Comparison of IRC clients

Last updated

The following tables compare general and technical information between a number of notable IRC client programs which have been discussed in independent, reliable prior published sources.

Contents

General

Basic general information about the notableclients: creator/company, license, etc. Clients listed on a light purple background are no longer in active development.

Client Primary developers Distribution model Software license User interface Programming language
Adium Thijs Alkemade Free software GPL-2.0-or-later GUI Objective-C and C
AmIRC Oliver Wagner, Nicolas Sallin, Costel Mincea Free software GNU General Public License GUI ?
Bersirc [1] Jamie Frater, Nicholas Copeland Free software LGPL GUI C (Delphi originally)
BitchX Colten Edwards Free software BSD TUI, GUI C
ChatZilla James Ross, Robert Ginda, Samuel Sieb, Gijs Kruitbosch Free software MPL, GPL, LGPL
tri-license
GUI [Note 1] JavaScript, XUL
Colloquy Timothy Hatcher, Kiji Roshi Free software Desktop: GPL
Mobile: BSD
GUI Objective-C
ERC Alexander L. Belikoff, Sergey Berezin Free software GPL-3.0-or-later TUI, GUI Emacs Lisp
HexChat [2] Berke Viktor Free software GPL-2.0-or-later TUI, GUI C
Instantbird Florian Quèze Free software GPL GUI C++, JavaScript, CSS, XUL
ircII Michael Sandrof Free software BSD TUI C
Ircle Onno TijdgatCommercial, 30-day trial Proprietary GUI C
Irssi Timo Sirainen Free software GPL-2.0-or-later TUI C
KVIrc Szymon Stefanek Free software GPL GUI C++
Konversation KDE Free software GPL-2.0-or-later GUI C++
LeafChat [3] Samuel Marshall Free software GPL-3.0-or-later GUI Java
Linkinus Conceited SoftwareCommercial, 15-day trial Proprietary GUI Objective-C
Mibbit Jimmy Moore Textual Adbar Proprietary Web JavaScript frontend,
Java backend
mIRC Khaled Mardam-Bey Shareware, 30-day trial [4] Proprietary GUI C/C++ [5]
Nettalk Nicolas Kruse Free software Apache-2.0 GUI Visual Basic
Pidgin Free software GPL-2.0-or-later GUI C
PIRCH Northwest Computer Services Shareware Proprietary GUI Delphi
PJIRC Philippe Detournay Free software GPL GUI Java
Quassel Manuel Nickschas, Marcus Eggenberger, Alexander von Renteln Free software GPL-2.0-or-3.0 TUI [Note 2] , GUI [Note 3] C++
rcirc Ryan Yeske Free software GPL-3.0-or-later TUI Emacs Lisp
Smuxi Mirco Bauer Free software GPL-2.0-or-later GUI, TUI, server [Note 3] C#
Snak Kent SorensenCommercial Proprietary GUI ?
Thunderbird Mozilla Foundation Free software MPL-2.0 GUI C, C++, JavaScript
Visual IRC Jesse McGrew Free software GPL GUI Delphi
WeeChat Sebastien Helleu Free software GPL-3.0-or-later TUI, GUI [Note 4] C
XiRCON Mark Hanson Freeware Proprietary GUI Borland C++, scripted with Tcl
Client Primary developers Distribution model Software license User interface Programming language
  1. Can be installed as part of a web browser
  2. Incomplete, proof of concept
  3. 1 2 Separate client and daemon
  4. No official GUI, several options available (e.g. Glowing Bear, a web frontend)

Release

A brief overview of the release history.

