Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients

The following tables compare general and technical information between a number of IRC client programs which have been discussed in independent published literature.

General[edit]

Basic general information about the clients: 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
Adium	Thijs Alkemade	Free software	GPL	GUI	Objective-C and C
Ambassador^[1]	Isengrim	Free software	MPL	GUI^{[Note 1]}	JavaScript, XUL
Bersirc^[2]	Jamie Frater, Nicholas Copeland	Free software	LGPL	GUI	C (Delphi originally)
BitchX	Colten Edwards	Free software	BSD	TUI, GUI	C
ChatZilla	Mozilla Foundation	Free software	MPL, GPL, LGPL tri-license	GUI^{[Note 2]}	JavaScript, XUL
Colloquy	Timothy Hatcher, Kiji Roshi	Desktop: free software, mobile: commercial	BSD: mobile, GPL: desktop	GUI	Objective-C
ERC		Free software	GPL	TUI, GUI	Emacs Lisp
F-IRC	Folkert van Heusden	Free software	GPL	TUI	C++
GrumpyChat^[3]	Petr Bena	Free software	LGPL	GUI	C++
HexChat^[4]	Berke Viktor	Free software	GPL	TUI, GUI	C
IceChat^[5]^[6]	Paul Vanderzee	Free software	GPL	GUI	C# (Visual Basic until 2004)^[7]
Igloo	Jordan Koch	Free mobile application	BSD	GUI	Swift
Instantbird	Florian Quèze	Free software	GPL	GUI	C/C++, JavaScript, CSS, XUL
ircII	Michael Sandrof	Free software	BSD	TUI	C
Ircle	Onno Tijdgat	Commercial 30-day trial	Proprietary	GUI	C
Irssi	Timo Sirainen	Free software	GPL	TUI	C
KiwiIRC	Darren Whitlen	Free software	AGPL	Web	Javascript frontend, Node.js backend
KVIrc	Szymon Stefanek	Free software	GPL	GUI	C++
Konversation	KDE	Free software	GPL	GUI	C++
LeafChat^[8]	Samuel Marshall	Free software	GPL	GUI	Java
LimeChat^[9]^[10]^[11]	Satoshi Nakagawa	Free software	GPL^[12]	GUI	RubyCocoa (2007–2010)^[11]^[12] Objective-C(2010–)^[13]
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^[14]	Proprietary	GUI	C/C++ (Borland C++ originally)^[15]
Nettalk	Nicolas Kruse	Freeware	Apache 2.0	GUI	Visual Basic
Opera (until version 12.xx) ^{[Note 3]}		Freeware	Proprietary	GUI^{[Note 4]}	C++
Pidgin		Free software	GPL	GUI	C
PIRCH		Shareware	Proprietary	GUI	Delphi
PJIRC	Philippe Detournay	Free software	GPL	GUI	Java
Quassel	Manuel Nickschas, Marcus Eggenberger, Alexander von Renteln	Free software	GPL	TUI^{[Note 5]}, GUI^{[Note 6]}	C++
qwebirc	Chris Porter	Free software	GPL	Web	JavaScript front end, Python backend
rcirc	Ryan Yeske	Free software	GPL	TUI	Emacs Lisp
Smuxi	Mirco Bauer	Free software	GPL	GUI, TUI, server^{[Note 6]}	C#
Snak	Kent Sorensen	Commercial	Proprietary	GUI	?
Visual IRC		Free software	GPL	GUI	?
WeeChat	Sebastien Helleu	Free software	GPL	TUI, GUI^{[Note 7]}	C
XChat (evolved into HexChat)^{[Note 8]}		Unix/Linux: free software; Windows: commercial, 30-day trial^[16] (HexChat is free of charge)	GPL; or proprietary for Windows	TUI, GUI	C
Client	Primary developers	Distribution model	Software license	User interface	Programming language

^ Can be used as a standalone application or as part of a XUL-based web browser

^ Can be installed as part of a web browser

^ Opera 12.xx was the last version with IRC support. When Opera was rebased from Opera's own Presto layout engine to the Chromium browser, IRC and Mail were not ported.

