Last Updated on October 10, 2018
This page is of historic interest only. It has been replaced by 11 Best Linux IRC Clients group test.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a type of real-time Internet text messaging (chat) or synchronous conferencing. IRC was born during summer 1988 when Jarkko Oikarinen wrote the first IRC client and server when he was working in the Department of Information Processing Science at the University of Oulu, Finland. This system enables millions of people around the world to communicate in real time.
IRC is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but it also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfers via Direct Client-to-Client.
It is used for many different purposes such as obtaining technical support from developers and users, for conducting meetings and even for rolegaming.
Users typically connect to an IRC network using an IRC client. The client takes the raw IRC traffic and turns it into an easy-to-use interface.
Although the IRC protocol does not provide any file transfer mechanisms, users can create file servers that allow them to share files with each other by using customised IRC bots or scripts for their IRC client.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list 10 sleek IRC clients. There’s a mix of graphical and console based applications included. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for all types of users.
Now, let’s explore the 10 IRC clients at hand. For each title we have compiled its own portal page, providing a screenshot of the software in action, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.
| IRC Clients | |
|---|---|
| Konversation | User friendly client for KDE |
| XChat | IRC client similar to AmIRC |
| Quassel IRC | Distributed, KDE4/Qt based |
| Smuxi | Smart MUltipleXed Irc - the IRC client for sophisticated users |
| KVirc | KDE based next generation IRC client with module support |
| ChatZilla | IRC client for Mozilla based browsers |
| Irssi | Console based client supporting SILC and ICB protocols |
| ERC | Powerful, modular, and extensible IRC client for Emacs |
| WeeChat | Wee Enhanced Environment for Chat; very light and extensible |
| ScrollZ | Advanced ircII-based IRC client |
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