First public releaseFirst stable releaseLatest stable release
Client DateVersionDateVersion
AmIRC 1995
Bersirc 19992.2.14 (12 August 2005;18 years ago (2005-08-12)) [±]
BitchX 19961.2.1 (November 14, 2014;9 years ago (2014-11-14)) [±]
ChatZilla 20010.9.93 (November 8, 2016;7 years ago (2016-11-08) [6] ) [±]
Colloquy 20052.4.3 (6011) (March 22, 2014;10 years ago (2014-03-22)) [±]
DMDirc 20070.7 (January 5, 2013;11 years ago (2013-01-05) [7] ) [±]
ERC 1999?ERC improvements are now released as part of Emacs. [±]
HexChat 2009-10-04r2492009-10-092.86.02.16.2 [8] [9]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg (7 February 2024;4 months ago (7 February 2024)) [±]
ircII 19892.0.019892.0.020210314 (March 14, 2021;3 years ago (2021-03-14)) [±]
Ircle 19953.5a6 (November 17, 2007;16 years ago (2007-11-17)) [±]
Irssi 19991.4.4 (March 31, 2023;14 months ago (2023-03-31)) [±] [10]
KVIrc 19980.6.01999-12-211.0.05.2.0 (January 14, 2024;5 months ago (2024-01-14) [11] ) [±]
Konversation 20021.9.23083 [12]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 9 November 2023; 20 October 2023;Error: first parameter cannot be parsed as a date or time.
LeafChat  ?1.02.5 (July 29, 2012;11 years ago (2012-07-29)) [±]
Linkinus 20072.4.3 (August 23, 2011;12 years ago (2011-08-23) [13] ) [±]
Mibbit 2008 web application, no version
mIRC 19957.76 (7 January 2024;5 months ago (2024-01-07) [14] ) [±]
Nettalk 20046.7.16 (October 30, 2012;11 years ago (2012-10-30) [15] ) [±]
PIRCH 19951.0.1.1190 (January 1, 2001;23 years ago (2001-01-01)) [±]
PJIRC 20022.2.1 (November 29, 2004;19 years ago (2004-11-29)) [±]
Quassel 2008-08-270.3.00.14.0 (January 1, 2022;2 years ago (2022-01-01)) [±]
rcirc  ? ?rcirc improvements are now released as part of Emacs. [±]
Smuxi 2008-07-290.62010-09-030.81.2.1 (April 23, 2023;13 months ago (2023-04-23)) [±]
Snak 19975.3.4 (March 11, 2012;12 years ago (2012-03-11) [16] ) [±]
Visual IRC 19952.0pl2 (December 30, 2007;16 years ago (2007-12-30)) [±] [17]
WeeChat 20034.2.1 (January 22, 2024;4 months ago (2024-01-22) [18] ) [±]
Client DateVersionDateVersionLatest stable release
First public releaseFirst stable release

Operating system support

The operating systems on which the clients can run natively (without emulation).

Client Windows 7, Vista XP, 2000 NT 4.0 NT 3.x Me, 98 95 3.1x ReactOS macOS (Intel/PPC) OS 9 OS 8 System 7 (PPC/68k) BeOS, Haiku OS/2, eCS, ArcaOS AmigaOS (68k) AmigaOS 4, MorphOS (PPC) DOS
AmIRC NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYesNo
Bersirc YesYes ?No ? ?No ? ?NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
BitchX Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] NoYes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] No ?YesNoNoNo ?YesYesYesNo
ChatZilla YesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYes ?YesNo
Colloquy NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
ERC YesYes [21] YesYesYesYesYes ?YesNoNoNoYes [22] Yes [23]  ? ?Yes [24]
HexChat YesDropped (2.9.5)NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo ?NoNoNoNo
ircII Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] NoYes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] No ?YesNoNoNoNoNoNo ?No
Ircle NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYes [Note 2] YesYesYesNoNoNoNoNo
Irssi YesYesYesNoYesYesNo ?YesNoNoNoYesYes ?YesNo
Konversation PartialPartialPartialNoPartialPartialNo ?PartialNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
KVIrc YesYesYesNoYesNoNoYes [25] YesYesNoNoNoYes [26] NoNoNo
LeafChat YesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Linkinus NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYes [Note 2] NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Mibbit YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNo
mIRC YesYesYesPartialYesYesPartial ?NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Nettalk YesYes ?NoPartial [Note 3] NoNo ?NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
PIRCH YesYesYes ?YesYesYes ?NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
PJIRC YesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesNoNoYesYesNoNoNoNo
Quassel YesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNo
rcirc YesYes ? ?NoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Smuxi YesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Snak NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesYesYes ?NoNoNoNoNo
Visual IRC YesYesYesNoYesYesNo ?NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
WeeChat Partial [Note 1] Partial [Note 1] Partial [Note 1] NoPartial [Note 1] Partial [Note 1] No ?YesNoNoNoPartialNoNoNoNo
ClientWindows 7, VistaXP, 2000NT 4.0NT 3.xMe, 98953.1xReactOSOS X (Intel/PPC)OS 9OS 8System 7 (PPC/68k)BeOS, HaikuOS/2, eCSAmigaOS (68k)AmigaOS 4, MorphOS (PPC)DOS
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Requires Cygwin [19] [20]
  2. 1 2 Requires OS X v10.4.3 or later
  3. Does not support Windows 95 or Windows 98 [27]