^ Web browser component

^ Incomplete, proof of concept

^ ^a^b Separate client and daemon

^ No official GUI, several options available (e.g. Glowing Bear, a web frontend)

^ xChat is no longer being developed by its original creators. Hexchat is entirely based on xChat and is now designed by new people.

Release history[edit]

A brief overview of the release history.

	First public release		First stable release		Latest stable release
Client	Date	Version	Date	Version	Latest stable release
Bersirc	1999				2.2.14 (12 August 2005; 13 years ago (2005-08-12)) [±]
BitchX	1996				1.2.1 (November 14, 2014; 4 years ago (2014-11-14)) [±]
ChatZilla	2001				0.9.93 (November 8, 2016; 2 years ago (2016-11-08)^[25]) [±]
Colloquy	2005				2.4.3 (6011) (March 22, 2014; 4 years ago (2014-03-22)) [±]
degesch	2015	0.9	2015	0.9
DMDirc	2007				0.7 (January 5, 2013; 5 years ago (2013-01-05)^[26]) [±]
ERC	1999?				ERC improvements are now released as part of Emacs. [±]
F-IRC	2006?	0.1			1.36 (Februari 23, 2014)
HexChat	2009-10-04	r249	2009-10-09	2.86.0	2.14.2 (August 29, 2018; 3 months ago (2018-08-29)) [±]
HydraIRC	2002				0.3.165 (December 12, 2008; 10 years ago (2008-12-12)) [±]
IceChat	2002	3.0	2002-04-08	3.0	9.21 (January 27, 2018; 10 months ago (2018-01-27)) [±]
ircII	1990				20170704 (July 4, 2017; 17 months ago (2017-07-04)) [±]
IRCjr	2008		2008		mTCP_2013-04-26 (April 26, 2013; 5 years ago (2013-04-26)^[27]) [±]
Ircle	1995				3.5a6 (November 17, 2007; 11 years ago (2007-11-17)) [±]
Irssi	1999				1.1.1 (February 15, 2018; 10 months ago (2018-02-15)) [±]^[28]
jIRCii	?	?			?
KVIrc	1998	0.6.0	1999-12-21	1.0.0	5.0.0 (December 29, 2017; 11 months ago (2017-12-29)^[29]) [±]
Konversation	2002				1.7.5 (27 June 2018; 5 months ago (2018-06-27)^[30]) [±]
LeafChat	?	1.0			2.41 (October 4, 2011; 7 years ago (2011-10-04)) [±]
LimeChat	2007				Mavericks / Mountain Lion 2.42 (June 22, 2014; 4 years ago (2014-06-22)) [±] Lion 2.38 (September 12, 2013; 5 years ago (2013-09-12)) [±]
Linkinus	2007				2.4.3 (August 23, 2011; 7 years ago (2011-08-23)^[31]) [±]
Mibbit	2008				web application, no version
mIRC	1995				7.54 (December 21, 2018; 6 days ago (2018-12-21)^[32]) [±]
Nettalk	2004				6.7.16 (October 30, 2012; 6 years ago (2012-10-30)^[33]) [±]
Opera	1996				57.0.3098.106 (December 19, 2018; 8 days ago (2018-12-19)^[34])
PIRCH	1995				1.0.1.1190 (January 1, 2001; 17 years ago (2001-01-01)) [±]
PJIRC	2002				2.2.1 (November 29, 2004; 14 years ago (2004-11-29)) [±]
Quassel	2008-08-27	0.3.0			0.13.0 (November 17, 2018; 40 days ago (2018-11-17)) [±]
qwebirc	2009	0.81			0.92 (February 13, 2012; 6 years ago (2012-02-13)) [±]
rIRC	2010	Preview Release 1	2012	1.44	1.4.4 (January 16, 2012)
Scrollback	2013		2013
rcirc	?	?			24.1 (June 10, 2012; 6 years ago (2012-06-10)) [±]
Smuxi	2008-07-29	0.6	2010-09-03	0.8	1.0.7 (June 18, 2017; 17 months ago (2017-06-18)) [±]
Snak	1997				5.3.4 (March 11, 2012; 6 years ago (2012-03-11)^[35]) [±]
Visual IRC	1995				2.0pl2 (December 30, 2007; 10 years ago (2007-12-30)) [±]^[36]
WeeChat	2003				2.3 (October 21, 2018; 2 months ago (2018-10-21)^[37]) [±]
XChat	1998				2.8.8 (source) (May 30, 2010; 8 years ago (2010-05-30)) [±] 2.8.9 (windows) (August 28, 2010; 8 years ago (2010-08-28)) [±]
Client	Date	Version	Date	Version	Latest stable release
Client	First public release		First stable release		Latest stable release

