ircd-hybrid 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 | ircd-hybrid | WeeChat |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 88 · Excellent |
| 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 | ★ 200 | ★ 3,393 |
| First released | 1997 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack |
What are ircd-hybrid and WeeChat?
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
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
ircd-hybrid vs WeeChat: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for ircd-hybrid versus GPL-3.0 for WeeChat. Ircd-hybrid is the more established project (first released 1997), while WeeChat arrived in 2003. WeeChat has the considerably larger community, at 3,393 GitHub stars versus 200.
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 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 ircd-hybrid 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 ircd-hybrid and WeeChat free and open-source?
Yes. ircd-hybrid is licensed under GPL-2.0 and WeeChat under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ircd-hybrid and WeeChat with Docker?
ircd-hybrid: check the project docs for container support. WeeChat: check the project docs for container support.