Unix and Unix-like operating systems:

Client 386BSD BSD/OS (BSD/386, BSDI) FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD SunOS ULTRIX AIX A/UX HP-UX IRIX SCO OpenServer Solaris UnixWare Linux NeXTSTEP OpenVMS OSF/1 QNX Tru64 UNIX
Bersirc  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Yes ?No ? ? ?
BitchX  ?Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1]  ?Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1]  ?Yes [Note 1] YesYes [Note 1] Yes ?Yes [Note 1] Yes [Note 1]  ?
ChatZilla NoNoYesYesNoYesNoYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNoYesYes
Colloquy NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
ERC YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
HexChat  ? ?YesYes ?Yes ?YesYes ?Yes ?Yes ? ? ? ?Yes
ircII YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes ?YesYes ?YesYesYes
Ircle NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Irssi YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
Konversation  ? ?Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Yes ?Yes ? ? ? ?Yes
KVIrc  ? ?Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Yes ?Yes ? ? ? ? ?
LeafChat NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNo
Linkinus NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Mibbit  ? ?YesYesYesYes ?YesYesYesYesYesYes ?Yes ? ?Yes
mIRC NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Nettalk NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
PIRCH NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
PJIRC YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Quassel  ? ?Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Yes ?Yes ? ? ? ? ?
rcirc YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Smuxi  ? ?Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Yes ?Yes ? ? ? ? ?
Snak NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Visual IRC NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
WeeChat  ? ?Yes [Note 2]  ? ? ? ?YesPartial [Note 3]  ?Yes [Note 2]  ?Yes ? ? ?Yes [Note 2]  ?
Client386BSDBSD/OS (BSD/386, BSDI)FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSDSunOSULTRIXAIXA/UXHP-UXIRIXSCO OpenServerSolarisUnixWareLinuxNeXTSTEPOpenVMSOSF/1QNXTru64 UNIX
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 BitchX is known to work on BSDI 2.0, 2.1, 3.1, 4.0; FreeBSD 2.x, 3.x, 4.0; NetBSD 3.x, 4.x; SunOS 4.1.4; Ultrix; AIX; HP-UX 9.x, 10.x; IRIX 5.x, 6.x; Solaris 5.x and later; Linux; OSF/1 (DEC Alpha); QNX
  2. 1 2 3 WeeChat tested on FreeBSD 4.11, 5.4, 6.0; NetBSD 2.0, 2.1; OpenBSD 3.6, 3.7, 3.8; Solaris 5.10; QNX 6.3 [28]
  3. In development [28]

Protocol support

What IRC related protocols and standards are supported by each client.

Client IPv6 SSL TLS DANE OCSP CRL SASL OTR
Bersirc NoNo ? ? ? ? ?No
BitchX YesYesYes ? ? ? ?No
ChatZilla YesYesYes ?YesYesscriptNo
Colloquy YesYes ? ? ? ?YesNo [29]
ERC YesYesYes ? ? ?Yes [Note 1] No
HexChat YesYesYesNoNoNoYesYes [Note 2]
ircII YesYesYes ? ? ? ?No
Ircle  ?Yes ? ? ? ? ?No
Irssi YesYesYesYesNo ?YesYes [30]
Konversation YesYesYes ? ? ?YesNo
KVIrc YesYesYes ?NoNoYesNo
Linkinus NoYes ? ? ? ?NoNo
Mibbit NoYes ? ? ? ?YesNo
mIRC YesYesYes ? ? ?YesNo
Nettalk NoNo ? ? ? ? ?No
PIRCH NoNo ? ? ? ? ?No
PJIRC NoNo ? ? ? ? ?No
Quassel YesYesYes ?NoNoYesNo [31]
rcirc NoYesYes ? ? ? ?No
Smuxi YesYes ? ? ? ?NoNo [32]
Snak YesYes ? ? ? ? ?No
Visual IRC NoNo ? ? ? ? ?No
WeeChat YesYesYes ? ? ?YesYes [33] [34] [Note 2]
ClientIPv6SSLTLSDANEOCSPCRLSASLOTR
  1. Supported via patch
  2. 1 2 Supported via plugin

Direct Client-to-Client (DCC) support

The Direct Client-to-Client Protocol (DCC) has been the primary method of establishing connections directly between IRC clients for a long time now. Once established, DCC connections bypass the IRC network and servers, allowing for all sorts of data to be transferred between clients including files and direct chat sessions.

