If you want a feature-rich support, and a traditional experience at the same time, WeeChat can be a nice pick. It is also incredibly small and lightweight to use.Sign up to get 0 free creditsFor such use cases, let me highlight the IRC web clients that offer self-host options. I have tried to keep the list limited to actively maintain projects.You get support for plugins to extend functionality and add features as per your requirements. Furthermore, there are themes available to customize the look and feel of the client.Key Features:
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The Lounge
It was popular back in the 2000s, and some still prefer it over modern chat clients like Slack and Discord. Several open-source project developers utilize IRC for real-time communication over proprietary options.The Lounge is a modern web IRC client that packs in useful features like push notifications, file uploads, link previews, and multi-user support. Regarding the user experience, I find it similar to the Rocket.Chat experience, which is an open-source Slack alternative.Whether you agree to it, that’s up to you. What I believe is that we are a diverse group of people. Some people will feel at home with IRC and some will find comfort in Discord, Matrix, etc.Kiwi IRC is a more traditional-looking web IRC client with versatile features, and plugin support to extend functionality. The good thing about it is, you get static files, so it should be a hassle-free and reliable experience to host it. You get it with a default IRC network, but you can always use your own.
- Public/Private server mode
- Cross-platform client support
- File uploads, link previews
- Plugin support
- Theme support
Convos
Kiwi IRC is a more traditional-looking web IRC client with versatile features, and plugin support to extend functionality. The good thing about it is, you get static files, so it should be a hassle-free and reliable experience to host it. You get it with a default IRC network, but you can always use your own.
- Always online
- Video call
- Use as a CMS
- Theme support
- File upload and rich text formatting
Kiwi IRC
Kiwi IRC is a more traditional-looking web IRC client with versatile features, and plugin support to extend functionality. The good thing about it is, you get static files, so it should be a hassle-free and reliable experience to host it. You get it with a default IRC network, but you can always use your own.
- Traditional UI for a web IRC
- Theme support
- Plugin support
WeeChat
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) might no longer be in the trend. But, it will always be a part of the communication platform, even when you read this article in 2050 or more.It also supports themes for you to customize the look and multiple users in the network. While it is actively developed, the official website seems like it hasn’t been updated in a long time. There is a popular meme on the internet that states IRC as Discord for old people.
Conclusion
It can run on any platform that supports Node.js like Linux, Windows, and macOS. For self-hosting, you can utilize the Docker image, which would let you access it on the web browser. You can explore more details on its GitHub page and official documentation.
It supports rich text formatting, and themes for you to customize the look and feel of the web IRC client experience. There is also Pastebin integration, and file upload functionality along with other features.
It looks like a terminal-based user interface, and it supports IRC and other chat protocols (if you wish not to use IRC). You can host your instance of WeeChat and access it from your phone, or computer through the web browser.
