Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients

The following tables compare general and technical information between a number of IRC client programs. Please see the individual products pages for more information. This page is does not include everything and may not be current.

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
AdiIRC^[1]	Per Amundsen	Freeware	Proprietary	GUI	.NET Framework/C#
Adium	Thijs Alkemade	Free software	GPL-2.0-or-later	GUI	Objective-C and C
Ambassador^[2]	Isengrim	Free software	MPL	GUI^{[Note 1]}	JavaScript, XUL
AmIRC	Oliver Wagner, Nicolas Sallin, Costel Mincea	Free software	GNU General Public License	GUI	?
AndroIRC^[3]	Madalynn	Freeware	Proprietary	GUI	?
Bersirc^[4]	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^[5]	Petr Bena	Free software	LGPL	GUI	C++
HexChat^[6]	Berke Viktor	Free software	GPL-2.0-or-later	TUI, GUI	C
IceChat^[7]^[8]	Paul Vanderzee	Free software	GPL	GUI	C# (Visual Basic until 2004)^[9]
Igloo^[10]	Jordan Koch	Commercial	Proprietary	GUI	Swift
Instantbird	Florian Quèze	Free software	GPL	GUI	C++, JavaScript, CSS, XUL
Irccloud^[11]	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
Kiwi	Darren Whitlen	Free software	Apache-2.0	Web	JavaScript frontend, Node.js backend
KVIrc	Szymon Stefanek	Free software	GPL	GUI	C++
Konversation	KDE	Free software	GPL-2.0-or-later	GUI	C++
LeafChat^[12]	Samuel Marshall	Free software	GPL-3.0-or-later	GUI	Java
LimeChat^[13]^[14]^[15]	Satoshi Nakagawa	Free software	GPL-2.0-only^[16]	GUI	RubyCocoa (2007–2010)^[15]^[16] Objective-C (2010–)^[17]
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^[18]	Proprietary	GUI	C/C++^[19]
Monochrome^[20]	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
Tiny^[21]	Ömer Sinan Ağacan^[22]	Free software	MIT	TUI	Rust
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	Free software	Proprietary	GUI	Borland C++, scripted with Tcl
Client	Primary developers	Distribution model	Software license	User interface	Programming language

Release history

A brief overview of the release history.

	First public release		First stable release		Latest stable release
Client	Date	Version	Date	Version	Latest stable release
AdiIRC	2005	1.0			4.2 (29 March 2022)
AmIRC	1995
Bersirc	1999				2.2.14 (August 12, 2005; 18 years ago (2005-08-12)) [±]
BitchX	1996				1.2-final (January 1, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-01-01)) [±]
ChatZilla	2001				0.9.90.1 (July 7, 2013; 10 years ago (2013-07-07)) [±]
Colloquy	2005				2.4.3 (6011) (March 22, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-03-22)) [±]
degesch	2015	0.9	2015	0.9
DMDirc	2007				0.7 (January 5, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-01-05)^[23]) [±]
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	2.16.2^[24]^[25] (7 February 2024; 3 months ago (7 February 2024)) [±]
HydraIRC	2002				0.3.165 (December 12, 2008; 15 years ago (2008-12-12)) [±]
IceChat	2002	3.0	2002-04-08	3.0	9.21 (January 27, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-01-27)) [±]
ircII	1989	2.0.0	1989	2.0.0	20111115 (November 15, 2011; 12 years ago (2011-11-15)) [±]
IRCjr	2008		2008		mTCP_2013-04-26 (April 26, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-04-26)^[26]) [±]
Ircle	1995				3.5a6 (November 17, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-11-17)) [±]
Irssi	1999				0.8.15 (April 3, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-04-03)) [±]
jIRCii	?	?			?
kirc	2020	0.0.1
KVIrc	1998	0.6.0	1999-12-21	1.0.0	4.2.0 (July 3, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-07-03)^[27]) [±]
Konversation	2002				1.9.23083^[28] 9 November 2023; 20 October 2023; Error: first parameter cannot be parsed as a date or time. (9 November 2023; 20 October 2023)
LeafChat	?	1.0			2.5 (July 29, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-07-29)) [±]
LimeChat	2007				Mac OS X Mountain Lion / Lion 2.32 (July 30, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-07-30)) [±] Mac OS X Snow Leopard 2.30 (January 20, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-01-20)) [±]
Linkinus	2007				2.4 (August 23, 2011; 12 years ago (2011-08-23)^[29]) [±]
Mibbit	2008				web application, no version
mIRC	1995				7.32 (May 23, 2013; 10 years ago (2013-05-23)^[30]) [±]
Nettalk	2004				6.7.16 (October 30, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-10-30)^[31]) [±]
PIRCH	1995				1.0.1.1190 (December 31, 2000; 23 years ago (2000-12-31)) [±]
PJIRC	2002				2.2.1 (November 29, 2004; 19 years ago (2004-11-29)) [±]
Quassel	2008-08-27	0.3.0			0.12.4 (May 17, 2016; 7 years ago (2016-05-17)) [±]
qwebirc	2009	0.81			0.92 (February 13, 2012; 12 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	0.8.11 (May 22, 2013; 10 years ago (2013-05-22)) [±]
Snak	1997				5.3.4 (March 11, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-03-11)^[32]) [±]
Visual IRC	1995				2.0pl2 (200/187) (July 15, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-07-15)) [±]
WeeChat	2003				0.3.8 (June 3, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-06-03)^[33]) [±]
Client	Date	Version	Date	Version	Latest stable release
Client	First public release		First stable release		Latest 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
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	?	No	?	?	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
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^[37]	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes^[38]	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

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^[source?], 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
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

Protocol support

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

Client	IPv6	SSL	TLS	DANE	OCSP	CRL	SASL	OTR
Bersirc	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
BitchX	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
ChatZilla	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	script	No
Colloquy	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	No^[41]
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^[42]
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^[43]
qwebirc	No	Yes	No	?	No	No	No	No
rcirc	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No
Scrollback	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No
Smuxi	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No^[44]
Snak	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No
Visual IRC	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	No
WeeChat	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes^[45]^[46]^{[Note 2]}
Client	IPv6	SSL	TLS	DANE	OCSP	CRL	SASL	OTR

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
Bersirc	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
BitchX	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	No
ChatZilla	Yes	Yes	No^[47]	?	?	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

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
AdiIRC	Yes	3.0+	3.0+	Yes	Yes	Yes	3.0+	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	3.9+	3.4+	Yes	3.4+	Yes	Yes	3.0+	Yes	3.9+	3.4+	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?
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
AdiIRC	Yes	Yes	3.4+
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	?	?	?	—
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	—	—	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	Yes	VBScript
ircII	Yes	Yes^{[Note 5]}	?	?	?	IrcII script
IRCjr	No	No	No	No	No	—
IRCCloud	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	JavaScript
Ircle	Yes	No	?	?	?	AppleScript
Irssi	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Perl
jIRCii	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	Sleep
KiwiIRC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	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	?	—	Yes	Java
LimeChat	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	—
Linkinus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	AppleScript, Cocoa
Mibbit	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	—	—
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

References

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[3]

[4]

[Note 2]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[Note 3]

[Note 4]

[21]

[22]

[Note 5]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[37]

[38]

[Note 4]

[Note 5]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[41]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[Note 4]

[Note 5]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[Note 4]

[Note 5]

[Note 6]

[Note 7]

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