Operating system support[edit]

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	AmigaOS (68k)	AmigaOS 4, MorphOS (PPC)	DOS
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	?	No	?	?	No	?	?	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
HexChat	Yes	Dropped (2.9.5)	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	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	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	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^[41]	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes^[42]	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
Opera	Yes	Yes	Dropped (10.10)	No	Dropped	Dropped	Dropped	No^[44]	Dropped^[45]	Dropped	Dropped	No	Dropped	Dropped	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	?	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
XChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	No	No	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

^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^g^hⁱ^j^k^l^mⁿ^o Requires Cygwin^[38]^[39]

^ ^a^b Requires SwsVpkt^[40]

^ ^a^b Requires OS X v10.4.3 or later

^ Requires RubyCocoa 1.0.0 or later

^ Does not support Windows 95 or Windows 98^[43]

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
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
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
Opera	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Dropped	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	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
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]}	?
XChat	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes^{[Note 4]}	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes
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

^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^g^hⁱ^j^k 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

^ ^a^b^c 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^[46]

^ In development^[46]

^ XChat tested on HP-UX 10.20 and 11^[47]

Protocol support[edit]

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

Client	CTCP	DCC	IPv6	SSL	TLS	DANE	OCSP	CRL	SASL	OTR
Bersirc	?	Partial	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
BitchX	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
ChatZilla	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	script	No
Colloquy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	No^[48]
degesch	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
DMDirc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
ERC	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes^{[Note 1]}	No
HexChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes^{[Note 2]}
HydraIRC	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	?	No	No	?	No
IceChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	No
ircII	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
IRCjr	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	No	No	No	No
Ircle	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
Irssi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes^[49]^[50]^{[Note 2]}
jIRCii	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
KiwiIRC	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	Yes	No
Konversation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	No
KVIrc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	Yes	No
LimeChat	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	No
Linkinus	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No
Mibbit	?	Partial^{[Note 3]}^{[Note 4]}	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	No
mIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	No
Nettalk	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
Opera	Yes^[51]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
PIRCH	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
PJIRC	?	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
Quassel	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	Yes	No^[52]
qwebirc	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	?	No	No	No	No
rcirc	Partial	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
Scrollback	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No
Smuxi	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No^[53]
Snak	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
Visual IRC	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
WeeChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes^[49]^[54]^{[Note 2]}
XChat	Yes	Yes	Partial^{[Note 4]}	Yes	?	No	?	?	script	Yes^[49]^[50]^{[Note 2]}
Client	CTCP	DCC	IPv6	SSL	TLS	DANE	OCSP	CRL	SASL	OTR

^ Supported via patch

^ ^a^b^c^d Supported via plugin

^ Cannot send files, can receive files up to 2 MB only

^ ^a^b DCC does not always succeed at this stage

Direct Client-to-Client (DCC) support[edit]

