ircd-hybrid vs ircu2
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ircd-hybrid | ircu2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 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 | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 64 |
| First released | 1997 | 1996 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Discord, Slack |
What are ircd-hybrid and ircu2?
ircd-hybrid
ircd-hybrid is a long-standing IRC server daemon known for stability and a lightweight footprint. It supports modern IRC features and modular extensions, and can be self-hosted to run an IRC network.
- Stable lightweight IRC daemon
- Modular extensions
- Long-standing project
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
ircd-hybrid vs ircu2: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Ircd-hybrid has the considerably larger community, at 200 GitHub stars versus 64.
Why pick each one
Choose ircd-hybrid if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose ircu2 if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is ircd-hybrid or ircu2 better?
Neither is universally better. ircd-hybrid has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ircd-hybrid and ircu2 free and open-source?
Yes. ircd-hybrid is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ircu2 under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ircd-hybrid and ircu2 with Docker?
ircd-hybrid: check the project docs for container support. ircu2: check the project docs for container support.