IRC Guides · Getting started

What is IRC?

Beginner · about 5 min read

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. It is one of the oldest still-active chat systems on the internet: real-time text conversation organised into networks and channels.

Networks and channels

An IRC network is a group of linked servers that share the same user base and channel list (for example Libera.Chat, or a private network such as IRCPlus). You connect to one server on that network; your messages can reach users on other linked servers.

A channel is a room, usually named with a # prefix (such as #help). Anyone who joins the channel can see public messages there. Channels can be public, invite-only, moderated, or protected by services.

Clients

You do not chat in a web browser only — you use an IRC client: mIRC, HexChat, KVIrc, WeeChat, Irssi, a mobile app, or the IRCPlus WebChat. The client speaks the IRC protocol to the server.

Ready-made clients are listed on the IRC Clients and Downloads pages.

Why people still use IRC

Lightweight and fast, even on a shell or slow link
Great for technical communities, FOSS projects and long-running channels
Bots (Eggdrop, Python), services (NickServ/ChanServ) and bouncers (ZNC) extend it
You can run your own network with software such as UnrealIRCd

Next step Read IRC Basics to connect, join a channel and learn the essential commands.