Client CHAT SEND RESUME TSEND SEND T XMIT Passive DCC Server RDCC REVERSE RSEND Reverse / Firewall DCC File servers (FSERVs) XDCC VOICE Whiteboard
Bersirc  ? ? ? ? ? ?NoNo ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
BitchX YesYesYesYesYes ?NoNo ? ? ? ? ?Yes ?No
ChatZilla YesYesNo [35]  ? ?NoNo [Note 1] NoNoNoNoNoNo ? ?No
Colloquy YesYesYes ? ? ?YesNo ? ? ? ? ?Yes ? ?
ERC YesYes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
HexChat YesYesYes ? ? ?Yes ? ? ? ? ? ?Yes ?No
ircII YesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Ircle  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Irssi YesYesYes ? ? ?YesYes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?No
Konversation YesYesYes ? ? ?YesNo ? ? ?Yes ?Yes ?Yes
KVIrc YesYesYesYesNoNoYesNoNoYesYesYesYes [Note 2] Yes [Note 2] Yes [Note 3] No
Linkinus  ? ? ? ? ? ?YesNo ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Mibbit No ? ? ? ? ?NoNo ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
mIRC YesYesYes [Note 4]  ? ? ?YesYesYes [Note 5]  ? ?YesYesYes [Note 5]  ? ?
Nettalk YesYesYesNoNoNoNoPartialNoNoNoNo ? ? ?No
PIRCH YesYesYes [Note 4]  ? ?NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo ?No
PJIRC YesYesYes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?No
Quassel NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo ?No
rcirc NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo ?No
Smuxi  ? ? ? ? ? ?NoNo ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Snak YesYesYes ?Yes ?NoNo ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Visual IRC  ? ?Yes [Note 4]  ? ? ?YesNo ? ? ?Yes ? ?Yes [Note 3] Yes
WeeChat YesYes ? ? ? ?NoNo ? ? ? ? ?Yes ? ?
Client CHAT SEND RESUME TSEND SEND T XMIT Passive DCC Server RDCC REVERSE RSEND Reverse / Firewall DCC File servers (FSERVs) XDCC VOICE Whiteboard
  1. Planned for a later version
  2. 1 2 Supported via scripting
  3. 1 2 Incompatible with other IRC clients [36]
  4. 1 2 3 Supports the DCC Resume protocol [37]
  5. 1 2 Supported via a script [38]

IRCv3 support

This software is compliant natively; other software may be compliant with extensions. [39] [40]

ClientsCAPCAP 302Cap-notifyAccount-notifyaccount-tagAway-notifybatchBot Modechghostecho-messageextended-joinInvite-notifylabeled-responsemessage-tagsMonitormsgidmulti-prefixSASL v3.1SASL v3.2server-timesetnamestsuserhost-in-namesUTF8ONLYWHOX+typingdraft/chathistoryWebIRCdraft/account-registrationdraft/extended-monitordraft/multiline+draft/react+draft/reply
BitchX YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo ? ? ? ? ? ?
Colloquy YesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYesYesNoNoYesNoYesYesNoYesNoNoYesNoYesNoNo ? ?NoNoNoNo
HexChat YesYesYesYes2.16YesNoNoYesNoYes2.16NoNoYesNoYesYesYesYes2.16NoYes2.16YesNoNo ? ? ? ? ? ?
Irssi YesGitGitGitNoGitNoNoGitNoGitGitNoGitNoNoYesYesNoNoGitNoNoNoYesNoNo ? ? ? ? ? ?
KVIrc YesNoNoGitNoGitNoNoGitNoGitNoNoNoNoNoGitYesNoGitNoNoGitNoNoNoNo ? ? ? ? ? ?
Konversation Yesv20.11.80+v21.03.80+YesNoYesNoNov21.03.80+NoYesNoNoNoNoNoYesYesv21.04.0+YesNoNoYesNoYesNoNo ? ? ? ? ? ?
Mibbit YesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNo ?NoNo ?NoNoNoNoNoNo
Mozilla Thunderbird Yes72.0+72.0+NoNoNoNoNoNo73.0+NoNoNoNoYesNoYesYes72.0+60.0+NoNoNoNoNoNoNo ? ? ? ? ? ?
Quassel IRC YesYesYesYes0.14+YesNoNoYes0.14+ (opt in)Yes0.14+No0.14+NoNoYesYesYes0.14+0.14+NoYesNoYesNoNo ? ? ? ? ? ?
WeeChat Yes2.2+YesYesNoYesNoNo2.2+NoYes2.2+No3.3+YesNoYesYes3.3+Yes3.3+NoYesNoYes3.3+No ? ? ? ? ? ?
mIRC YesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNoYesYes7.62+YesYesYesYesYesYesYes7.62+YesYesNoYesNoNo ? ? ? ? ? ?

