for debian 13.1 xfce
I liked hexchat due to its ample customization possibilities.
What do you use that’s maintained and why?
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 use catgirl
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.
Irssi - used it first in college and never looked for anything else
Most IRC users these days selfhost https://thelounge.chat/
Never heard of it
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
I remember liking weechat but if you prefer GUI, quassel is also good.
what’s wrong with irssi?
Nothing IMO, but Weechat is probably a better choice if you’re not already happy with irssi.
XChat
Konversation is pretty nice
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 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 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.