Client	CHAT	Whiteboard	SEND	RESUME	TSEND	SEND T	XMIT	Passive DCC	Server	RDCC	REVERSE	RSEND	Reverse / Firewall DCC	File servers (FSERVs)	XDCC	VOICE
Bersirc	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
BitchX	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?
ChatZilla	Yes	No	Yes	No^[59]	?	?	No	No^{[Note 1]}	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	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	?
ERC	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
HexChat	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?
HydraIRC	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?
IceChat	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?
ircII	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
IRCjr	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
Ircle	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Irssi	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
KiwiIRC	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
Konversation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	Yes	?	Yes	?
KVIrc	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^{[Note 2]}	Yes^{[Note 2]}	Yes^{[Note 3]}
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	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Partial	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
Opera	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
PIRCH	Yes	No	Yes	Yes^{[Note 4]}	?	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
PJIRC	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
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	?	Yes^{[Note 4]}	?	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	Yes^{[Note 3]}
WeeChat	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?
XChat	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?	Yes^{[Note 6]}	?
Client	CHAT	Whiteboard	SEND	RESUME	TSEND	SEND T	XMIT	Passive DCC	Server	RDCC	REVERSE	RSEND	Reverse / Firewall DCC	File servers (FSERVs)	XDCC	VOICE

^ Planned for a later version

^ ^a^b Supported via scripting

^ ^a^b Incompatible with other IRC clients^[60]

^ ^a^b^c Supports the DCC Resume protocol^[61]

^ ^a^b Supported via a script^[62]

^ Supported via scripts and plugins^[63]

Features[edit]

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^{[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	VBScript
ircII	Yes	Yes^{[Note 5]}	?	?	?	IrcII script
IRCjr	No	No	No	No	No	N/A
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
Opera	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	N/A
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)
XChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Perl, Python, Tcl, Ruby, C++, ECMAScript, Scheme (Guile)
Client	Multi-server	UTF-8	Proxy server	irc:// URI scheme	Automatic updates	Scripting language

^ Automatically updates via the Sparkle framework

^ Can be added with separate packages.

^ Supports automatic updates via the Emacs package manager

^ Since 2.9.5 HexChat is shipped only with Perl and Python.

^ Supported as of version 20050921

^ 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.

^ Only looks for updates, they need to be manually downloaded and installed.

References[edit]

^ Ambassador release statement

^ Bersirc IRC Client - about Bersirc Archived 2011-08-12 at the Wayback Machine.

^ GitHub project.

^ "HexChat website"..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}

^ "IceChat Networks website".

^ "IceChat IRC Client 7 review". download.com. CNET. October 16, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-05-26.

^ IceChat History. IceChat.net

^ "Download leafChat Free". Mac.softpedia.com. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2012-11-18.

^ Cooper, Peter (2009). Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional. Apress. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-4302-2363-4. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

^ "LimeChat: IRC Client for Mac". Official site.

^ ^a^b "LimeChat for the Mac releases version 1.5". IRC-Junkie.org. February 3, 2010. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011.

^ ^a^b "Limechat". Github.

^ “do not load RubyCocoa” Commit on GitHub.

^
"mIRC: Register mIRC". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

^ "mIRC: Personal FAQ". Retrieved 2011-04-09.

^
"XChat for Windows". Retrieved 2010-11-27.

^ "ChatZilla :: Versions :: Add-ons for Firefox". Retrieved 2016-11-11.

^ Mc Cormack, Shane (January 25, 2013). "DMDirc 0.7". Retrieved 2013-05-08.

^ jhall1. "FreeDOS Software List: Networking". Retrieved 2012-04-26.

^ "Irssi 1.1.1 and 1.0.7 Released". 15 February 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.

^ "2017-12-29: KVIrc 5.0.0 Beta 1 Released". Retrieved 2017-12-29.

^ "Konversation Homepage". Retrieved 27 June 2018.

^ "Release Notes – Linkinus". Conceited Software. Retrieved 2011-03-02.

^ "mIRC: Latest News". mirc.com. Retrieved 2018-12-21.

^ "Nettalk - www.ntalk.de - IRC-Client". Retrieved 2013-03-23.

^ Giorgi, Nicholas (2018-12-19). "Opera 57.0.3098.106 Stable update". Retrieved 2018-12-19.

^ "Snak - IRC for Mac". Retrieved 2012-03-11.

^ https://sourceforge.net/projects/visualirc/files/ViRC/2.0pl2/

^ "Version 2.3". weechat.org. Retrieved 2018-10-21.

^ "SourceForge: BitchX files See "INSTALL" included with BitchX". Retrieved 2009-09-18.

