Charybdis IRCd vs WeeChat
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Charybdis IRCd | WeeChat |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 7 · At risk | 88 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 230 | ★ 3,393 |
| First released | 2008 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Discord, Slack | Slack |
What are Charybdis IRCd and WeeChat?
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
WeeChat
WeeChat is a fast, lightweight chat client that runs in the terminal and supports IRC and many other protocols through plugins. Its relay protocol allows remote clients to connect to a persistent session.
- Terminal interface
- Scriptable in many languages
- Relay protocol for remote clients
- Highly extensible
Charybdis IRCd vs WeeChat: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Charybdis IRCd's repository is archived and no longer developed, while WeeChat is actively maintained. Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Charybdis IRCd versus GPL-3.0 for WeeChat. WeeChat is the more established project (first released 2003), while Charybdis IRCd arrived in 2008. WeeChat has the considerably larger community, at 3,393 GitHub stars versus 230.
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 WeeChat if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (3.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Charybdis IRCd or WeeChat better?
Neither is universally better. WeeChat has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Charybdis IRCd and WeeChat free and open-source?
Yes. Charybdis IRCd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and WeeChat under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Charybdis IRCd and WeeChat with Docker?
Charybdis IRCd: check the project docs for container support. WeeChat: check the project docs for container support.