4. Console IRC Clients

4.1. ircII

Maintainer: ircII project (<ircii@eterna.com.au>)

IRC Channel: #ircii (official channel?) on EFNet

Originally written by Michael Sandrof, ircII comes with most Linux distributions. It uses termcap and shouldn't be a choice for most users, but is a standard. Mathusalem and other gurus will use it. Less ventured will regret to have it installed.

You can get the latest version of ircII from ftp://ircftp.au.eterna.com.au/pub/ircII/. Homepage at http://www.eterna.com.au/ircii/.

4.2. EPIC

Maintainer: EPIC Software Labs (<ircii-epic@concentric.net>)

IRC Channel: #epic on EFNet

Based on ircII, EPIC (Enhanced Programmable ircII Client) is meant for real scripters and users searching freedom. When you start it for the first time you'll notice that you should really learn the basics of scripting.

You can get the latest version of EPIC from ftp://ftp.epicsol.org/pub/epic/. Homepage at http://www.epicsol.org/.

4.3. BitchX

Maintainer: Colten Edwards (<edwards@bitchx.dimension6.com>)

IRC Channel: #bitchx on EFNet

Based on ircII and EPIC, BitchX could be compared to the Pine MUA. Bloatware (doesn't mean you shouldn't use it) and widely used. The choice for users that want a client with built-in facilities. It can be built with the GNOME libraries by using the configure option --with-gtk. Don't be surprised if all you get is a XTerm-BitchX instead.

You can get the latest version of BitchX from ftp://ftp.bitchx.com/pub/BitchX/source/. Homepage at http://www.bitchx.com/. Homepage of gtkBitchX at http://www.bitchx.org/gtk/.

4.4. irssi

Maintainer: Timo Sirainen (<tss@iki.fi>)

IRC Channel: #irssi on OPN and IRCnet

Timo released yagIRC ~3 years ago. It was a GUI client using the GTK+ toolkit. The army called on him, and the new maintainers wouldn't do the job. yagIRC passed away and he started irssi as a replacement. It used GTK+. GNOME and curses versions would appear later. As of 0.7.90 it's only a text client, a very good one. Supports Perl scripting.

You can get the latest version of irssi from http://irssi.org/?page=download. Homepage at http://irssi.org/.