I use catgirl
this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2025
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I still use hexchat, it works fine.
Weechat.
Or if you're feeling nastalgic, BitchX.
Or if you want to be more modern, Matrix with the mautrix-signal bridge and Element as a client. This is what I do so I can combine all my chat apps into one.
If Hexchat is in Trixie repository (which seem to be the case) it will be maintained across its lifecycle which will be a couple of years. If you're fine with receiving security patches only, then there is no need to swap the client. As for myself I'll stick to Hexchat as well for the time being since it just works.
XChat
I remember liking weechat but if you prefer GUI, quassel is also good.
I love that IRC still exists and always intend to setup an IRC situation but have not in years
I type really fast into a telnet session like the good lord intended!
Pong irc.2600.net
When I last needed to get on IRC I used pidgin, because it's what worked.
I moved to weechat. It is terminal only. I had setup some keybindings either ways on hexchat to navigate faster via keyboard between channels / servers and weechat can replicate them (albeit it takes a little time to read documentation in this case). Many folks also are hard on users of irssi but weechat met my simplistic needs.
Not to mention almost any distro will have a packaged version of weechat in its repos.
I use Weechat with Glowing Bear as a webui frontend for it, which is pretty convenient.
what's wrong with irssi?
Konversation is pretty nice
I still use hexchat.. suppose i shouldn't since it's not being updated anymore. But, I've tried a bunch and it's the only one i like.
It will probably keep working fine for years. Eventually some dependency will become incompatible and it will no longer build though.
I no longer use IRC; when I did, I used KVIrc near the end, which seems to still be getting releases.
I recently started using Halloy and really like it
ERC, because I use GNU Emacs anyway.
Doesnt thunderbird have irc integration?
I know it has matrix and it was terrible last I tried.
What happened to hexchat? I use xchat but maybe that's dead too.
This repository was archived by the owner on Feb 10, 2024.
Thanks. Did it need many updates? What stops anyone else from taking care of it? It's a variant of xchat iirc? I stayed with regular xchat but didn't realize there was much difference. Anyway, xchat works mostly fine.
Thanks. Did it need many updates?
No.
What stops anyone else from taking care of it?
Please do. (Yes, I know: "Not me!". That's what everyone said.)
It’s a variant of xchat iirc?
Yes.
Well ok, what's wrong with xchat? I'm using it happily, and if it stopped being maintained I'd probably keep using it. What happens if you just keep using hexchat?
Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HexChat
Description sounds like xchat, and xchat isn't even mentioned in the comparison table. xchat on wikipedia redirects to hexchat.
Added: looks like hexchat originally intended to improve xchat's functionality under Windows. Yeah as a non-Windows user I couldn't see spending time on that myself. Windows from what I can tell is pretty dead in its own right. I guess it still has users though.
Windows from what I can tell is pretty dead in its own right.
No.
I've been using senpai. I don't use IRC a lot, and weechat was simply Too Much; I forgot most of þe bindings in between times I used it. Senpai is, I'm sure, less capable, but is also far easier to use.
Just slipping thorn into modern English, eh?
That's what I use too. Coupled with soju it's an easier experience for me. And they are both in Debian 13!
I just use weechat in a separate wezterm tab. works well for me.