^ "WeeChat cygwin". Archived from the original on 2009-09-12. Retrieved 2009-09-18.

^ "SwsVpkt". Retrieved 2012-04-14.

^ Connect to the ReactOS IRC Channels

^ 2012-07-03: 4.2.0 Released!

^ "Nettalk: Download". Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-10-09.

^ "ReactOS compatibility database: Opera". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-01-05.

^ "Features removed from Opera 12 on Mac (IRC, BitTorrent)". Retrieved 2012-08-02.

^ ^a^b "WeeChat: Supported OS". Retrieved 2009-09-18.

^ "X-Chat README". Retrieved 2009-09-18.

^ "Ticket 3915 requesting OTR support".

^ ^a^b^c
"Cypherpunks - OTR-Enabled Software". Retrieved 2014-03-16.

^ ^a^b "Irssi-OTR and XChat-OTR homepage". Retrieved 2014-03-16.

^
"Changelog for Opera 9.0 for Windows". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

^ "Issue 1418 requesting OTR support".

^ "Issue 651 requesting OTR support".

^ "Github - weechat-otr - WeeChat script for Off-the-Record messaging". Retrieved 2014-03-16.

^
"Mozilla ChatZilla: Bugzilla Bug 285630: chatzilla does not support resume for dcc downloads". 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-07-14.

^ "DCC negotiation and connection". Retrieved 2014-12-16.

^ "DCC Resume protocol". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

^ "SysReset mIRC FileServer". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

^ "XChat: Scripts + Plugins". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

[standaloneandbrowser-2] Can be used as a standalone application or as part of a XUL-based web browser

[webbrowser-4] Can be installed as part of a web browser

[opera-18] Opera 12.xx was the last version with IRC support. When Opera was rebased from Opera's own Presto layout engine to the Chromium browser, IRC and Mail were not ported.

[browsercomp-19] Web browser component

[ncomp-20] Incomplete, proof of concept

[cldaemon-21] Separate client and daemon

[dev-22] No official GUI, several options available (e.g. Glowing Bear, a web frontend)

[obsolete-23] xChat is no longer being developed by its original creators. Hexchat is entirely based on xChat and is now designed by new people.

[bitchxinstall-48] ⁱ^j^k^l^mⁿ^o Requires Cygwin^[38]^[39]

[swsvpkt-50] Requires SwsVpkt^[40]

[reqosx-51] Requires OS X v10.4.3 or later

[rubycocoa-54] Requires RubyCocoa 1.0.0 or later

[nowin95-56] Does not support Windows 95 or Windows 98^[43]

[Unix_operating_system_support_BitchX_A-59] ⁱ^j^k 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

[Unix_operating_system_support_WeeChat_A-61] 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^[46]

[Unix_operating_system_support_WeeChat_B-62] In development^[46]

[Unix_operating_system_support_XChat_A-64] XChat tested on HP-UX 10.20 and 11^[47]

[patch-66] Supported via patch

[plugin-67] Supported via plugin

[Protocol_support_Mibbit_A-70] Cannot send files, can receive files up to 2 MB only

[nsuccess-71] DCC does not always succeed at this stage

[planned-81] Planned for a later version

[Supported_Via_Scripting-82] Supported via scripting

[voice-84] Incompatible with other IRC clients^[60]

[dcc-86] Supports the DCC Resume protocol^[61]

[script-88] Supported via a script^[62]

[DCCXChatA-90] Supported via scripts and plugins^[63]

[Features_Colloquy_(IRC_client)_A-93] Automatically updates via the Sparkle framework

[ERC_Proxy_Support-94] Can be added with separate packages.

[ERC_Auto_Updates-95] Supports automatic updates via the Emacs package manager

[Features_HexChat_A-96] Since 2.9.5 HexChat is shipped only with Perl and Python.

[Features_ircII_A-97] Supported as of version 20050921

[Features_Konversation_A-98] 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.

[mIRC_Updates-99] Only looks for updates, they need to be manually downloaded and installed.

[1] Ambassador release statement

[3] Bersirc IRC Client - about Bersirc Archived 2011-08-12 at the Wayback Machine.

