What is IRC?

What does IRC stand for?

Internet Relay Chat. “Relay” because servers pass each message along to everyone in the room.

Jarkko Oikarinen wrote it in August 1988 to replace MUT (MultiUser Talk) on OuluBox, a bulletin board system at the University of Oulu. The protocol was written down as RFC 1459 in May 1993 by Oikarinen and Darren Reed, and it’s been extended since, most recently by the IRCv3 working group, without shutting out older apps.

How does IRC work?

You run an IRC app (a client), connect it to a server on a network, choose a nickname and join channels. The server relays each line you send to everyone else in the channel.

• Networks and servers. A network is a group of linked servers that share nicknames and channels. Arynwood’s network has two servers; Libera.Chat averages 27.
• Channels. Rooms, named with a #, like #public. Joining a name nobody is using creates a new channel.
• Operators. Whoever creates a channel becomes its operator, shown with an @, and can set the topic, the rules and who may stay.
• Services. Most networks run services bots: NickServ registers nicknames and ChanServ registers channels, so they stay yours.
• History. By default you only see messages sent while you’re connected. Web clients such as The Lounge, and “bouncers,” stay connected for you and keep the history.

Is IRC still used in 2026?

Yes, mostly by open-source projects, technical communities and people who like a plain, open chat. It’s much smaller than at its peak.

For scale, QuakeNet alone had about 240,000 users in the mid-2000s, and IRC lost around 60 percent of its users between 2003 and 2012 as people moved to social networks (Wikipedia). In May 2021 most of Freenode’s volunteer staff resigned after a change of ownership and founded Libera.Chat (Wikipedia). Projects including Ubuntu, Arch Linux and LibreOffice moved their channels there within weeks. Today Freenode averages 6,342 users.

Is Discord based on IRC?

No. Discord runs its own closed protocol on servers owned by one company. Its layout, with servers, named text channels, moderators and bots, will still feel familiar to anyone who has used IRC.

Slack isn’t IRC either, though until May 15, 2018 it offered a gateway so people could connect with IRC apps (The Register).

Is IRC safe and secure?

The connection can be: with TLS on port 6697, the link to the server is encrypted. But IRC isn’t end-to-end encrypted, server operators can read messages, and public channels are public.

• Connect with TLS (port 6697), or use a web client over HTTPS.
• Register your nickname with NickServ so no one else can use it.
• Don’t share personal details in public channels. /ignore nickname hides someone.
• Don’t accept file transfers (DCC) from people you don’t know.

How do I join IRC?

The quickest way is a web client: open chat.arynwood.com, type a nickname and press Connect. You’ll be in #public on Arynwood’s network.

With an app instead, add a server with the network’s address, port 6697 and TLS on, connect, then type /join #channelname. For Arynwood the address is irc.arynwood.com; for Libera.Chat it’s irc.libera.chat. The IRC beginner guide walks through commands, NickServ and ChanServ.

Which IRC client should I use?

The Lounge in a browser, Halloy on the desktop, or WeeChat or irssi in a terminal. All four are actively maintained. HexChat, long the usual pick on Linux, is archived and no longer maintained.

Can I run my own IRC server?

Yes. An IRC server such as InspIRCd, plus Anope for NickServ and ChanServ, runs on a small Linux server. That’s what Arynwood’s network runs, with The Lounge in front for browser users.

Running one means looking after TLS certificates, updates, spam and moderation yourself. Can IRC be your team chat? covers when that’s worth it.