catgirl is a terminal-based IRC client designed to provide a practical IRC interface without unnecessary complexity. It uses ncurses for its text interface and libtls for encrypted connections.
The client focuses on making conversations easier to follow. It provides intelligent nickname completion, recognises URLs in messages and highlights changes to channel topics. Its interface also helps users distinguish between commands and messages before they are sent.
Security is another important aspect of catgirl. The application supports restricted execution environments on supported operating systems, with particularly strong sandboxing facilities on OpenBSD.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Terminal interface built with ncurses.
- Encrypted IRC connections using libtls.
- Nickname completion prioritising recently seen or mentioned users.
- Clear prompts distinguishing commands from ordinary messages.
- Split scrolling to keep recent messages visible while browsing history.
- Detection of URLs in conversations, with options to open or copy them.
- Consistent nickname colouring across name changes.
- Highlighted changes to channel topics.
- Configurable message filtering and ignore rules.
- Option to reveal previously filtered messages.
- Sandboxing support on FreeBSD and OpenBSD.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux and macOS.
Website: git.causal.agency/catgirl
Support:
Developer: June McEnroe
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
catgirl is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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