[GrumpyChat-5] GitHub project.

[6] "HexChat website"..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}

[7] "IceChat Networks website".

[8] "IceChat IRC Client 7 review". download.com. CNET. October 16, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-05-26.

[9] IceChat History. IceChat.net

[10] "Download leafChat Free". Mac.softpedia.com. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2012-11-18.

[11] Cooper, Peter (2009). Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional. Apress. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-4302-2363-4. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

[12] "LimeChat: IRC Client for Mac". Official site.

[LimeChatIJ-13] "LimeChat for the Mac releases version 1.5". IRC-Junkie.org. February 3, 2010. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011.

[limechat-source-14] "Limechat". Github.

[limechat-source-commit-15] “do not load RubyCocoa” Commit on GitHub.

[16] 
"mIRC: Register mIRC". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

[17] "mIRC: Personal FAQ". Retrieved 2011-04-09.

[24] 
"XChat for Windows". Retrieved 2010-11-27.

[33] "ChatZilla :: Versions :: Add-ons for Firefox". Retrieved 2016-11-11.

[34] Mc Cormack, Shane (January 25, 2013). "DMDirc 0.7". Retrieved 2013-05-08.

[35] 1. "FreeDOS Software List: Networking". Retrieved 2012-04-26.

[36] "Irssi 1.1.1 and 1.0.7 Released". 15 February 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.

[37] "2017-12-29: KVIrc 5.0.0 Beta 1 Released". Retrieved 2017-12-29.

[38] "Konversation Homepage". Retrieved 27 June 2018.

[39] "Release Notes – Linkinus". Conceited Software. Retrieved 2011-03-02.

[40] "mIRC: Latest News". mirc.com. Retrieved 2018-12-21.

[41] "Nettalk - www.ntalk.de - IRC-Client". Retrieved 2013-03-23.

[42] Giorgi, Nicholas (2018-12-19). "Opera 57.0.3098.106 Stable update". Retrieved 2018-12-19.

[43] "Snak - IRC for Mac". Retrieved 2012-03-11.

[44] ttps://sourceforge.net/projects/visualirc/files/ViRC/2.0pl2/

[45] "Version 2.3". weechat.org. Retrieved 2018-10-21.

[bitchxinstall-46] "SourceForge: BitchX files See "INSTALL" included with BitchX". Retrieved 2009-09-18.

[weechat_cygwin-47] "WeeChat cygwin". Archived from the original on 2009-09-12. Retrieved 2009-09-18.

[swsvpkt-49] "SwsVpkt". Retrieved 2012-04-14.

[52] Connect to the ReactOS IRC Channels

[53] 2012-07-03: 4.2.0 Released!

[55] "Nettalk: Download". Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-10-09.

[57] "ReactOS compatibility database: Opera". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-01-05.

[58] "Features removed from Opera 12 on Mac (IRC, BitTorrent)". Retrieved 2012-08-02.

[weechat_supported_os-60] "WeeChat: Supported OS". Retrieved 2009-09-18.

[xchat_readme-63] "X-Chat README". Retrieved 2009-09-18.

[65] "Ticket 3915 requesting OTR support".

[cypherpunks_otr-68] 
"Cypherpunks - OTR-Enabled Software". Retrieved 2014-03-16.

[irssi_xchat_otr-69] "Irssi-OTR and XChat-OTR homepage". Retrieved 2014-03-16.

[72] 
"Changelog for Opera 9.0 for Windows". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

[73] "Issue 1418 requesting OTR support".

[74] "Issue 651 requesting OTR support".

[75] "Github - weechat-otr - WeeChat script for Off-the-Record messaging". Retrieved 2014-03-16.

[80] 
"Mozilla ChatZilla: Bugzilla Bug 285630: chatzilla does not support resume for dcc downloads". 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-07-14.

[83] "DCC negotiation and connection". Retrieved 2014-12-16.

[85] "DCC Resume protocol". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

[87] "SysReset mIRC FileServer". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

[89] "XChat: Scripts + Plugins". Retrieved 2009-07-14.

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