Charybdis IRCd vs Ergo
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ergo
Modern IRC server with IRCv3 and bouncer features
| Feature | Charybdis IRCd | Ergo |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 7 · At risk | 88 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 230 | ★ 3,333 |
| First released | 2008 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Discord, Slack | Slack, Discord |
What are Charybdis IRCd and Ergo?
Charybdis IRCd
Charybdis is an IRCv3-capable IRC server daemon descended from ratbox, designed to power large IRC networks. It has been used as the basis for several other IRC server projects and is fully self-hostable.
- IRCv3-capable IRC server
- Designed for large networks
- Basis for other IRC daemons
Ergo
Ergo, formerly known as Oragono, is a modern IRC server written in Go that combines an IRCd with bouncer-like features. It supports IRCv3, has built-in account management, and stores message history.
- Full IRCv3 support
- Built-in account registration
- Persistent message history
- Single binary deployment
Charybdis IRCd vs Ergo: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Charybdis IRCd's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Ergo is actively maintained. Charybdis IRCd is written in C, while Ergo is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Charybdis IRCd versus MIT for Ergo. Charybdis IRCd is the more established project (first released 2008), while Ergo arrived in 2016. Ergo has the considerably larger community, at 3,333 GitHub stars versus 230. Ergo lists first-class Docker deployment; Charybdis IRCd does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Charybdis IRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Ergo if…
- No external services needed
- Easy to run
Watch out for
- IRC protocol limitations
- No web UI included
Frequently asked questions
Is Charybdis IRCd or Ergo better?
Neither is universally better. Ergo has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Charybdis IRCd and Ergo free and open-source?
Yes. Charybdis IRCd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Ergo under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Charybdis IRCd and Ergo with Docker?
Charybdis IRCd: check the project docs for container support. Ergo: yes.