Glowing Bear vs ngIRCd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Glowing Bear | ngIRCd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 76 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 978 | ★ 578 |
| First released | 2014 | 2001 |
| Replaces | IRCCloud, Slack | Slack |
What are Glowing Bear and ngIRCd?
Glowing Bear
Glowing Bear is a web front end that connects to a WeeChat relay, giving the powerful WeeChat IRC client a modern browser interface. It supports notifications, themes, and mobile use.
- WeeChat relay front end
- Browser-based IRC
- Push notifications
- Theme support
ngIRCd
ngIRCd is a free, portable, and lightweight IRC server for small to mid-sized networks. It focuses on simplicity, low resource use, and a straightforward configuration file.
- Very low resource use
- Simple configuration
- IPv6 and TLS support
- No external dependencies
Glowing Bear vs ngIRCd: key differences
Glowing Bear is written in JavaScript, while ngIRCd is built with C. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Glowing Bear versus GPL-2.0 for ngIRCd. NgIRCd is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 64 MB for Glowing Bear. NgIRCd is the more established project (first released 2001), while Glowing Bear arrived in 2014. Glowing Bear lists first-class Docker deployment; ngIRCd does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Glowing Bear if…
- Leverages WeeChat power
- Works on mobile browsers
Watch out for
- Requires WeeChat relay
- IRC focused
Choose ngIRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Glowing Bear or ngIRCd better?
Neither is universally better. Glowing Bear has the larger community, while ngIRCd is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Glowing Bear and ngIRCd free and open-source?
Yes. Glowing Bear is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ngIRCd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Glowing Bear and ngIRCd with Docker?
Glowing Bear: yes. ngIRCd: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Glowing Bear or ngIRCd?
ngIRCd has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for Glowing Bear. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.