ircu2 vs Hookshot
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ircu2 | Hookshot |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 51 · Fair | 79 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 64 | ★ 453 |
| First released | 1996 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Discord, Slack | Slack |
What are ircu2 and Hookshot?
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
Hookshot
Hookshot is a Matrix integration bridge that connects rooms to GitHub, GitLab, Jira, RSS feeds, and generic webhooks. It lets teams receive and act on notifications inside Matrix.
- GitHub, GitLab and Jira integration
- Generic inbound and outbound webhooks
- RSS and Atom feed support
- Interactive notification actions
ircu2 vs Hookshot: key differences
Ircu2 is written in C, while Hookshot is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for ircu2 versus Apache-2.0 for Hookshot. Ircu2 is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Hookshot. Ircu2 is the more established project (first released 1996), while Hookshot arrived in 2021. Hookshot has the considerably larger community, at 453 GitHub stars versus 64. Hookshot lists first-class Docker deployment; ircu2 does not.
Why pick each one
Choose ircu2 if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Hookshot if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Requires a Matrix homeserver
- Configuration is YAML-heavy
Frequently asked questions
Is ircu2 or Hookshot better?
Neither is universally better. Hookshot has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ircu2 and Hookshot free and open-source?
Yes. ircu2 is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Hookshot under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ircu2 and Hookshot with Docker?
ircu2: check the project docs for container support. Hookshot: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ircu2 or Hookshot?
ircu2 has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Hookshot. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.