10 of the Best Free Linux IRC Clients

This page is of historic interest only. It has been replaced by 11 Best Linux IRC Clients group test.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a type of real-time Internet text messaging (chat) or synchronous conferencing. IRC was born during summer 1988 when Jarkko Oikarinen wrote the first IRC client and server when he was working in the Department of Information Processing Science at the University of Oulu, Finland. This system enables millions of people around the world to communicate in real time.

IRC is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but it also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfers via Direct Client-to-Client.

It is used for many different purposes such as obtaining technical support from developers and users, for conducting meetings and even for rolegaming.

Users typically connect to an IRC network using an IRC client. The client takes the raw IRC traffic and turns it into an easy-to-use interface.

Although the IRC protocol does not provide any file transfer mechanisms, users can create file servers that allow them to share files with each other by using customised IRC bots or scripts for their IRC client.

To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list 10 sleek IRC clients. There’s a mix of graphical and console based applications included. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for all types of users.

Now, let’s explore the 10 IRC clients at hand. For each title we have compiled its own portal page, providing a screenshot of the software in action, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.

Explore our carefully curated directory of recommended free and open source software, covering every major software category. The directory forms part of our extensive collection of articles for Linux enthusiasts. It includes hundreds of detailed reviews, together with free and open source alternatives to proprietary software from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. LinuxLinks also covers interesting projects worth exploring, Linux-compatible hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application that we haven’t covered? Tell us about it using our submission form.