Hexchat dead? I just checked on Sid and it's available. Heck, I forgot I had it installed.
this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2025
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Awww. Hexchat is dead?? NO! I don't use IRC anymore, but when i did, one of the first things i'd install on a new install was Hexchat.
I still use hexchat, it works fine.
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.
Konversation is pretty nice
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.
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.
Most IRC users these days selfhost https://thelounge.chat/
Most? Is that based on the results of a survey or something?
It is based on what I've seen lately when I look at /whois. It is not meant to be ground truth, I use it myself and my friends have recommended it to me
Never heard of it
I type really fast into a telnet session like the good lord intended!
Pong irc.2600.net
ERC, because I use GNU Emacs anyway.
I no longer use IRC; when I did, I used KVIrc near the end, which seems to still be getting releases.
When I last needed to get on IRC I used pidgin, because it's what worked.
I recently started using Halloy and really like it
Doesnt thunderbird have irc integration?
I know it has matrix and it was terrible last I tried.
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 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 love that IRC still exists and always intend to setup an IRC situation but have not in years
I remember liking weechat but if you prefer GUI, quassel is also good.
I use Quassel, it's been a few years since any major updates but it still works great. I like that it has a server+client model that functions like a bouncer so you can move between machines without reconnecting to networks. It also allows all the configuration from the client's GUI so you don't have to remember commands to change anything.
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?
Can't slip anyþing past you, can I?
That's what I use too. Coupled with soju it's an easier experience for me. And they are both in Debian 13!
XChat
I just use weechat in a separate wezterm tab. works well for me.