IRCv3 SASL mechanisms

IRC SASL authentication primarily uses the same mechanisms as SASL in other protocols. Most commonly:

ClientEXTERNALPLAINSCRAM-SHA-256
BitchX NoYesNo
ColloquyNoYesNo
HexChatYesYesNo
IrssiYesYesNo
KVIrcYesYesNo
KonversationYesYesNo
Mozilla ThunderbirdNoYesNo
WeeChatYesYes3.2+
catgirlYesYesNo
mIRCYesYes7.68+
pydle(lib.)NoYesNo
senpaiNoYesNo
zIRC(lib.)YesYesNo

Features

Information on what features each of the clients support.

Client Multi-server UTF-8 Proxy server irc:// URI scheme Automatic updates Scripting language
Bersirc YesNo ? ? ?
BitchX YesNo ? ? ?Enhanced IrcII script
ChatZilla YesYesYesYesYes JavaScript
Colloquy YesYes ?YesYes [Note 1] AppleScript, Cocoa, F-Script, JavaScript, Python
ERC YesYesYes [Note 2] Yes [41] Yes [Note 3] Emacs Lisp
HexChat YesYesYesYesYes Perl, Python, Tcl, Lua [Note 4] , JavaScript, C, C++, and via D-Bus.
ircII YesYes [Note 5]  ? ? ? IrcII script
Ircle YesNo ? ? ? AppleScript
Irssi YesYesYesNoNo Perl
Konversation YesYesYesYes ? Shell script, Ruby, Python, Perl, Java, C++, C#, JavaScript [Note 6]
KVIrc YesYesYesYesNoKVS (custom), Perl, Python, C++
LeafChat YesYes ?Yes Java
Linkinus YesYesYesYesYes AppleScript, Cocoa
Mibbit YesYes ?Yes
mIRC YesYesYesYesYes [Note 7] mIRC script
Nettalk YesYes SOCKS YesYes VBScript, custom
PIRCH YesNo ? ?NoYes
PJIRC YesYes ? ?NoPartial, JavaScript
Quassel YesYesYes ?NoNo
rcirc YesYes ? ?No Emacs Lisp
Smuxi YesYesYes ? ?Yes (language agnostic)
Snak YesYes ? ? ? AppleScript, IrcII script
Visual IRC YesNo ? ? ? Versus
WeeChat YesYesYesYes ? C, Perl, Python, Ruby, Lua, Tcl, Scheme (Guile)
ClientMulti-serverUTF-8Proxy serverirc:// URI schemeAutomatic updatesScripting language
  1. Automatically updates via the Sparkle framework
  2. Can be added with separate packages.
  3. Supports automatic updates via the Emacs package manager
  4. Since 2.9.5 HexChat is shipped only with Perl and Python.
  5. Supported as of version 20050921
  6. Any language which supports DCOP may be used for Konversation scripting. Virtually any language can be made to support Konversation scripting by executing the command line "dcop" program.
  7. Only looks for updates, they need to be manually downloaded and installed.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KVIrc</span> IRC Client

KVIrc is a graphical IRC client for Linux, Unix, Mac OS and Windows. The name is an acronym of K Visual IRC in which the K stands for a dependency to KDE, which became optional from version 2.0.0. The software is based on the Qt framework and its code is released under a modified GNU General Public License.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quassel IRC</span> Cross-platform IRC client

Quassel IRC, or Quassel, is a graphical, distributed, cross-platform IRC client, introduced in 2008. It is released under the GNU General Public License version 2 and version 3, for GNU and Unix-like operating systems, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. It has also been ported to OS/2 Warp due to its cross-platform nature. Since the release of Kubuntu 9.04 Quassel is Kubuntu's default IRC client. Quassel uses the Qt application framework.

wolfSSH is a small, portable, embedded SSH library targeted for use by embedded systems developers. It is an open-source implementation of SSH written in the C language. It includes SSH client libraries and an SSH server implementation. It allows for password and public key authentication.

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