi
* Konversation
* KVIrc
* LeafChat
* naim
* Smuxi
* WeeChat
* XChat
* PJIRC
* Quassel IRC
* IceChat

Multi-IM|

* Centericq
* Empathy
* Kopete
* Miranda IM
* Pidgin
* Trillian

Web-based|

* CGI
* PJIRC
* Mibbit

Web browser components|

* ChatZilla
* Mozilla Application Suite

Library and plug-ins|

* ERC
* rcirc

Bots (comparison)

* Eggdrop
* Infobot
* Robot9000

Bouncers, Gateways and Proxies

* BitlBee
* ZNC

Daemons (comparison)

* IRCd
* ircu
* UnrealIRCd

Networks

* DALnet
* EFnet
* Freenode
* GameSurge
* IRC@2ch
* IRCnet
* OFTC
* QuakeNet
* Rizon
* RusNet
* SlashNET
* Undernet

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