InspIRCd vs ircu2
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
InspIRCd
Modular C++ Internet Relay Chat daemon
VS
ircu2
IRC server daemon used by the Undernet network
| Feature | InspIRCd | ircu2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 51 · Fair |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,347 | ★ 64 |
| First released | 2002 | 1996 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Discord, Slack |
What are InspIRCd and ircu2?
InspIRCd
InspIRCd is a modular, high-performance IRC server written in C++. Its plugin-based architecture lets administrators enable only the features they need for their network.
- Modular plugin architecture
- Lightweight and fast
- Supports large IRC networks
- Cross-platform
ircu2
ircu2 (ircd-undernet) is the IRC server daemon developed for and used by the Undernet IRC network. It can be self-hosted to run an IRC network and supports a feature-rich channel and server model.
- IRC server used by Undernet
- Feature-rich channel model
- Lightweight C daemon
InspIRCd vs ircu2: key differences
InspIRCd is written in C++, while ircu2 is built with C. Ircu2 is the more established project (first released 1996), while InspIRCd arrived in 2002. InspIRCd has the considerably larger community, at 1,347 GitHub stars versus 64. InspIRCd lists first-class Docker deployment; ircu2 does not.
Why pick each one
Choose InspIRCd if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Watch out for
- Configuration is XML-based
- IRC-only
Choose ircu2 if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is InspIRCd or ircu2 better?
Neither is universally better. InspIRCd has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are InspIRCd and ircu2 free and open-source?
Yes. InspIRCd is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ircu2 under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run InspIRCd and ircu2 with Docker?
InspIRCd: yes. ircu2: check the project docs for container support.